Mauldin's Mayor, Three City Council Members to Seek Re-Election

Mauldin’s incumbent Mayor Don Godbey and three incumbent members of the City Council will seek re-election in the fall. Godbey, Bob Cook, James Kennedy and Michael Reynolds filed their election papers today or are expected to do so shortly.

Multiple sources have indicated that former Council Member and current Executive Director of the Mauldin Miracle League Dennis Raines is considering a challenge to Godbey.

Godbey said he is looking to build on the growth that has occurred in Mauldin during his tenure.

“We have had a lot of success in the last four years,” Godbey said. “We’re at the bridge to taking things to the next level.”

Among those successes, according to Godbey, are the commitment that has been made to the improvement of the Mauldin Cultural Center, the expanding of public services with the construction of a fourth fire station, with a fifth to come, and the planned enhancement to Route 276. “We want to continue making these types of improvements with public-private partnerships,” he said.

Should all the incumbents be re-elected and complete their terms, they current council and mayor will have served together for six consecutive years. “When you’re talking about economic development and job creation, that kind of continuity is important,” Godbey said.

All candidates are non-partisan, meaning they can align themselves with a party but are not required to. The lack of partisanship was one of the factors that prompted Reynolds to run again. Reynolds’ full-time profession is in real estate and construction, two industries that are scuffling, along with much of the rest of the economy. He wasn’t sure if he should devote more time to that, but ultimately decided to pursue a second term, having been elected in 2008.

The fact that all council members are at-large was another factor that made Reynolds’ service rewarding. “I really have enjoyed representing all of Mauldin instead of just one particular neighborhood,” he said.

Reynolds echoed many of the same projects as Godbey in terms of successes. “We’ve done a lot of positive things and I want to continue to help the city improve,” he said.