Jake Evans, the mayor elect of Atlantic Beach, is waiting to be sworn in, and will have to wait longer after a brief election commission meeting and a cancelled town council meeting Monday.
Monday was also the last day candidates could appeal results from a the May 22nd election with the 15th Judicial Circuit.
Evans won the mayor's race by a wide margin.
Both outgoing mayor Retha Pierce, and councilwoman Windy Price who were running for mayor filed appeals. The two received a total of five votes in the May 22nd election.
The town's election commission held a brief meeting Monday. When we arrived at the meeting, just a few minutes after it was scheduled to start, the leaders of the election commission were already walking out the door.
We asked the commissioners what had happened, they said they weren't talking to the media.
The agenda was very vague and those at the meeting said that the members spent most of the meeting behind closed doors in executive session.
Evans was at the meeting, and said he thought they were meeting to discuss also appealing the election results.
Governor Nikki Haley mandated the May 22nd re-do election after the town's election commission overturned the mayoral and town council results from a November election, and never set a new date.
A town council meeting was also scheduled for Monday night, but with no agenda, no one showed up so it was cancelled.
Evans says there's a lot to be done with the fiscal year starting July first.
"There are several issues that need to be taken care of and like I promised before, before we take seats there needs to be some type of FBI investigation or some type of investigation into the finances of the town. There has been a smooth transition when there is a turnover like this and I don't know what I am walking into and I hope we get some kind of cooperation before we get some investigation done before we are actually back in the town hall," he said.
He adds among changes, the new administration would change the election commission.
"Very unorganized. I'm not surprised by this election commission. They are being coached by someone else, they have no clue of what they are doing themselves," he said.
Evans said the town attorney and town manager decide the sworn in date and a special meeting would probably be called for the official swearing in.
The next scheduled Atlantic Beach meeting is June 18th.
