Two appeals from candidates who lost May's special election in Atlantic Beach was not heard Monday, as it was originally expected to.
Another case took precedent Monday morning in Horry County Circuit Court. Judge J. Derham Cole oversaw the scheduling.
The Atlantic Beach hearing may be held later in the week. No official new date was scheduled, but court officials said they would be in touch with the parties.
Windy Price and Retha Pierce filed appeals on June 4th, 10 days after an election hearing.
Back in late June, Circuit Court Judge Gary Hill issued a continuance for an election appeal that's kept three Atlantic Beach town candidates out of office.
The candidates who won, Jake Evans, Josephine Isom and Charlene Taylor, are still waiting to take office, while the losing candidates, current Mayor Retha Pierce and Councilwoman Windy Price, run the town.
"I don't think that it was a legal election," Pierce said at the time.
The May election date was set by Governor Nikki Haley. Haley ordered the new election because the town's election commission failed to set a new date after it threw out last November's election results.
Price appealed, saying the town's election commission set May 8th as the new election date.
NewsChannel 15 asked the town's election commission numerous times between November and March if it planned to set an election, and the commission never informed us about that date or publicly announced it to our knowledge.
The first time the commission mentioned May 8th was in March when Governor Haley set the May 22nd date.
In court Monday, Pierce and Price asked for the continuance of their appeals of the May 22nd election - saying they didn't have enough time to prepare. Judge Hill granted the continuance.
Mayor Pierce is representing herself in the appeal.
Price is being represented by attorney Christy Varnado.
Evans, who won the mayor's seat in both the original November 2011 election and the May 22nd one ordered by the governor, is waiting to be sworn in until the appeal process is over.
