A tourism town faced an election consumed by tourism issues. So one would think with so many people in the tourism industry in Myrtle Beach, they would surely make time to vote on Election Day.
It was dubbed one of the more important local elections in recent memory -- the Myrtle Beach mayoral and city council races.
With so many hot button issues that have mounted since the last election cycle, the 2009 election promised to be interesting, if nothing else.
From the controversial biker ordinances to new sales taxes and countless people who were strongly in favor of the incumbents or strongly in favor of their opponents, voters were going to line up and make their voices heard.
Whether they were going to arrive at polling locations on November 3rd and illustrate their satisfaction with how things have been by voting the incumbents to another term or illustrate their dissatisfaction by voting for change, the point was they were going to vote.
Yet, for many, the turnout was a let down, and business owners are now wondering, where were the voters?
About 56 percent of the roughly 25,000 residents in Myrtle Beach are registered to vote. 38 percent of registered voters turned out and voted in the mayoral election and 36 percent of registered voters voted in the city council election.
"I would hope for a little more being this is probably one of the more important races in a while, and this one is much more important than it was four years ago," said Chris Perry, owner of Sign World in Myrtle Beach.
Many Myrtle Beach business owners say, like never before, they pushed their employees to vote in 2009.
Hooks Calabash Seafood Buffet in Myrtle Beach employs any where from 20 to 75 people, depending on the time of year, and we're told many live in the city.
The number of them who voted?
"Probably none," said Ricky West, Manager at Hooks.
Lindsay Rees falls in that category. She admits the election will have an impact on her, yet she still failed to cast a vote.
"I don't have a good reason, I just didn't go out and vote. I should have. I think maybe young people don't realize the effect that it has, and people that aren't in our business don't realize the effect that it has," said Rees, an employee at Bummz Beach Café and Bar.
Michelle Bellaiche does realize the significance of her vote and made sure she cast it.
"I think it was an important one. I think Myrtle Beach has definitely felt the effects of our tourism going down," said Bellaiche, a retail employee on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.
Many business owners don't live in the city. So while they have a business in Myrtle Beach, in a crucial way they don't have a voice because they don't have a vote.
"There's not a whole lot you can do," admits West. "You just have to deal with whatever you're dealt."
"I guess getting involved at the local level is one way (to make your voice heard). Also, if I feel there's candidates that I may support one way or another, you know, a little bit more, I'll support them," said Chris Perry.
On the other end of the spectrum, a general manager of a restaurant that employees 80 to 250 people - depending on the time of year - told NewsChannel 15 that most of them don't live in the city.
But he's convinced about 90 percent would have voted if they could have. Though, based on the numbers, they would have been in minority.
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