BLYTHEWOOD – Five Blythewood residents have filed as candidates for a vacancy on the Blythewood Town Council in a special election to be held Feb. 27, 2024.
The five are: Patricia Hovis, Erica Page, Raymond Poore, Calvin Smith and Marcus Taylor.
The special election is being held to fill the council seat left vacant after Councilman Sloan Giffin was elected mayor in the town’s Nov. 7 election.
Patricia Hovis
Patricia Hovis lives in Ashley Oaks neighborhood and has lived in Blythewood for six years. She is employed as a mortgage loan officer. She is married to Roger Hovis and they have one daughter.
Hovis submitted the following comment to The Voice about her candidacy.
“I am running again to accomplish my original goal of being elected as a member of Blythewood Town Council. I came within a few dozen votes of winning in the November election, and I am committed to earning those votes again.
“I am an advocate for transparency in local government and to working with new leadership in a productive and professional manner.
“This is an exciting time for Blythewood as we focus on road improvements, addressing citizen concerns about crime, and representing the voice of the people of as we shepherd in new economic development.”
Erica Page
Page has lived in Cobblestone Park in Blythewood for eight years.
As Vice President of a local mortgage lending company and having served on the Town of Blythewood Planning Commission for five years, Page says she is uniquely positioned to understand the inner workings of Blythewood’s local government as well as the Town’s economic and community development projects.
For the past three years, she has organized the popular Movies in the Park at Doko Park, a free, family-friendly event.
“Crowds were sparce when we first began showing the movies, but by this year, the crowds have grown. The movie goers bring their dogs, they picnic before and during the movie, and a handful of families now come in their pajamas and watch the move from the comfort of queen-size blow up beds,” Page said.
Running on a platform of “For Our Families and Our Future,” Page is married to John Page, who is a realtor, and they have two young daughters who attend Blythewood schools.
But Page says it’s not just families that are on her list of concerns. The town’s businesses are also on her list.
“We can better serve our town’s businesses by seeking their input, better understanding their needs, and by growing our town the right way.
“Not all business owners are residents of the town; but their existence and partnership with the town gives us another means to serve our community. We need to include them in our decision-making, assist them in marketing their services as part of our town, and provide consistent communications about local opportunities for all of our businesses,” Page said.
“Blythewood has so much to offer our residents, visitors, and businesses. My commitment to the voters is that I will work with all of them to shape the future of Blythewood and to maintain our exceptional quality of life.
“And, very importantly, I will work to ensure that there is transparency and open communication for all in our community,” Page said. “I look forward to this opportunity. and to working with our new council and mayor for the benefit of Blythewood.”
Raymond Poore
Raymond Poore lives in Ashley Oaks neighborhood and has lived in Blythewood for 10 years. He works for the SC Department of Education in the office of student transportation. He and his wife have two adult children.
Poore told The Voice that he is running for office because he is concerned about all the change going on in Blythewood.
“I’d like to see it approached cautiously and thoughtfully,” he said. “I think that as we’re looking at change, we need to prepare for the future and capture what the unforeseen changes are, and determine where we need to go as a town. I’ve been to a couple of town council meetings, but I’m really busy when the meetings occur so I try to catch them at a later time online. It’s not a lack of desire to attend the meetings, but a lack of time.”
As for current issues, he says he is particularly concerned about the Scout project and future growth.
“I think we need to keep an eye on it. I’m also interested to see where the new council is going. I feel the the MPA thing has gone on long enough, and we need to put it behind us. I think the settlement option is absolutely a good idea,” Poore said.
Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith lives in Cobblestone Park and has lived in Blythewood for 34 years. He is a retired sales manager for Reliable Power Products. He and his wife are parents to three adult children (and one deceased daughter), 10 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
“I am running for office because I want to support the new mayor in his effort toward transparency and to represent all the people and instead of the old clique. It’s important that we do our best for a consolidated growth plan for the city so that it represents all the people.
“As for some of the issues that are facing council right now, I’m glad we’re getting to the end of this petty lawsuit. It was a vanity thing. I’m glad we got past that. I’m looking forward to achieving some of the goals that are important to the citizens of Blythewood. I want to contribute to the goals that the new mayor has set.”
Smith said he has not run for office in the town government, but did run unsuccessfully for a seat on the board of Fairfield Electric Coop three years ago.
Marcus Taylor
Marcus Taylor lives in the Dawson’s Pond neighborhood and serves on the planning commission. Taylor did not respond to phone calls for information about his candidacy. That information will be included in The Voice at a later date.
