NORTH AUGUSTA - Jason Whinghter may be young and unelected, but he has a keen eye for the unexpected political opening and the quick reflexes to take advantage of it.
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Jason Whinghter, left, the ex- leader of the North Augusta GOP, and Darrell Blocker are two city council candidates.
Annette M. Drowlette/Augusta Chronicle
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In the eyes of some Aiken County Republicans, the 27-year-old North Augusta City Council candidate may be a little too quick and keen.
They point to Mr. Whinghter's deft footwork on the last filing day for the April 26 race, a day when eight-year incumbent Phil Mottel forgot to file his papers with the North Augusta Republican Party.
Instead of dialing up Mr. Mottel, a fellow Republican, with a reminder that Jan. 10 was the deadline, Mr. Whinghter stepped down as the city's party chairman and declared his own candidacy.
With Mr. Mottel out of the picture, Mr. Whinghter is a prohibitive favorite to win one of the three at-large seats up for grabs in this bastion of Republican politics.
"It's almost a sure thing for him," said city council member Arthur Shealy, one of two GOP incumbents in the race.
Democratic challenger Darrell Blocker, a barber, rounds out the field in this Louisiana-style shootout where the top three vote-getters claim the seats. Mayor Lark Jones is also up for re-election but is running unopposed.
Mr. Blocker, 42, a black businessman who ran for the council in a 2002 special election and again in 2003, knows a Democrat is an underdog in a predominantly Republican town.
"I want to be part of a winning team," he said. "They need a little diversity."
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Darrell Blocker is one of the candidates running for a spot on the North Augusta City Council. Three at-large seats on the North Augusta City Council will be up for grabs in an April 26 general election; the top three vote-getters win.
Annette M. Drowlette
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Call him quick and keen, Mr. Whinghter said, but don't say he did anything underhanded.
"At the last minute, when there was an open seat, I made my decision," said Mr. Whinghter, a member of the city's planning commission. "I wasn't withholding anything from anybody."
Maybe so, county Republicans say, but they think Mr. Whinghter should have put his responsibilities as chairman before his political ambitions.
"I serve the incumbents," said David Nix, the chairman of the county Republican Party. "I did not run as chair to run for office."
Mr. Nix said Mr. Whinghter also should have advertised the dates of the 10-day filing period in newspapers. But state law doesn't require this for municipal elections, said Stuart Bedenbaugh, the executive director of the Aiken County Board of Registration and Elections.
John Felak, who once stepped down as chairman to make an unsuccessful run for the council, says such criticism is unfair. He said he also didn't run ads publicizing the filing dates.
"Had I been in Jason's position, I'm not sure what I would have done," he said. "When I was chair, I did keep a pretty close tab on the incumbents to see if they were going to run again."
Mr. Mottel says he forgot about the deadline while busy at his Savannah River Site job. Instead of mounting a petition drive or write-in candidacy, he says he'll sit this one out and think about running again in two years, when three council seats come up for re-election.
"That's water under the bridge," said Mr. Mottel, 44. "I did miss my filing date. There were circumstances there that everybody's aware of, but I've let it go. I may not be an elected official, but I'm still a public servant."
Reach Jim Nesbitt at (706) 828-3904 or jim.nesbitt@augustachronicle.com.
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