Charleston’s Longest Serving Mayor Faces Challenger

Author and local historian David A. Farrow has announced his candidacy for mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.  A former columnist for the Charleston Post and Courier, Farrow will challenge nine-term Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., the city’s longest-serving mayor in next year‘s non-partisan election. 

Farrow, whose 1997 novel The Root of All Evil became a regional best-seller, plans to make Riley’s longevity in office a major campaign issue. 

“I saw that Mr. Riley was running for a 10th term, because his vision had not been realized,” wrote the colorful and irreverent journalist on his blog shortly after jumping into the race early last week.  “My thought is that if you don’t have your vision fulfilled in 36 years, you either don’t have clear concept of what you want to accomplish, or your aspirations are grandiose.”

In declaring his candidacy, the 58-year-old Farrow said that he will seek an independent audit of the city’s finances dating back to 1976, when Riley first took office. Though he’s still developing his platform, the long-shot candidate said that if elected he will only serve one term and will ask the Charleston city council to approve a referendum limiting the mayor to two six-year terms. 

Farrow also said that he would accept only half of the mayor’s salary, donating the rest to children’s literacy programs. 

An expert in urban planning and design who once served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Riley was first elected mayor in 1975 at the age of 32.  A Democrat, he was re-elected to an unprecedented ninth term with a staggering 64 percent of the vote in 2007 and is heavily favored to win a tenth consecutive term next year. 

Regarded as one of the country’s most dynamic and visionary mayors and a steadfast supporter of the arts, the coastal city’s longtime mayor was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama at a White House ceremony earlier this year — one of a dozen recipients, including singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, to receive the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence.