Savage elected as Fort Mill’s first female mayor

Town Councilwoman Guynn Savage was elected Tuesday as Fort Mill’s first female mayor, according to unofficial returns.

According to numbers posted at voting precincts, Savage won more than 60 percent of about 800 votes cast, defeating fellow Town Council incumbent Tom Adams.

The 59-year-old Fort Mill native succeeds Danny Funderburk, who chose not to seek a third term. Savage will take office in January.

“It’s humbling to live up to the standard set before me by the folks who have led,” said Savage, a local real estate agent. “Fort Mill is a beautiful place. They made it a beautiful place for us, and I want to honor them.”

Efforts to reach Adams for comment were unsuccessful Tuesday night.

Savage was first elected to the Town Council in 2005. She gave up her seat in 2007 after moving out of her ward, but was elected as an at-large candidate in 2009.

Her first order of business as mayor will be to strengthen relationships with community groups, she said.

“First, I want to reach out to every critical relationship with an extended hand and advance those relationships,” she said.

A love for service and a call to civic duty were instilled in Savage by her parents, who owned a small store in Fort Mill when Savage was young. Her parents were civic minded, she said, and she recalls many days helping friends of the family campaign for office.

Those were days when families helped one another, she said, and the divide between people wasn’t as great as it seems today.

“Honor and respect for one another was important,” Savage said. “And that’s what I want for us now. Honor and respect.”

Incumbents Ronnie Helms and Lisa McCarley will return to the Town Council, along with newcomer Chris Moody who succeeds Adams. None faced opposition, so elections for those seats were canceled, which is allowed under state law.

Election results are scheduled to be certified Thursday, county officials said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Savage elected as Fort Mill’s first female mayor."