BEAUFORT, S.C. (Aug. 25, 2022) – Five candidates have filed to run for two seats on Beaufort City Council.
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The two top vote-getters will be sworn into office on Dec. 13. Mayor Pro Tem Mike McFee has filed to run for re-election. City Councilman Phil Cromer is not running.
City Council races are non-partisan.
The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:
Michael J.D. Andersen: Andersen, 29, is from Fairfax, Va. He was born into a military family. He graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va. He attended the U.S. Air Force Academy for two years before returning to Virginia to earn a bachelor’s in economics from American University. Andersen and his fiancé relocated to Beaufort in 2020 to start a family and to be closer to relatives in the area. He is pursuing an MBA with the goal of becoming a certified public accountant.
Andersen currently advises on business management practices, bookkeeping, and payroll. He previously worked in county government, as a communications director for an energy-focused nonprofit, as an associate fellow in the Stand Together Foundation, and as a staffer for the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also worked with the Department of Defense and members of Congress on sexual assault reforms within the military. He has worked in the private sector, most recently with OC Welch Ford as a service manager.
Josh Gibson: Gibson, 52, was born in Anderson, S.C., and raised in Beaufort beginning in 1972 when his parents moved here. He graduated from Beaufort Academy in 1988 and went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri. He began his career as a staff photographer in Birmingham, Ala., at Southern Living Magazine before he started his freelance career and returned to Beaufort in 1999.
Gibson was appointed to Beaufort’s Zoning Board of Appeals in 2015 and served as the chairman until June of this year. He has also recently served as president of the Old Commons Neighborhood Association.
Wilma Holman: Holman, 75, was born in Durham, N.C., and moved to Beaufort with her family in 1996. She attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., from 1965-1970 and earned an associate’s degree in business from the Technical College of the Lowcountry.
Holman retired from IBM Corp. as a customer support representative. She previously worked in the Winston-Salem, N.C., school system and the Beaufort County School District as an administrative secretary.
Holman owned H & H Comprotax Beaufort, a tax preparation company that started in 2006 and closed in 2021. She has also worked with the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce for 19 years, focusing on housing issues and financial literacy. Holman is a notary republic.
Holman attended Senior Leadership of Beaufort in 2007, and has served on the boards of Thumbs-Up and the Beaufort Orchestra. She has volunteered with Born to Read and other reading programs at the local elementary schools. She attends New Hope Christian Church, where she is superintendent of Sunday School.
Mike McFee: McFee, 63, was first elected to City Council in November of 2008 and was re-elected in 2012, 2016 and in a special election in 2021 to return to council. He has been the Mayor Pro-Tem since 2014.
A Beaufort native, McFee graduated from Beaufort High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and business from the University of South Carolina. He has been a real estate broker with HomeTown Realty for 30 years.
He previously served on the City's Tourism Management Advisory Commission and the City's Waterway Commission. He is chairman of the board for Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort, and trustee with Carteret Street United Methodist Church. He is the past chairman of the board for the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Beaufort Jasper County Realtors Association, past chair of the University of South Carolina Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, and past chair of the Palmetto Chapter American Red Cross.
Josh Scallate: Scallate, 31, is a native of Beaufort. He graduated from Beaufort High School in 2009. He graduated from the South Carolina Fire Academy in 2012, and completed the EMT program at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in 2013.
Scallate is a lieutenant with the Lady’s Island St. Helena Fire District, where he has worked since 2013. In 2018, he was named Firefighter of the Year. He has completed 1,200 hours of continuing education during his tenure at the Fire District.
Scallate is a member of the 1% Committee for the Fire District, which determines expenditures from the 1% tax the district receives. He is a frequent volunteer at local schools, where he teaches students about public safety.
He and his wife, Ryan, have two children.