Democrats are on track to control Charleston County Council after chairman Joe Boykin loses his seat

Charleston County Council is headed for a change in control, according to unofficial results from the Nov. 3 election.

In District 8, which includes Johns Island, Democrat Charles Glover beat Republican Joe Boykin, the council’s chairman, 11,837 votes to 11,358, or 49.8% to 47.8%, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. Green Party candidate Brian Cooke had 560 votes.

In District 9, an open seat held by Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt, who ran for Congress, Democrat Jaxie Ferguson beat Republican Adam Friend 13,136 to 12,100, or 52% to 47.9%.

Republican Herb Sass held District 1 in East Cooper, beating Democrat Katie Miller 53% to 46.9%. Republican Larry Kobrovsky in District 2 and Democrat Teddie Pryor in District 5 had no opponents.

The council has had a 5-4 Republican majority since the 2022 election, The Post and Courier reported in March. In January, the five Republicans elected Boykin chairman over the four Democrats’ choice, the Charleston City Paper reported.

Four members’ seats were not on this year’s ballot; their terms run through 2028, according to the county’s website. They are Republican Brantley Moody and Democrats Kylon Middleton, Rob Wehrman and Henry Darby, according to the City Paper’s account of the January vote. Adding them to the unofficial results would give Democrats six of the nine seats.

The new majority would take charge as the county prepares to carry out the half-cent transportation sales tax extension voters approved Nov. 3, a program worth up to $4.25 billion for roads, transit and the Greenbelt land preservation program.

Greenbelt requests are already lining up. The council’s Finance Committee approved $10 million for the Open Space Institute Land Trust to protect the 2,364-acre Avocet Tract in Adams Run, WCSC-TV reported Nov. 5. Chris Dubuque, the county’s deputy director of Greenbelt programs, told the station it would be the largest Greenbelt project funded to date if the full council approves.

Kobrovsky, the council’s vice chairman, praised Boykin’s work as chairman and said he looks forward to working with the newcomers.

“I look forward to the new dynamics, and I look forward to working with everybody on council to preserve everything we love about this county,” he told the City Paper.

The results remain unofficial until they are certified.