Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
ROCK HILL — The two most recent city councilmembers from Rock Hill’s Southside are facing off this election season — each with hopes of winning another stint representing Ward 5. Perry Sutton and Nikita Jackson have both served a term on Rock Hill City Council. Sutton enters this race as the incumbent after unseating Jackson during a 2022 election that took two ballots. Jackson received more votes than Sutton, 317 to 310, but neither candidate in the three-person race earned a 50 percent majority needed to win. Sutton then won a runoff election two weeks later with more than 60 percent of the vote. “Since being on city council, I really worked my butt off,” Sutton, a 30-year veteran of the Coast Guard and dedicated youth football coach, told The Post and Courier. “I'm still the same mindset that I had in the military, same mindset I have in coaching football, to give 110 percent every day.” Sutton’s campaign fliers look like a resume, boasting accomplishments of his first term. He’s proud of his work on affordable housing with the Housing Development Corporation, forming the York County Mental Health Coalition, advocating for restoration on the Southside including at the McGirt Auditorium, Armory Park and on the stormwater system. After four years in office, Jackson became the first Black woman to serve as chair of the York County Democratic Party. The full-time social worker also leads the statewide South Carolina Community Health Worker Association of more than 300 members. She’s seeking a seat on council again to be a transparent advocate for her constituents. “I'm willing to listen,” Jackson said. “I am someone who's willing to come to the table and compromise, so that everybody feels whole once they get up from the table. … But I'm also someone who's willing to push the hard questions.” Jackson said infrastructure in Ward 5 was her biggest motivation behind another run for office. She said the steps taken so far have been “small,” and believes major issues exist that need to be moved up on the city’s to-do list. “We're talking about all this growth and development, in order to entice and encourage new growth and development, we got to make sure the infrastructure is going to be able to withstand all the potential growth that we have,” she said. Among the greatest needs is bringing a grocery store and other amenities to Southside, so locals don’t have to commute out of their neighborhood for normal necessities. Sutton said the area has experienced more progress during his term than ever before, something he believes can continue with the city’s responsible approach. “We haven't really slowed growth, we just tried to control growth,” Sutton said. “If you come here and you want to grow, the possibilities are enormous for you, that we don't stop anybody from growth, but we just have to continue to be responsible on how we let growth happen. I think we've been very good on that.” Both candidates are lifelong Rock Hill residents with a sharp eye on the city’s evolution. They support efforts to recruit big business to town at sites like the Palmetto Research Park, but believe the city must maintain a workforce to staff the high-paying jobs and a housing supply that remains practical for people to stay here. “We talk about, ‘We want to eat, sleep, play, where we stay,’ we got to be able to afford to do that,” Jackson said. Sutton said council has worked with the local colleges and universities to prioritize job training that fits the rapidly expanding industry needs. “We don't want to have these high-paying jobs, and people coming from other places and taking the jobs home,” he said. As a retiree, Sutton said he prides himself on his accessibility to voters. When he gets a call from his constituents, Sutton said he’ll often be outside of their door before he gets off the phone, hoping to address a problem or at least hear people out. After a microburst storm caused significant damage to the Southside in the spring of 2024, Sutton said he was out the same day helping clean up fallen trees, then helped residents secure new roofs, siding, windows or whatever other repairs were needed. “It was devastating at first, but we've turned it into a blessing,” Sutton said. Jackson said she’s heard from people who feel powerless amid the city’s change. She hopes to be the outlet for their concerns while educating her colleagues on the needs of her community. “It's seven people (the mayor and city council) that makes decision about the whole entire city of Rock Hill, not one person making a decision for one particular area,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to convince all seven to start putting interest and focus on Ward 5.” Early voting began countywide on Oct. 20 and runs through Oct. 31 at four locations, including The Thread on West White Street and inside the Clinton College Library. On Election Day, residents must vote from their precinct’s assigned polling location. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
