Head to the Polls on Tuesday

Mount Pleasant heads to the polls Tuesday to fill four seats on its town council.

The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. There are in Mount Pleasant. , read about ID requirements.

Patch will have of Tuesday's election. Follow our and up-to-the-minute poll returns. for reminders of our updates. As always, we'll have updates on Twitter and Facebook as big news happens.

Nine candidates are on the ballot competing for four seats. No matter what happens, at least one new councilman will be seated behind the dais in January. Councilman Paul Gawrych opted not to seek a new term.

Nick Collins, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall and Kenneth Glasson will seek re-election. Joe Bustos, George Freeman, William "Tate" Mikell, Chris Nickels, Chris O'Neal and Mark Smith also will seek seats on the council.

Read profiles of all the candidates.

No central issue in this election divided candidates or really brought one man or woman to the top of the pack.

All candidates agree that tighter budgeting will be necessary as Mount Pleasant approaches lean years. Many candidates predict flat or slightly reduced revenue from property taxes as home values have faltered in recent years.

On top of that, the town needs to fully fund its retiree healthcare plan and its capital maintenance budget. Those are big-ticket items, and funding those expenses will be contentious.