Rock Hill region candidate filing is underway. There’s already a mayoral race
Candidate filing is underway for positions across the Rock Hill region, including more than half a dozen mayoral seats and dozens of council positions.
The highest-profile races are the mayoral spots in Rock Hill and Tega Cay, along with council seats in Rock Hill and Fort Mill. Filing opened Aug. 6 for those positions, and will end Sept. 5. Most of the municipal elections across the region will take place on Nov. 4.
By mid-day Wednesday, one of the top races already had multiple candidates. Tega Cay Mayor Chris Gray and city Councilwoman Carmen Miller both filed to run for mayor. By Monday morning, Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys and York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey both filed to run for mayor of Rock Hill.
County level seats are the only local races where candidates file by party, while cities and towns use a nonpartisan format. Apart from one Chester County Council special election on Sept. 30, there aren’t any county council decisions on the ballot this year.
Here’s a look at the offices on the ballot, filing information and a list of candidates. Check back often for updated candidate lists.
York County ballots
All nine York County cities and towns will hold elections Nov. 4 and have candidate filing through Sept. 5.
Rock Hill will elect a mayor and three city council members. Wards 4, 5 and 6 are on the ballot. Fort Mill will have Wards 1 and 3, plus an at-large seat up for election on its town council. Tega Cay will vote for a mayor and two at-large city council seats.
York will have Wards 1, 5 and 6 city council seats on the ballot. Clover will have three at-large town council seats.
Hickory Grove, McConnells, Sharon and Smyrna each have a mayor and four town council seats on their respective ballots.
Lancaster County ballots
Municipal election filing in Lancaster County started Aug. 1 and ends Aug. 14. The election date is Nov. 4.
Lancaster City Council elections include Districts 3, 4 and 6. Heath Springs and Van Wyck each have their mayor and two at-large council seats on the ballot. Kershaw will vote for Districts 3, 4 and an at-large town council seat.
Lancaster County also will have a countywide referendum question related to roads.
One question will ask if the county can charge a new 1% sales and use tax, for up to 10 years, to fund $253 million of road improvements. The second question, contingent on the first passing, asks if the county can issue up to $100 million of bonds to be paid from that sales tax, to get a head start on road work rather than waiting for the tax money to collect.
Chester County ballots
Richburg, Lowrys and Fort Lawn hold their municipal elections Nov. 4. Candidate filing for those offices starts Sept. 5 and ends Sept. 15.
Chester held its municipal elections in May. Heyward Boyd Sr., Terry Foster, Dennis Jackson and Robbie King won city council seats from a pool of 11 candidates.
Great Falls, which usually holds elections in even years, had a special election in April after former Mayor Josh Brantley resigned. Keevi Worthy won a five-way race to become mayor. In July, Jodi Knight won another special election for a town council seat.
Great Falls has a referendum on Aug. 26 asking voters if the town should change its form of government from a council to a mayor-council setup. That move would give the mayor additional responsibilities in governing the town.
Chester County Council has a special election on Sept. 30 for its Dist. 2 seat. The only candidate listed in that race is Republican Roy Brunson.
A look at the candidates
The following listing is current as of 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25. Names will be added as people file.
| Municipality | Office | Candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Rock Hill | Mayor | John Gettys |
| Rock Hill | Mayor | William Bump Roddey |
| Rock Hill | City Council Ward 4 | John Black |
| Rock Hill | City Council Ward 5 | Perry Sutton |
| Rock Hill | City Council Ward 6 | Nate Mallard |
| Fort Mill | Town Council Ward 1 | Allen Garrison |
| Fort Mill | Town Council Ward 3 | Ben Hudgins |
| Fort Mill | Town Council | Chris Wolfe |
| Tega Cay | Mayor | Chris Gray |
| Tega Cay | Mayor | Carmen Miller |
| Tega Cay | Mayor | John Tukker |
| Tega Cay | City Council | Thomas Hyslip |
| Tega Cay | City Council | Heather Jones |
| Tega Cay | City Council | Thomas Rackley |
| York | City Council Dist. 1 | Matthew Hickey |
| York | City Council Dist. 6 | Kellie Wine Harrold |
| Clover | Town Council | Jeremy Brashears |
| Clover | Town Council | Rorie Brooks |
| Clover | Town Council | Teresa Hurst |
| Clover | Town Council | Jeffrey Kidd |
| Clover | Town Council | Darnella Lindsay |
| Clover | Town Council | Melissa Mason |
| Clover | Town Council | Ian Moyer |
| Clover | Town Council | Stephen Widener |
| Lancaster | City Council Dist. 3 | Jackie Harris |
| Lancaster | City Council Dist. 4 | Ashante Miller |
| Lancaster | City Council Dist. 6 | Ronnie Sowell |
| Kershaw | Town Council Dist. 3 | Jody Connell |
| Kershaw | Town Council Dist. 3 | Tommy Northern |
| Kershaw | Town Council Dist. 4 | Harvey Truesdale |
| Kershaw | Town Council | Mike Davis |
| Kershaw | Town Council | Wendy Duncan |
| Kershaw | Town Council | Jeremy Murphy |
| Kershaw | Town Council | Danny Williams |
| Heath Springs | Mayor | Eddie Moore |
| Heath Springs | Town Council | Peggy Bowers |
| Heath Springs | Town Council | Steve Drakeford |
| Heath Springs | Town Council | Lendia Johnson |
| Heath Springs | Town Council | Deborah Truesdale |
| Van Wyck | Mayor | Sean Corcoran |
| Van Wyck | Mayor | Donnie Hicks |
| Van Wyck | Mayor | Kyle Starnes |
| Van Wyck | Mayor | Mike Waterbury |
| Van Wyck | Town Council | Laura Clark |
| Van Wyck | Town Council | Justin Milasauskas |
| Van Wyck | Town Council | Tia Sargent |
| Van Wyck | Town Council | Erica Smith |
| Van Wyck | Town Council | Mike Waterbury |
| Richburg | Town Council | Helen Williams |
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM.
