Charleston, South Carolina — Two of the Charleston City Council’s longest-serving members were soundly ousted in Tuesday night’s municipal elections, shaking up the council.
Unofficial results show that Robert M. Mitchell of District 4 and William Dudley Gregorie of District 6 lost their reelection attempts by double-digit percentage percentages on Election Day.
Mitchell was initially elected to the City Council in 1998, representing District 2, before being voted to District 4 in November 2002. Aaron Polkey, CEO of the Palmetto Project, challenged him on Tuesday. The charity leader received 61% of the vote against Mitchell’s 36%, ending the incumbent’s bid for an eighth term.
Polkey expresses gratitude for the trust of District 4 voters and is honored to continue in Mitchell’s footsteps.
“Well, I was just overwhelmingly grateful to the residents of District Four for putting trust in me and confidence in me,” Polkey told the audience. “I’m also grateful to my predecessor, Robert Mitchell. He has been in government for 24 years and was a pillar of the community long before that. It is my aim and intention to follow in his footsteps and commemorate his service moving forward.”
Polkey also stated that respecting Mitchell’s legacy will be one of his first responsibilities as councilman.
“My top priority is to make sure that Councilmember Mitchell is properly honored,” he told reporters. “I think we should consider naming the flood mitigation station on Huger Street after him. And we should consider ways to recognize him as the city builds 3,500 units of affordable housing in recognition of his decades of effort in that area.”
Polkey says his primary focus areas will be housing affordability and flood prevention, both of which he sees as significant issues for Charleston’s future.
“Charleston’s obviously built on marshland, and flooding is going to be a fact of life with sea level rise and with ground sink,” he informed us. “But we need to get ahead of it and do our best. I believe people are searching for new ideas on that front.”
Polkey also pledged to be an accessible and responsive representative for District 4 constituents.
“If you reach out to me on social media, DM me, message me, email me, text me directly—I’ll respond to you directly and as quickly as possible,” he told reporters. “But you also, hopefully, will respect an honest broker when it comes to the conversations that we have both inside our work in City Council and in the community.”
Gregorie was elected to represent District 6 in February 2009 and served as Mayor Pro Tempore in 2013. His 2025 rival was Ben D’Allesandro, the owner and manager of D’Allesandro’s Pizza. D’Allesandro won with 59% of the vote, while Gregorie received 40%.
Councilman Mike Seekings ran unopposed in District 8, and incumbent Councilmen Kevin Shealy and Stephen Bowden were reelected in Districts 2 and 10, respectively. District 12 Councilwoman Caroline Parker did not seek reelection, and newcomer Leslie Skardon won the seat decisively.
“It’s natural for voters to want change,” Polkey said, commenting on the outcome. “And that’s what happened last night.”
