York County candidates line up for first day of filing

Lunch hour for political candidates this time of year often means a stop not at the nearest restaurant or drive-thru window, but at the county elections office.

Candidates lined up at the Voter Registration and Elections Office in York ahead of the noon opening of filing season, hoping to be the first to put their names down for June’s primaries and ultimately November’s general election.

Wanda Hemphill, county elections director, set up a room off the building’s main entrance to handle the expected traffic, and four candidates – two incumbents and two first-time candidates – made their runs official before the end of their lunch breaks.

Doug Meyer-Cuno, president of the Rock Hill-based food seasoning company Carolina Ingredients, was first in line to sign up for York County Council District 2, where he’s competing with fellow Republican Allison Love for the Lake Wylie-area seat held by Bruce Henderson.

“I wanted to show I’m eager to run,” said Meyer-Cuno, who arrived almost 30 minutes before the state-dictated time candidates can first submit paperwork. “I always make an effort to be on time, so being early matters.”

For sheriff’s candidate Kevin Tolson, who filed alongside his wife, Beth, and his father-in-law, current Sheriff Bruce Bryant, filing was an interruption to his usual campaign activities.

“I’m glad to get this part over with,” he said. “I’ve been out in public campaigning since January, since my announcement, and this is just part of the process. Now I can get back to meeting folks.”

Anyone hoping to run for office in as a Republican or Democrat has until noon March 30 to register. Congressional candidates and hopefuls for the state’s solicitor jobs – prosecuting crimes in judicial circuits that cover multiple counties – have to file with the S.C. State Election Commission in Columbia.

State legislative and local candidates, on the other hand, must file at the county elections office.

York County Councilman Robert Winkler filed for his western York County district after making the two-block trip from his financial adviser’s office, which made it relatively easy for him to be in line early.

“A lot of the (legislative) delegation are in session in Columbia, and if you work in Fort Mill or Charlotte, it’s tough to get over here,” he said.

For York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, it was just a matter of scheduling. She made her stop by the elections office after leaving an earlier meeting in the county seat.

“I had a mandatory labor law meeting this morning in York, so this is just killing two birds with one stone.”

The two-week filing period applies only to partisan candidates seeking a party nomination in the June 14 primary. Independent candidates such as Michael Scurlock, a former Carolina Panthers player running for York County sheriff, can skip the primaries but have to collect enough signatures to earn a place on the ballot. The deadline for petitions for November’s election is July 15.

Hemphill said the first day or two are usually the busiest for candidate filings. Incumbent legislators, currently in session in Columbia, likely won’t file until they get time to return home Friday, Hemphill said. Most try to file early because “they just want to make sure people know they’re running.”

“I wouldn’t say we’ve ever had a rush at the last minute,” Hemphill said. “Usually, any latecomers are still going to file prior to that.”

By the end of the first day, former county councilman Joe Cox had also filed to challenge Winkler in District 3, and S.C. Rep. Tommy Pope of York turned in his application through his designated campaign agent.

In filing, a candidate only has to establish residency in the county and district in which he or she is running and pay a filing fee to the political party – which can go straight to the elections office, since the check is ultimately paid by the party to the state to cover the cost of operating the primary election.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 6:13 PM with the headline "York County candidates line up for first day of filing."