The mayor-elect of a South Carolina municipality asked to be sworn in several months early, defying an ordinance.
Bill Mitchell, the freshly elected mayor of Chapin, marched into Chapin Town Hall on Friday and demanded to be sworn in, according to WIS. The move occurred almost three months early, according to a town rule that states newly elected candidates “shall assume office at the first regularly scheduled meeting in February following their election.”
“We are moving forward with this, and nothing will stop us,” Mitchell was recorded stating on a WIS camera.
Michell, who was elected on Tuesday, November 4, gained the contest following the death of the incumbent, Al Koon. Koon died two weeks before Election Day, causing Mitchell to declare the seat vacant and urgently required to be filled.
According to WIS, Town Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Gregg White has been carrying out Koon’s mayoral duties since his death.
“If the office is vacated, state law requires an elected official to take over after 48 hours,” Mitchell stated in a WIS video clip.
The State was unable to find any state statutes that supported Mitchell’s claim. Furthermore, the town’s code of regulations does not address what occurs when an incumbent dies, although it does specify when an elected official is allowed to enter office.
