SPRINGFIELD - Politics continue to take a strange turn in Springfield, where one council member is mounting a write-in challenge against a colleague for mayor; and, the former mayor, just weeks after his surprise resignation, is seeking a council seat in the Nov. 6 nonpartisan municipal election.

Mayor Pro Tem Marilyn Owens McCormick, who became acting mayor the end of September, was the only candidate to file for mayor.

Although McCormick's name will be the only name on the ballot, Town Councilman Dickie Phillips, who did not seek re-election to his council seat, did file as a write-in candidate for mayor.

Phillips says he fully intended to run for mayor all along and missed the filing deadline by mistake.

"I got back late from Texas, and I thought they closed at 7 and they closed at 6," he said. "They were not in the town hall, so I decided to run as a write-in."

McCormick says only that "I filled out my paperwork." Otherwise, she offers "no comment" to the write-in challenge.

David "Rusty" Fogle, the former mayor, resigned after almost four years in office to be a candidate for the board of directors of Jefferson Davis Academy in Blackville. However, after failing to win the school board seat, Fogle filed as one of five candidates seeking the four seats on council.

In addition to Fogle, the other candidates for council are incumbent Councilwoman Hattie Wood and former council member John W. Baxley and former council candidates, Lydia Lackey and Eddie Lee. Incumbent James N. Watkins did not seek re-election to a two-year term.

All of the council candidates have a long history in local politics.

In a special 2005 election to fill Sam Carter's vacant council seat, Phillips defeated Lackey, a three-time council candidate who also ran for mayor in 2001. Carter defeated Lee in a special 2004 election to fill another vacant council seat. Baxley served on council for about four years before resigning in 1992.

Springfield has 409 registered voters, of whom 245 are white, 156 are black and eight are designated "other." The population is 504.

Marilyn Owens McCormick

Running on her four years of experience on council, including more than a month as acting mayor, McCormick says she cares for the people in town.

Asked about her goals for the town, if she's elected mayor, McCormick says she'll "have to think about that." What she does want, she says, is to finish up some of the projects that have already been started. Such projects include the high school restoration and a trail walk in town.

As for the daily operations of the town, McCormick says it's important to have the input of the citizens.

"It's their town," she said. "Right now, things are going real well."

When the betterment of the town is concerned, McCormick says, "business is business."

"Everybody knows everybody, and everybody seems to care," she said. "They just need to participate."

A native of Springfield and a high school graduate, McCormick is the head teller at Enterprise Bank.

Dickie Phillips

A council member and former mayor, Phillips says he's running on his experience, both in town government and as a businessman.

"I have 12 years experience as mayor and four years on council. With a budget the size of Springfield and the grants it gets, my experience in business would be of service," he said. "The town is a business."

Phillips notes that he and his wife have been active in promoting the growth of business in town by restoring "all of the businesses on Main Street except for three." That effort, he says, has brought in five or six new businesses.

"I'd like to see Springfield revitalized and a place where people want to come," he said.

Although often on the outs with Fogle over town issues, Phillips says that's not part of his campaign. They don't really have differences, he says, but they "just didn't always agree."

"I don't plan to go there," he said. "The people of Springfield know us both, and they have a right to vote their choices. I'll just have to work harder to get them to write my name in."

A native of Springfield, Phillips attended the University of South Carolina and numerous communications courses. He is retired from the communications business.

Hattie Wood

The only incumbent running for council, Wood says she's running on her record of experience in seeking her third two-year term.

And, the retired teacher says she has the same platform.

"I'm running for the senior citizens -- for them to have a voice," she said.

A native of Springfield, Wood has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Allen University, and she's done further studies at South Carolina State University.

John Baxley

Although he resigned mid term in 1992, because "I couldn't get along with everybody," Baxley says that, if elected, "I'm sticking with it this time. I guarantee it if I get in." He also ran once for mayor.

