Sumter's Ward 1, which covers areas north of Broad Street, down Main Street to Morris College and other areas of the city, now has representation after being without its own council person for a while now.
Councilman Anthony Gibson was sworn into the Ward 1 seat on Sumter City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 29, along with councilmen Calvin K. Hastie Sr. and Colin C. Davis, whose ceremonies were postponed until Gibson's could take place, but the two have been serving on council since they won their seats.
Gibson won his seat in November 2022 after the former longtime council member retired.
He earned the most votes in the original election and secured 65% of the vote in a runoff election to become the new representative of Ward 1. However, candidate Reginald "Reggie" Evans, who earned 6.21% of the vote, filed appeals protesting the election results soon after, saying the election was not properly administered.
All appeals were denied unanimously, first at the Sumter County Election Commission, then at the South Carolina Election Commission and at the Third Judicial Circuit.
Evans then filed an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, and it was denied in early June.
Then Evans filed another petition against the state supreme court's decision on June 8, and it was denied on Aug. 10, according to court records.
This whole process was costly for the city.
City manager Deron McCormick said the city has consistently spent about $11,000 each election from the last five years, but because of all the legal fees entailed in this recent Ward 1 election, the city spent approximately twice that.
"I'm excited that we can go ahead and move forward and I can start serving our community," Gibson told The Sumter Item. "I'm super excited for closure here."
During the appeal process, Gibson still attended council meetings, but as a resident, something that Mayor David Merchant appreciated, and Gibson said he tried to do all he could for Ward 1 residents without serving in the councilman capacity quite yet.
"Constituents in Ward 1 would reach out and give me their concerns, and I would always relay the message to city council and the city manager to try to help out as much as I can," he said. "I couldn't do much, but now that it's over, we're going to try and make up for the time that we lost."
The ceremony celebrating all three new councilmen took place at the Sumter Opera House. Family, friends and local officials were present and prayers were sprinkled throughout the program, leaving the three councilmen looking ready to serve their community.
Merchant said he is excited to have a full team again.
The first council meeting where Gibson will be in his seat should be on the first Tuesday in September at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Sumter Opera House.
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