BEAUFORT, S.C. (Aug. 21, 2024) – Two candidates have filed to run for mayor of the City of Beaufort, and four have filed to run for two open seats on Beaufort City Council.
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The top vote-getter for mayor and the two top vote-getters for City Council will be sworn into office on Dec. 10. Mayor Phil Cromer, City Councilman Neil Lipsitz and City Councilman Mitch Mitchell have filed to run for re-election.
City Council races are non-partisan.
The mayoral candidates, in alphabetical order, are:
Phil Cromer
Phil Cromer was elected mayor of Beaufort on Dec. 12, 2023, in a Special Election.
Previously, he served two consecutive terms as a member of City Council, from 2014 to 2022. He is a graduate of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute and the Advanced MEO Institute, through the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC).
He has a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina (USC), and a joint Master’s in Public Administration from USC and the College of Charleston. He has an Associate in Risk Management from the Insurance Institute of America. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves.
Mayor Cromer’s public service career included positions as town administrator of Ridgeland and town manager of Port Royal. He was also a risk management consultant for MASC.
He and his wife, Amelie, have two married daughters and sons-in-law, and four grandchildren.
Mayor Cromer is also a docent at Beaufort History Museum, president of the Beaufort County Historical Society, and president of St. Andrew’s Society of the Lowcountry.
Josh Scallate
Josh Scallate began his first City Council term in December 2022. He is a native of Beaufort, and 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.
During his tenure on City Council, Scallate has acted as the liaison for the Beaufort History Museum and the Southern Lowcountry Regional Board. He is a graduate of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute through MASC.
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. In 2019, Councilman Scallate was nominated to sit on the 1% Committee for the Fire District.
Scallate is a real estate agent with the HomesFinder Realty Group. He and his wife, Ryan, have two children, Scarlet Rose and Jacob Walker.
City Council candidates in alphabetical order:
Julie Crenshaw
Julie Crenshaw was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Julie graduated from Elon University and has spent her time since as a Realtor, working in high end art sales, volunteering with her local EMS services, and supporting a busy household.
Several years ago, Julie and her family moved to Beaufort, where she became involved in local initiatives and programs. In 2023, Julie graduated from The Beaufort County Senior Leadership Program.
For the past several years, Julie has volunteered with the Pritchards/Little Capers Turtle Program, contributing to the conservation efforts that protect local wildlife and preserve Beaufort's natural heritage.
She is married to Lee Crenshaw, and they have four adult children.
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson was born in Anderson, South Carolina, 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. Throughout his life, he has resided in several neighborhoods in Beaufort including Mossy Oaks, Battery Point, Hundred Pines, The Point and The Old Commons.
Gibson was appointed to Beaufort’s Zoning Board of Appeals in 2015 and served as the chairman until June of 2022. Additionally, He has served as president of the Old Commons Neighborhood and also on the Municipal Planning Commission.
Neil Lipsitz
Neil Lipsitz was elected to City Council in November of 2020. He is a lifelong Beaufort resident. He graduated from Beaufort High School, and has a Bachelor of Science from USC-Coastal Carolina University, where he studied management and real estate.
Lipsitz is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Beaufort. He is a graduate of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute and the Advanced MEO Institute, through the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC).
Councilman Lipsitz represents City Council on the Lowcountry Council of Government (LOCOG) and previously served on the Southern Lowcountry Regional Board (SOLOCO).
He worked in his family’s department store – the Lipsitz Department Store in downtown Beaufort – which closed in 2009 after more than 100 years of operation. He also owned a shoe store on Bay Street, and also worked in real estate.
Before being elected to council he served on the South Carolina Board of Nursing. He and his wife, Michele, have an adult son, Adam.
Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell was elected to City Council in November of 2020.
He is a graduate of Robert Smalls High School and South Carolina State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marines Corps. Mitchell is a retired U.S. Air Force major general, retired commercial airline pilot, and a retired Federal Aviation Administration pilot check airman.
He has served as a board member for Beaufort History Museum and Penn Center. During his tenure on City Council, he partnered with community members and Beaufort County in reopening the Charles Lind Brown Community Center and the naming of its pool in honor of Alvin Settles. He is a graduate of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute and the Advanced MEO Institute, through the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC).
Councilman Mitchell is a 2021 recipient of The Museum of Flight Pathfinder Awards, a 2022 Leadership Beaufort graduate, and a South Carolina Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative Fellow.
He and his wife, Kelly, have three adult sons.
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