Three candidates file for Fort Mill council seat

Fort Mill Town Council has one seat open, and three people vying to fill it.

Trudie Heemsoth, Ned McAteer and David McWilliam all filed by the noon Feb. 8 deadline. The open, at-large Council seat is the result of Guynn Savage stepping aside in January to become mayor. The special election comes April 5, with a runoff April 19 if needed.

The first to file was Heemsoth, a Rock Hill native who moved to Fort Mill when she was 12. Heemsoth served more than a decade on the Fort Mill school board. She spent years as director of the Fort Mill area office of the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Heemsoth and husband Chip have been married more than 50 years.

Heemsoth announced her plans to run in December. She emphasized service over specific issues.

“I don’t have any ax to grind or any special agenda,” she said. “Just a need to serve. I want to participate, again, in our town.”

McAteer, 71, served two Council terms in the 1990s. He worked in plant maintenance at Springs Industries, then for a number of organizations managing hotel, courthouse, jail, medical supply and other operations before retiring almost 10 years ago. He is a resident of the same Fort Mill home the past 43 years.

“The main thing,” McAteer said, “I’d like to finish some unfinished business. Transportation issues.”

Transportation needs were an issue decades ago, he said, and they remain a growing one.

“Everybody’s fussing about traffic,” McAteer said. “Let’s do something about it.”

When McAteer ran years ago, there were up to a half dozen candidates. Some recent Council openings, including the three most recent, brought only one candidate each. He didn’t want any candidate to “just walk in” with the latest seat open.

“I’m not running against anybody,” McAteer said. “I’m running for the seat.”

Running is something he knows well. In a decades span beginning in 1978, McAteer ran 40 marathons, including one with a group from Fort Mill in 1981. He and wife Anna, both Lancaster natives, are Hall of Fame shag dancers with a Charlotte group. McAteer said he believes retirement gives him more time to devote to the town than he had before, but expects to bring the same mindset.

“I’m qualified, I feel like,” he said. “Just ready to get to work and serve my town. I’m ready to come up with some ideas.”

McWilliam, 32, moved to Fort Mill five years ago. He and his wife, Thornley, live downtown and have three children kindergarten age and younger. He is an attorney, certified financial planner, church deacon and first generation American citizen, moving as a child with his family to South Carolina from Nova Scotia, Canada.

“Just a ton of optimism,” McWilliam said of the political process.

The idea of running for Council isn’t new.

“I’m an attorney by trade, so public service has always been a part of my ambition down the road,” McWilliam said. “We put a lot of consideration into running during the last cycle. It just seemed like the time wasn’t right. We’ve made some changes and now feel like it is.”

The main issue McWilliam sees is the decision facing Fort Mill leaders on whether to be a Charlotte suburb and little more, or a town with its own unique feel and activity.

“There’s a lot of concern about the way Fort Mill is growing, and the speed at which it’s growing,” McWilliam said.

McWilliam is a sole practitioner from his Fort Mill office, specializing in family law, criminal defense, wills, trusts and estates, real estate and patents.

If any of the three candidates garner a majority of votes April 5, the April 19 runoff won’t be necessary.

“A candidate will need to get 50 percent plus one vote to be declared the winner without the need for a runoff,” said Beth Covington with the York County registration and elections office.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Three candidates file for Fort Mill council seat."