Formal Hearing To Be Held For Protest Over Lake City Mayor Race Results

Lake City officials said last week that there would be no runoff election citing an ordinance that states the candidate with the most votes win.

The Florence County Election Commission is set to host a formal hearing over the results of Lake City’s mayoral race.

The move comes after an official protest was filed by current mayor Yamekia Robinson. The protest comes after the election in which LaRue Alford was declared the winner after receiving 41% of the vote. Robinson received around 30%, and candidate Michael Nero gained 28%.

Lake City officials said last week that there would be no runoff election citing an ordinance that states the candidate with the most votes win. However, a special meeting was held Tuesday after Robinson challenged the election results requesting review of the ordinances. She claims a subsection appears to require a runoff election if no candidate secures a majority.

After the brief meeting, officials voted to go into executive session to receive legal advice on the matter. The formal hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10am.