By Al Dozier
George Frazier, a candidate for Irmo Town Council, will not be able to
seek election Nov. 7 due to a failure to meet a residency registration requirement.
When asked by The Irmo News about the disqualification, Lenice Shoemaker, director of Registration and Elections for Lexington County, said the problem was related to a moving issue. She said Frazier did not send a required address change within 30 days of an election regarding his move to a new address
Frazier did not dispute the disqualification. He told The Irmo News that he was advised that he could not run because he had not filed his new address with the election commission within the 30-day time period required. He said he moved from an address in Richland County to Lexington County, and both were in the town limits of Irmo. But he failed to register his new address before the Oct. 7 deadline.
Frazier said he will seek election at a later day.
“I will continue to serve on the Irmo Events Committee and be active in the Irmo Community,” he said.
According to a news release issued by The Town of Irmo, The Lexington County Election Commission has notified the town that Frazier is not a qualified candidate for the Town of Irmo Municipal Election.
“As Early and Absentee Voting has begun and in the interest of full disclosure, we felt it necessary to share this information,” the news release said. “The Town of Irmo is not responsible for this determination. Please contact the Lexington County Election Commission with any questions.”
Former Irmo Mayor Hardy King researched information on all of the candidates and confirmed to The Irmo News that he sent documents relating to Frazier’s address and filings to the election commission. That mailing could have prompted the election commission to disqualify him.
Frazier was one of five candidates seeking two at-large seats on council. The other candidates are Phyllis Coleman, Jeff Allen, Gabriel Penfield and incumbent Erik Sickinger. Incumbent Councilman Kelly Busch is not seeking re-election.
Irmo Mayor Barry Walker Sr. is seeking re-election for a second term and will also be on the Nov.7 ballot. Walker has served on council since 2004. He faces a challenge from Mayor Pro-tem Bill Danielson, who was elected to council in 2020.
