Why Florence Will Have a Democrat as Mayor.... And Who You Can Blame It On.

Senator Leatherman, Receiving an Award for Screwing Up the Local GOP?

I forgot a story that I had come down the pike, until I saw Will Folks blog about the 3% state budget cut. I've been out of the loop here in Florence for the last few months, but i'm catching up...

We're all familiar with the race for mayor here in Flotown, where Stephen Wukela beat incumbent Frank Willis by a single vote, and how Willis lost his appeal in state court last week. Wukela still has to beat former mayor Rocky Pearce, who shuck in as an independent candidate via write-in. What's missing from this whole scenario? Oh yeah..... A REPUBLICAN candidate !!

I was out of town when all the candidates began announcing for office, so I didn't know if anyone was interested in the Mayor's job at the time. I didn't think there was, but apparently there was, and he got talked out of it - by Senator Hugh Leatherman.

From a very credible source, I was told that local businessman Ben Zeigler, who has an excellent reputation, was going to run for Mayor, but Leatherman, who promised Willis that he wouldn't help anyone run against him, went to Zeigler and talked him out of it. Now Wukela surprised Willis, and the GOP has no one to run against an obviously split Florence Democratic Party. In short, this race was tailor-made for a GOP win, but Leatherman had to play kingmaker, and the city will likely pay for it.

As you know, I don't try to talk people out of running if they want, especially if no one else is running. You may not win, but I can guarantee one thing - if no one is on the ballot, you will lose. Leatherman has long had a reputation for putting his own interests above those of his party, and this solidifies it some. If this is true, he should hang his head in shame, and apologize to the Florence County GOP for wrecking a golden opportunity.

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