RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, April 5 to cast their votes for two seats on Ridgeway Town Council and the office of mayor.
Three candidates are running for two council seats and two candidates are running for mayor.
Former council member Robert Hartman, current council member Dan Martin and Rick Johnson who ran for council in 2018 will be vying for the two open seats on council. Former Ridgeway mayor and current councilman Rufus Jones will be running for mayor against current mayor Heath Cookendorfer.
Both council seats and the mayor’s seat are for four year terms.
Heath Cookendorfer 
Jones
Hartman 
Johnson 
Martin
Jones, who is retired, is a lifelong resident of Ridgeway and has served the community in myriad town government and civic capacities over the years including being a founding member and serving on the steering committee of Pig on the Ridge.
Cookendorfer, who moved to Ridgeway in 2005, is running for a second term. He said he has been trying to bring a spray park to the town park and still hopes to do that.
Hartman is an attorney and has practiced law in Ridgeway for 26 years. He has served two terms on town council and currently serves as the Ridgeway Zoning Administrator. He is a member of the 6th Circuit Public Defenders Board and is a member of Aim Well Presbyterian church in Ridgeway.
Johnson is retired from law enforcement and once hosted the Deputy Billy TV show. He is currently employed part time at the Richland County Sheriff’s office. Johnson said public safety is his main interest in running for Ridgeway town council.
Martin is currently completing his first term on Ridgeway Town Council. He operates a window washing company in Ridgeway and he and his wife operate three shops in Ridgeway and one in Winnsboro.
See ads at blythewoodonline.com to learn more about some of the candidates.
The election will be held at the Ridgeway Fire Station, 350 U. S. Hwy 21 S. Those desiring to vote in the election must be registered and live within the Ridgeway town limits.
This is a nonpartisan election and no party affiliation will be placed on the ballot.
The polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. The process of examining return-addressed absentee envelopes will begin on April 5, 2022, at the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections Office at 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro.
On Friday, April 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Election Committee will hold a hearing at 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro to determine the validity of ballots challenged in this election.
