Adams 1st to file to run for Fort Mill mayor

Town Councilman Tom Adams wants to be mayor.

Adams, 57, has represented Ward 4 since 2008. He said the challenges facing the town is what motivated him to seek the office held by Danny Funderburk the past eight years. Funderburk said last week that he decided not to run for a third term in November.

“We continue to have many challenges looming ahead of us, most surrounding the exponential growth of the town and the surrounding area,” Adams said. “With that in mind, I think it is vitally important that the town have a known, tested and steady leader, who is familiar with the workings of council, and the issues facing our community.”

Adams’ Ward 4 term also expires this year.

Fort Mill’s next mayor will be just the town’s third since 1983. Funderburk was a councilman when he defeated then longtime incumbent Charlie Powers to win his first term in 2008.

A native of Garrettsville, Ohio, Adams earned a degree in political science from Kent State University in 1981 and has been a York County resident for more than 30 years. Adams has spent most of his working life in the auto industry. He has three children with his late wife, Susie, who died in 2011 of scleroderma, an auto-immune disease. Adams also has three grandchildren and is a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Fort Mill.

In 2014, Adams ran for Congress as a Democrat. He lost the election to U.S. House District 5 incumbent Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land). The Fort Mill town race are non-partisan. Asked if he’s considering another run for Congress, Adams said if elected mayor, “It is my intention to commit to continue to serve the people of Fort Mill for the next four years.”

Among the issues facing Fort Mill, Adams said roads and public safety are among his top priorities.

“I think one very important issue will be to continue to look for ways to help move traffic more efficiently through town,” he said.

“The completion of the (southern) bypass will help, but we need to find small projects, that we can pursue federal congestion mitigation matching funds for, to improve intersections or add turning lanes. A second fire station and expanding and or relocating the police department are also very high on our list of needs.”

In addition to mayor and Ward 4 representative, the Ward 2 seat and an at-large seat on town council are also available.

Two Tega Cay City Council terms are also open. Tega Cay Councilmen Ron Kirby and Chris Larsen have filed for re-election to their seats, according to the South Carolina Election Commission website.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Adams 1st to file to run for Fort Mill mayor."