WINNSBORO – A candidate forum featuring candidates running for the Dist. 3 seat on the Town of Winnsboro Council will be held on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Christ Central Community Center in Winnsboro.
The special called election will be held on Sept. 30, 2025. The open seat was vacated after Councilman Demetrius Chatman was elected mayor last April. Candidates who have filed for the seat are: Russell M. Brown, Trista Davis, and Kimberly Uphold.
Russell (Russ) M. Brown grew up in Forest Hills, and after college lived in Ridgeway several years before moving to Winnsboro where he has lived with his family the last 11 years. He served on the Ridgeway Town Council, the Ridgeway Board of Architectural Review, and serves as deacon, and on the finance and scholarship committees for Sion Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro. He has volunteered as a youth coach for the Fairfield Co. Rec Commission for the last 15 years. Brown holds a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Science and Management from Clemson University.
Trista Davis has lived in Winnsboro for 50 years and has served on the First Steps; volunteers for the American Red Cross and the Boys and Girls Clubs; and is president of the Love Never Fails organization. She holds a degree in early childhood education from Midlands Technical College.
Kimberly Uphold, a native of Pennsylvania, has lived in Winnsboro for three years. She has served on the Washington Student Achievement Council, Legislative Committee, as the Reading Area Community College-5K Run Coordinator, and as PA Financial Aid Training Chair on the Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Uphold holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Community Service and Economic Leadership and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, both from Alvernia University.
The forum will provide candidates the opportunity to talk about their candidacies. Each candidate will be introduced, and will have two minutes to answer each question. Time keeper is former Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce official Susan Yenner. Each candidate will be given time for a closing statement at the end of the forum.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the forum will begin at 7 p.m. Emcee will be former Town of Winnsboro Mayor Dr. Roger Gaddy. Members of the audience will be able to submit questions to be answered by the candidates. Cards and pens will be available for submitting questions.
For more information about the forum, call 803-767-5711.
