Spannuth has lot to offer Surfside, will not drop out of council race

My wife and I have been residents of the Town of Surfside Beach since July 24, 2014. Prior to that, we were part-time residents since October 2009 with a Surfside Beach address off Glenn’s Bay Road just outside the town.

We spent all our dollars and time within the town, though, because we loved Surfside Beach. In meeting new friends in our neighborhood, a true gentleman and neighbor named Ralph encouraged my wife to get more involved with the town. He was apparently impressed by her knowledge, compassion and professional experience.

By September 23, 2014, my wife had become chairwoman of the Surfside Beach Ralph Magliette Senior Citizens Advisory Committee. So now you know the person who lit my wife’s fire to get involved. It was Ralph. My wife is Wanda Spannuth. She is still chairwoman. She never used his name publicly in her campaigns this year for a seat on Town Council.

Another item Wanda never brought up in her campaign is that she, if elected, is not going to accept her salary as a council member. She is going to direct that her salary be donated back to the town and allocated specifically to the police and fire departments as line items that would benefit the town. It is another way Wanda can give back to our town.

She did not want to go public with this because she felt it would appear she was buying votes for her campaign. What clearly prompted me to submit this letter is an email received by Wanda, which clearly when sent by the author, she wanted to make it public by copying The Sun News and Myrtle Beach Herald reporters. [The email urged Wanda Spannuth] to drop out of the race before the runoff to save the town money.]

The author also copied all sitting members of Surfside Beach Town Council. To me, it’s a plea to elected officials to get involved in an election process of which they have no control.

You may determine your own interpretation of the political process here in South Carolina, let alone Surfside Beach. I believe election rules are governed by the South Carolina State General Assembly and the South Carolina State Election Commission. I also believe that any costs for any election are paid by the South Carolina Election Commission. Monies come in part from the filing fees paid by the candidates to enjoy their right to be part of a democratic process.

The author of the email concludes that due to the difference in the number of votes received by Julie Samples over my wife being well over 100 votes (actually 122), Wanda should concede the election to Julie. The author concludes that 469 voters (actually 470 through certification of ballots) did not want Wanda as a voice.

I ask the author, what about the 348 voters who did not vote for Julie? I ask the author, what about the remaining approximately 2500 registered voters in Surfside Beach who failed to exercise their right to vote in this election? Who will be their voice?

To my knowledge - there has never been a candidate concede an election in Surfside Beach and there should never be.

The writer lives in Surfside Beach.

This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Spannuth has lot to offer Surfside, will not drop out of council race."