ABBEVILLE, S.C. — Five months after a special election decided by 12 votes, the same two Calhoun Falls residents are back on the Abbeville County Council District 2 ballot, this time for a full four-year term, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Council member LaSean Tutt, a Democrat, won the seat in the June 16 special election with 137 votes to 125 for Republican Robbie McCaslan, roughly 52% to 48%. Only about 260 ballots were cast, an 11.9% turnout. The seat had come open when former council member Christine Long had to give it up after moving out of the district.
Tutt filed for the full term on March 30 and McCaslan on March 27, according to state candidate filings. Her move to the county board also left an open at-large seat on the Calhoun Falls Town Council, which has its own special election on the ballot.
Tutt spent about two years on that town council and has chaired the town’s planning commission and zoning board. She also founded the nonprofit Dreams with Open Arms, which she has run for 14 years, and holds an MBA. Her platform centers on luring responsible investment and helping small businesses, fixing roads and water and sewer lines through long-range capital planning and outside grants, careful budgeting, cleaning up blighted property through steady code enforcement, and more mentoring and job training for young people.
She describes District 2 as still feeling the loss of its mills and factories, which she said has cut into jobs, population and property upkeep, while crediting residents and volunteers for their staying power.
McCaslan, a Calhoun Falls native, has been a volunteer firefighter for more than two decades and served as a member and as chairman of the Calhoun Falls Charter School board. He said the district has lost too much industry and tourism and struggles for money as a result. His top goal is getting more funding to Calhoun Falls, with emergency services first in line, and he said he wants the district to be able to stand on its own again.
In the June race, Tutt carried the Calhoun Falls precinct 52-48, while McCaslan won the Lebanon precinct 19-3.
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