Update: Voters to elect 3 seats for Hilton Head council in Nov. ahead of US 278 changes

In 2025 and beyond, the U.S. 278 Corridor project will be the number one issue facing residents, visitors and workers on Hilton Head Island. In fewer than 60 days, voters will elect three town council representatives, possibly shifting the tenor of the island’s leadership. The corridor project will replace four bridges between Bluffton and Hilton Head with one six-lane bridge, a change large enough to create over seven years of debate among island residents, Beaufort county and the town itself.

The upcoming election in November will bring at least two new faces to the Hilton Head town council that will lead residents through this change. Before the filing deadline came and went in mid-August, seven candidates filed to fill positions for Wards 1, 3 and 6. Alex Brown currently serves as the Ward 1 representative and is the only candidate seeking reelection.

Many residents argue that a bigger bridge would disrupt quality of life for the people living there, especially those living in the Big Stoney Historic Gullah Neighborhood, along with the island’s character. Others believe the project would address long commute times for the growing number of workers on the island and improve emergency evacuation preparation.

A series of town council votes in June delivered a 5-2 vote in favor of the project, giving the go-ahead for the South Carolina Department of Transportation to seek a Finding of No Significant Impact from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Based on an August transportation sales tax update , the project will cost approximately $487.6 million.

South Carolina State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said about $300 million of that funding was secured between Beaufort County, the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank and the South Carolina Department of Transportation. The remainder of the funding, over $180 million, could be partially secured by the upcoming penny sales tax that is up for a vote in November’s election. At best, Davis said, about $80 million could come from that sales tax. The remainder of the funding gap would need to come from additional funds from the SCDOT, the infrastructure bank, the state general fund or federal appropriation, Davis said.

Since the municipal consent was not granted until the end of June, Davis said, request for proposal will not be issued until 2026 at the earliest. Construction is estimated to be complete by December 2030 according to the tax update.

Seven candidate seek three seats

Voters will also have the chance to choose from a diverse candidate pool in the upcoming election. Candidates for Hilton Head town council represent a wide range of personalities and professions, from an archaeologist to a spa director.

Ward 1

The sole incumbent running in this years’ election is Ward 1’s Alex Brown. He represents the area between Squire Pope Road south to Union Cemetery Road.

• Alex Brown

Alex Brown has served as the Ward 1 town council member since he was elected in 2020. He sits as chair of the finance committee and serves as the liaison between the island recreation center and the Town of Hilton Head. He also serves on the board for the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation and serves on the IW Wilborn Scholarship Committee and the Northpoint Public-Private Partnership Housing Advisory Committee.

Brown is a fifth-generation native islander of Gullah descent, vice-president of operations at Camp Hilton Head, and co-founder of the One Island One Community Annual 4th of July Picnic. Brown previously served as the boys’ varsity basketball coach at Hilton Head High School and the youth leader at Central Oak Missionary Baptist Church.

• Daniel Anthony

Daniel Anthony has lived on the island for 40 years and is the owner of Absolute Builders, a company that specializes in single-family home renovations. He is the president of the Jarvis Creek Subdivision POA and co-founder and president of the Jonesville Preservation Society, which he says was instrumental in the town acquiring the Driftwood Stables property. Anthony was a volunteer coach with the Hilton Head Baseball Association for seven years and has assisted with coaching the Hilton Head Middle and High School wrestling teams.

Ward 3

In March, Mayor Pro-tem and Ward 3 Hilton Head Town Council Member David Ames confirmed that he would not be running for re-election come November . The newly-elected official will serve the mid-island area, including south of Broad Creek to Coligny Beach.

• Steve DeSimone

Steve DeSimone previously served on the Hilton Head Island town council from 1995 to 2002. He moved to Hilton Head in 1986 to work as an assistant engineer with the town government, which was newly-organized at the time. He currently serves on the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals and is a member of Holy Family Catholic Church. He volunteered as a volleyball coach at Hilton Head Christian Academy for ten years.

• Amy Fee

Amy Fee currently serves as a board member for the Forest Beach Owners Association and for the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals. She is a member of the Hilton Head Audubon Society and a steward of the Little Free Libraries. She volunteered with the Holy Family Church Food distribution program and served as a board member for Second Helping, a local food re-distribution organization. Before moving to Hilton Head, she served as a vice president and business development director at Morgan Stanley in New York. She also has 20 years of experience working in the hospitality industry.

Ward 6

Glenn Stanford currently serves as the Ward 6 representative on the Town Council, but he will not be running for re-election. Three candidates hope to fill his spot. The newly-elected official will serve north island.

• Paige Cope

Paige Cope is a six-generation Lowcountry native. She graduated from Thomas Heyward Academy in Ridgeland and Trident Technical College in Charleston. Cope has worked in the spa industry for the majority of her career throughout the Lowcountry, and has worked as the director at the Omni Hotel’s spa on Hilton Head for the past nine years.

• Rex Garniewicz

Rex Garniewicz has served as the president and CEO of the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head since 2014 and sits on the Hilton Head Plantation Board of Directors. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Indiana. Before moving to the island, he served as the vice president of science and technology at the Indiana State Museum and the deputy director at the San Diego Museum of Man where his combined interests in the environment and fiscal responsibility emerged.

• Melinda Tunner

Melinda Tunner has more than 30 years of experience working in finance for Allstate Insurance as a corporate officer and controller. When she moved to Hilton Head ten years ago, she served as a poll manager and clerk for the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections on the north end of the island. She advocated for a local precinct in her community, Palmetto Hall, and served as the treasurer and president of the Palmetto Hall Owners Association Board. Tunner is a member of St. Andrew by the Sea and volunteers as a mentor with the international women’s empowerment group “Women Within.”

This story has been clarified to reflect new information from the August Transportation Sales Tax (TST3) Update .