Beaufort goes to the polls. Who prevailed? | Beaufort County News

BEAUFORT – Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer didn't wear his trademark bow tie as he mingled with his supporters while awaiting election results at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club. The mood was relaxed, but Cromer seemed worried.

Cromer battled first-time councilor Josh Scallate for the ward's top elected seat in one of the few actual contests in this year's general election.

“It was a little controversial,” Cromer said.

As it turned out, Cromer needn't have been so worried. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results indicate he defeated Scallate by receiving 57 percent of the 5,419 votes cast.

Reflecting on the win, Cromer said: “We still have a lot of work to do and we need to work together. That's the crucial thing. That’s what I want to do.”

After less than a year in office, Cromer was forced back into the campaign ahead of the Nov. 5 election after Scallate announced his intention to challenge Cromer for the township's top job. It was a competition he had hoped to avoid.

Cromer served on the City Council from 2014 to 2022 and ran for mayor in a December 2023 special election necessitated by the sudden and unexpected resignation of then-Mayor Stephen Murray three months earlier.

At the time of his resignation, Murray appeared exhausted by the less civilized aspects of a life lived in the public eye. Murray, who was elected mayor in 2020, had about a year left of his four-year term when he resigned.

Explaining his decision to resign in a two-and-a-half-page letter released to the public, he said: “I am tired of the daily barrage of rude and discourteous people accusing me of impropriety without a shred of evidence.”

Following Murray's early departure, Cromer said his intention was to lower the temperature in the community, a goal he said he had achieved during his 11 months in office.

“I believe I have succeeded in creating a more civil and constructive dialogue that will benefit all of Beaufort,” Cromer wrote on his campaign website.

He ran against Mike Sutton to replace Murry and ran a campaign focused on historic preservation, expanding affordable housing, improving fiscal responsibility and growing economic opportunities in the region.

“Our tourism industry, closely tied to Beaufort’s historic significance, serves as the cornerstone of our local economy,” Cromer wrote in a social media post at the time. “It’s not just about attracting visitors; It’s about preserving our heritage and culture.”

When the votes were counted, Cromer defeated Sutton by a wide margin, receiving 65 percent of the vote. Shortly after his 2023 victory, Cromer told The Post and Courier that he planned to run for a full term in the November 2024 election.

Scallate is a newcomer to the City Council and was elected in 2022 when he was the second-highest voter among five participants vying for two City Council seats. It was his first run for public office.

During his run for mayor, Scallate tried to reach out to young families in the city who he said were underrepresented.

“I tried to focus my campaign on representing our youth and some of our young families while preserving our historic character. I don't think we succeeded very well. “We haven’t found that balance,” Scallate told The Post and Courier.

Since Scallate is not up for re-election this year, he will retain his position on the council.

Five candidates ran for the two available seats on the City Council. Incumbents Mitch Mitchell and Neil Lipsitz were joined by challengers Julie Crenshaw and Josh Gibson. Incumbents Mitchell and Lipsitz edged out challengers and were the top vote-getters, according to the county's unofficial results as of 10:35 p.m

The county's vote is scheduled to be certified at 9 a.m. Nov. 8 at the Beaufort office of the Beaufort County Board of Voters Registration and Elections.