Meet the candidates running for Berkeley County council

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Voters in Berkeley County will have to decide between multiple candidates in county council races.

Incumbent candidates are facing a challenger in both the District 4 and 8 races. Each tells News 2 they have their own unique vision of where Berkeley County needs to head in the future.

Republican Tommy Newell is running for his third term, representing District 4 on the county council.

“Look forward to continuing the hard work for the past eight years that my colleagues and I have been doing,” said Councilman Tommy Newell (R) Berkeley County District 4 incumbent.

Newell said he still has some work to do.

“Responsible growth, management infrastructure, most of all public safety,” he said.

His opponent is Democratic candidate Tony Sims. “I’m a critical care nurse. I’ve been at Trident Hospital for about eight years now,” said Sims.

Sims said serving patients during COVID made him decide to get into politics.

“The taxpayers are paying money and they’re calling 911 but they’re not guaranteed a paramedic, a trained paramedic, with the EMT there. Now that’s an essential service and our administration is not getting out to the public,” he said.

Democratic Councilman Steve Davis represents District 8. “I’ve been on county council for 20 years I’ve been married for 40 years,” the incumbent said.

He believes his experience is needed on the council.

“I need another four years because I’ll tell you, it’s like Ronald Reagan said, with maturity and age comes a lot of wisdom. With all the growth and all the complexity that are occurring in Berkeley County, I think Berkeley County tremendously benefited from me having another four years on council.”

His opponent is Republican Billy Conyers. “I live in Cordesville, South Carolina. My wife and I have a little real estate business,” the district 8 challenger said.

Conyers believes the rural areas of the county are being left behind.

“What I want to do is bring tax revenue Berkeley County is taking in and bring it to the rural communities,” he said.