BLYTHEWOOD – Seven candidates have filed to run for office in Blythewood’s Nov. 3 municipal elections. Filing closed at 5 p.m., Sept. 2.
Mayor J. Michael Ross, who is seeking a second term, is unopposed for the office of Mayor. If there are no write-in candidates registered with Town Hall by Sept. 16, Ross will not have to face the ballot box on election day. If that is the case, Town Clerk Melissa Cowan said, Ross’s name will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Three Town Council seats are open and all have multiple candidates. The four-year terms currently held by Councilman Eddie Baughman and Councilman Bob Mangone are being sought by Baughman, a resident of Lake Ashley; Bryan Franklin, a resident of Ashley Oaks, Malcolm Gordge, also a resident of Ashley Oaks, and Robert Rue Sr., a resident of Abney Hills neighborhood. Mangone did not file for re-election.
Two residents, Larry G. Griffin of Langford Road and Michelle Kiedrowski of Cobblestone Park, have filed to run for the final two years of former Councilman Bob Massa’s four-year term. Massa resigned in June.
Residents wishing to be listed on the ballot as write-in candidates must submit their intention in writing to the Town Clerk.
Only residents of the Town who are registered by Oct. 3 are eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 election. To register, contact Richland County Board of Voter Registration at 803-576-2240 or go to www.richlandonline.com. For more information, call Town Clerk Melissa Coward at Town Hal, 754-0501.
