Election Central

Check out the latest local election news!
Go to our exclusive Voter Guide »

View precinct results maps and voter turnout for Upstate races »

OCONEE COUNTY — Filing for Oconee County school board candidates ended Friday with two of the three races contested and the District 5 race a three-way split.

At the close, Buddy G. Herring, Terry Schiazza and Seth Chea all had qualified to run for the District 5 seat being vacated by current Board of Trustees Chairman Harry Mays, Jr. Mays represented his district for 26 years.

Herring, 68, of Fair Play, has a long history of involvement in education. He retired in 2003 after nearly 40 years service and is the last elected superintendent in South Carolina.

Schiazza, 51, of Beacon Ridge Drive, is a business development specialist with Square D in Seneca and has lived in Oconee County since 1986. He and his wife, Teresa, have two daughters, one in Seneca High School and the other in Ravenel Elementary.

Chea, 38, is senior vice president of One Tone Telecom, Inc., in Seneca. A Seneca High School graduate, he and his wife, Kelley, a first-grade teacher at Orchard Park Elementary School in Westminster, have two children attending Ravenel Elementary School.

He has served as president of the school’s improvement committee and as vice-president of the Parents, Teachers Organization.

Incumbent District 4 trustee Denise McCormick, a customer service and marketing manager with Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, qualified to seek a second term representing the greater Westminster area and does not face a challenger.

District 3 incumbent Ken Poston qualified to seek a third term representing the Walhalla area but faces a challenge from Rosemary Bailes. The challenger is the wife of former mayor Lamar Bailes and herself a veteran of more than 30 years in the field of education, including district administration.

In the Keowee Key fire district, Bob Bowles and J. Robert Malone qualified for the two seats up for election on the fire district board of commissioners. The commission oversees the fire department of the special tax district and sets a millage rate for fire protection.

School board and fire district candidates will be on the November general election ballot.