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Bill Harkins is set to become Hilton Head Island’s newest Town Council member after winning a runof July 14 to fill the Ward 2 seat.
It was the first time Hilton Head’s governing body had seen a heavily contested race in more than five years.
Harkins won about 64 percent of the vote to defeat challenger Michael Marks, according to ofcial results. About 5,000 votes were cast in the ward, which encompasses most of Hilton Head Plantation and the northern tip of the island.
The race was to fill the seat vacated by Bill Mottel earlier this year. Mottel had served on the council since 1988 and was last reelected in 2005, but he resigned this year due to health reasons.
During the campaign, Harkins talked about rewriting planning rules for the town and spending tax dollars more judiciously. The two contenders in the runof came out of a feld of five in a June 30 special election. The runof campaign became more heated toward the end as some residents questioned whether Marks’ role as president and CEO of the Coastal Discovery Museum would interfere with his role representing the ward. The town and museum have a long-standing fnancial partnership where tax dollars are used for upkeep and construction projects at the museum’s Honey Horn site.
Harkins will be sworn in at 4 p.m. Aug. 4. He will fill out Mottel’s term, which ends in November 2010.