His main concern, Baxley says, is that "I just think we are spending too much money. We need to pull the purse strings a little tighter."

Of particular concern, he says, is the $250,000 a year the town gets from "the police writing tickets. That is morally and ethically wrong to write tickets to people coming through town." While in favor of law and order, he says, tickets should be given for people speeding 55 miles an hour through town. What he is opposed to is for patrol cars parked out behind bushes trying to catch people. The police department should be "citizen friendly," not "stalk people for money" and not "be run as a source of revenue."

"The police do what the mayor says do," said Baxley, who favors a strong council form of government. "This town during the last administration let the mayor run the town. It should be council says what it wants and the mayor follows through."

Another complaint is that "water bills are getting too high. I want Springfield to come back down to earth a little bit and operate with the money we have."

Calling for open government, Baxley said, "I want to see the town government be totally transparent. They will not let the public know what's going on. We should publish a newsletter every month ... We've got a town administrator, and they won't say what he earns ... We should not hire people to give them a job, but hire them to do a job."

Baxley acknowledges that he's ruffled the feathers of many in town with his public complaints over the chiming of church bells. That's because he favors separation of government and religion, and is not a reason he's seeking a council seat.

"I think I'm the most qualified individual running for council," he said. "I've been in town longer than most of them."

Born seven miles out of town, Baxley has spent most of his life in Springfield. He attended the University of South Carolina for two years and is "almost retired" but still doing some aerial photography.

David "Rusty" Fogle

With his time freed up, Fogle says he decided to run for council to support McCormick.

"We've got a good candidate for mayor now, the mayor pro tem, and I support her 100 percent," he said. "I've worked with her the last three years. Being in politics, you can't make everybody happy, but she's done a great job. We've got money in the bank. I'd love to see the mayor win it. She has a lot of drive and energy, and she cares about what's going on in town."

And, taking a jab at Phillips, Fogle notes that McCormick is in town all of the time. He also says that Phillips told him he wouldn't come to council "as long as I was mayor."

"You've got people running for office who haven't been to a council meeting in a year and a half," he said. My comment is, if you've been on council and you're running for an office and you haven't been to a meeting in over a year and a half, you don't need it ... Springfield needs somebody who will be here and have plenty of energy ... She'll be at the meetings and make good judgements."

From his own experience as mayor, Fogle says he knows what it's like to "take a over a town that's got debt. People say the administration spent too much money; but the people can judge what they want to. For years we couldn't afford stuff, and now we've got money and were able to replace aging equipment. It's not just that I like to spend taxpayers' money. We won't have to spend money for a long time."

McCormick, Fogle says, is "very cautious" about how town money is spent.

"Me, not being in town every day, I trusted her to make decisions," he said. "The reason I got back into it is that there are projects not completed."

Fogle sites the gymnasium, the town walking trail and an administration building, all paid for by the county's penny sales tax, plus some grants.

"You can't spend money you don't have. Orangeburg County has been a little slow getting out of the gate," he said. "But, we're moving in that direction."

Lydia Lackey

A fixture in local politics for a number of years, Lackey says she's been an active supporter of former Mayor Rusty Fogle and involved in politics and local affairs.

"There are no particular issues. I just want to be on council," she said. "The town is doing really well."

She says she doesn't have comments on any new plans, since "I really don't know any in's and out's." But, as someone who has always attended the council meetings, Lackey says she listens.

A native of Hawaii, Lackey has lived in Springfield since 1989. She is a high school graduate. After running a local florist, she has retired.

Eddie Lee

After making a previous run for office, Lee says he's ready to try again.

"There's not a lot to say about it right now," he said. "One particular thing I'd like to work on is to work with the police department, mainly. Small towns have small police departments."

However, Lee stresses that the police department is not his only issue.

"Whatever council wants to do and the citizens," he says, is what's important to him.

Lee is a native of Springfield and a high school graduate. He is a game warden with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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