Three Beaufort men are competing for two seats on City Council and, barring a write-in campaign, the mayor will run unopposed.
Candidates for the Nov. 6 election had to file statements of intent and financial interest by noon Wednesday to be included on the ballot. Incumbent Billy Keyserling was the only person filing to run for mayor. Councilmen Mike McFee and George O'Kelley will compete with newcomer Pete Palmer for two seats in the nonpartisan race.
City Council has five members -- a mayor and four council members, all elected at-large.
The council candidates are:
He is a past chairman of the board of the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce and past president of the Beaufort Realtors Association. He also has volunteered for United Way and the American Red Cross and is on the board of directors for Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort.
"I would like to further the projects under way, as far as getting the form-based code in place and continuing to create incentives that would create more business and more infill development," he said.
He said he wants another term to work on issues such as Boundary Street project, keeping lanes from being narrowed on Ribaut Road and keeping "unneeded" roads from being built in neighborhoods.
"I just feel like I should have another term to make sure we are headed in the right direction."
He has been on the boards of both the Wardle Family YMCA and Historic Beaufort Foundation, which he chaired. He and his wife Susan have four children and three grandchildren. Palmer wants to improve city government transparency so residents can get involved before council members make decisions.
"I think the process is a little opaque, a little hard even for the motivated person to know what's going on so they can participate in a timely fashion," he said.
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