BLYTHEWOOD – A second Richland County Council member who represents Blythewood lost her re-election bid Tuesday night by more than 1,000 votes.
Blythewood 29016 resident Gretchen Barron, with 1,726 votes (72.40 percent) handily defeated District 7 Councilwoman Gwendolyn Kennedy who had 658 votes (27.60 percent)
District 9 Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson, who represented another section of Blythewood for 12 years, lost to Blythewood town resident Derrek Pugh in the primary on June 9.
It will be the first time that Blythewood will have two residents on Richland County Council.
Barron swept the precincts in the runoff, including Kennedy’s neighborhood precinct.
Barron finished second to Kennedy in the June 9 primary and won by an almost three-to-one margin in the runoff.
District 9 incumbent Councilman ‘Chip’ Jackson, who represents parts of LongCreek Plantation and areas in southeastern Blythewood 29016, defeated challenger Jonnieka Farr to return to his seat for a second term. Jackson, who took 1,095 votes (53.86 percent), won the tight race over Farr who had 938 votes (46.14 percent.)
“I want to thank all the voters and supporters who believed the work I started 3-1/2 years ago was worth continuing. I promise,” Jackson told The Voice Tuesday night, “to do my best to continue representing all of you with professionalism and integrity in my next term.”
Neither Barron nor Jackson will face opponents in November.
