Irmo Special Election Tuesday: Candidates, Where to Vote

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, polls will be open for voters to choose between Josh Smith and Kathy Condom to fill a vacant seat on Irmo Town Council.

The term for the vacant , will expire Nov. 30, 2013. 

Condom, who is seeking to rejoin council after in November, said in that she decided to run again after finding out Smith was the only person to apply for the seat.

Smith, an information technology consultant, is one of several residents who approached council last year about raising chickens in their backyards.  

It's because of Smith's interest in raising chickens at his home that Condom said she decided to run.

"I could not fathom someone with those opinions being on council," Condom said. 

and that there are more important issues in the town of Irmo.

“Chickens were the reason I got involved with council in the first place but there are more issues right now that are more important that need to be taken care of first," Smith said. "I’m not going to bring it up the first meeting."

Both Smith and Condom do share similar ideas about the Okra Strut Festival, a new town park, code enforcement and crime/police protection. 

Here's a look at both cadidates' stances on those issues:

New town park/Okra Strut Festival

Condom: "I don’t know about a new park but I do think we need a home or venue for the Okra Strut if we are to continue with the festival. I have not ruled out having the festival on one of our major roadways or even at Saluda Shoals Park."

Smith: “I think we should open up our existing park for more uses. It’s pretty but who uses it?  I don’t know if we’re getting the full use out of the park we have now to see why we would need another park. It’s (the new proposed park) obviously for the Okra Strut but no one will say that. If it did come to the point where we couldn’t have it at Saluda or something like that and people were set on having (another) park then it needs to pay for itself. Maybe a dog park like at Saluda Shoals. Maybe have facilities that can be rented out throughout the year.”

Code enforcement/crime & police protection

Condom: "We need stronger code enforcement and neighborhood police protection. There are 3 dangerous streets in Irmo—Finsbury in Coatesworth, Archers Lane in Archers Court, and North Royal Tower in Friarsgate. On all 3, cars are driving too fast to stop for a pedestrian. We certainly need to take care of this! With all the walking for health today, we must make our streets safe for walkers."

Smith: “We obviously have problems with code enforcement, people not keeping up with their property or the quality of the roads in some of the subdivisions. There are a lot of things with how nice we want the town to be. There’s a problem with code enforcement. The cops that are actually doing that can’t necessarily do their jobs that effectively because if they do make a case against someone who is actively doing something that’s bad for the town it’s really hard for them to actually get it into the court and have anything ever happen. Crime is potentially an issue. I know Harbison (Boulevard) isn’t technically Irmo but when we had that shooting not too long ago I think people worried about that. I think council is focused on all the wrong things.”

Polling Locations

If you live in Richland County:

• Friarsgate Park, 1712 Chadford Road, Irmo
• Dutch Fork Elementary School, 7900 Broad River Road, Irmo
• Harbison Fire Station, 131 Lake Murray Boulevard, Irmo

If you live in Lexington County: 

• Irmo Elementary School, 7401 Gibbes Street, Irmo
• St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 6952 St. Andrews Road, Columbia
• CrossRoads Middle School, 6949 St. Andrews Road, Columbia