West Columbia Mayor Speaks out on Rejected Referendum

(WOLO) WEST COLUMBIA,S.C., — ” The elector has spoken and we’ll have to live with that and move on.” But moving on may be easier said than done. An obviously disappointed Mayor Joe Owens arrived at what was a planned victory party after the polls closed and results started rolling in for the strong mayor referendum. But that’s not exactly how things played out. “Obviously i read the people wrong and he read them right and we had a lot of people that didn’t like the way it was done.” Mayor Owens says the one of the main issue that may have struck a chord with voters were the public fights between councilman Tem Miles and the Mayor himself. Actions that may have cost him a yes vote. “People are very reluctant to change even when i personally believed and so did a lot of my supporters that change was needed. The sun will shine tomorrow and we will live to fight another day.” The unofficial results show 669 voters in favor of the Strong Mayor referendum, and more than double that against it with 1,315 voting against the change. The ballots will be officially counting for final results Wednesday morning at 9am . Stay with ABC Columbia News for updates.