Candidates in the March 4 Clinton City Council Municipal Elections are: District 1 - Danny Cook (incumbent), Sonya Adams; District 3 - Robbie Neal (i), Dyanna Vaughn, Natalie Cogsdill; District 5 - Ronnie Roth (i), Danny Smith.
Note: David Coleman has withdrawn from the Town of Cross Hill council election.
The Chronicle posed these questions, sent to candidates’ e-mail addresses, which they were asked to provide on their filing form:
1 Give us some background about yourself - Job, Education, Immediate Family, How long have you lived in Clinton (100 words maximum)
2 What is your Number 1 priority for your time on the Clinton City Council? (100 words maximum)
3 Clinton has many vacant commercial buildings. What can the city do to become more small-business friendly? (100 words maximum)
4 The Clinton Recreation Complex on Highway 56 is nearly an opening date, with baseball/softball fields under lights and multi-purpose fields. What else would you like to see there? (100 words maximum)
5 What steps can and should the City of Clinton take to lower the cost to consumers of electricity? (100 words maximum)
These are the answers, in the order that we received them via e-mail.
DYANNA VAUGHN, District 3 candidate
1) I have worked at Manufacturing jobs such as Wal-Mart Distribution and Clinton Mills. And I recently retired from Whitten Center.
I am a graduate of Laurens County Lifelong Learning.
I have been married to my husband William (Wormy) for 42 years. We have 4 sons and 12 grandchildren.
I have lived in Clinton my entire life.
2) My #1 priority is to see this city become a city of pride again.
To see it grow and prosper with better industry and more businesses.
To see it become more affordable, safer and beautiful for all of us.
3) Show the business owners just how friendly and great we are as a community. Let them know this is where they want to be.
Hire friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Advertise the name, location and products they sell.
And give the buildings a classy look all while keeping small town charm.
4) Add bowling, arcades, and skating just to name a few.
Maybe a stage with seats where we can have concerts.
Also an area for special needs kids.
5) First, work with the consumer. Find out why the bill is so high. Check meters, toilets and for water leaks.
Next, Waive the late fees. In fact, give them extra time to pay their bill.
Make sure the elderly and disabled have proper insulation in their homes and all cracks are sealed to cut down on costs. This will help in the summer and winter.
ROBBIE NEAL, District 3 candidate and incumbent
1) I was born and reared in a business family in the area known as the Gateway to Economic Development, the Triangle Area of North Carolina. I graduated from Winston-Salem, North Carolina’s Forsyth Magnet High School in 1981. I adore all four of my grandchildren and my three sons. I was recruited by Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital in 2011 after working for twelve years as an environmental specialist in a hospital in North Carolina wth professional certifications and trainings. I’ve been an official Clintonian for fourteen years.
2) My top focus on City Council is economic development. I have a thorough understanding of economic development thanks to my work and my involvement in my family’s business. I’ve been able to combine my experiences and knowledge with Clinton’s extensive textile industry background. Since I was elected to City Council eight years ago, I have supported the construction of the Sports Complex, new housing, and a number of other significant projects as a member of the Clinton Economic Developemnt Committee. I’ve always prioritized economic development and small enterprises and will continue to do so if reelected.
3) By concentrating on the sports facility and new housing, we have already estanlished the groundwork for small business, while District 56 and PC continue to offer outstanding educational prospects. My family, Clinton Mills’ history, and the Triangle region of North Carolina taught me that if you create safe housing for families, spaces for children to play, and high-quality educational opportunities, business will follow. As long as we maintain these high-quality, safe areas, more people are moving to Clinton. I see Clinton as the Upstate of South Carolina’s Gateway to Economic Development.
4) Additionally, there will be walking trails, a soccer field, a playground, and a splash park. In addition to hosting college and K-12 graduations, I believe we may offer facilities to hold regional and/or national little league baseball games. We may also hold regional, state, and national Rotary events, as well as school and family reunions while yet making a positive impact on economic development.
5) Economic development is the foundation of everything I do. The loss of Clinton Mills and other textile enterprises from Clinton’s heydey has left us still in the process of recuperating. The commercial sector during the City of Clinton’s boom is the basis for current utility tariffs. Although our rates have skyrocketed since we are unable to exit the outdated contracts, we are still bringing new business to the City of Clinton. Additioanl people will live in the city as we attract additional industry, which will allow the current rates to be shared by a larger population, thereby decreasing rates for citizens in the process.
DANNY COOK District 1 candidate and incumbent
City Council Election Questions 2025 – Clinton Chronicle
1. Background Information on myself:
I have been married for forty-four years to Hunt Cook. We have four married sons and eight grandchildren. I am a member of First Presbyterian Church where I serve as an Elder, Church Treasurer and Chair of the Christian Education Committee. Currently, I represent Ward 1 on City Council at present. I am a very proud graduate of Presbyterian College and serve as an Adjunct Professor in the Business Department. I retired as CEO and CFO from banking after forty-two years of working for two great institutions.
2. What is your Number 1 priority for your time on the Clinton City Council?
We need to develop a Strategic Plan for our city that we can follow for the next few years. We must have planned and intentional growth for employment opportunities and quality of life for all of our citizens. We are beginning to see housing developments in our city and some industrial growth, but we need more. However, quantity is not always the best solution. We need a skilled labor force to be able to attract the jobs here so appropriate education is also very critical.
3. Clinton has many vacant commercial buildings. What can the city do to become more small-business friendly?
I would agree with the number of vacancies, but we need to make sure the buildings can be renovated for their best use and that the businesses which occupy the buildings will provide value for our own citizens as well as guests visiting our city. The businesses need to be sustainable and inviting so that our citizens will shop locally. We as a city need to meet with our current retail as well as future retail and work together to improve and grow strong. A good strategic plan that is done well can help us tremendously with recruitment.
4. The Clinton Recreation Complex on Highway 56 is nearing an opening date, with baseball/softball fields under lights and multi-purpose fields. What else would you like to see there?
Our council’s recreation committee, as well as council, need to work closely with the YMCA to develp and enhance our total city recreation program. We should evaluate and use the remaining property wisely considering any land or other limitations that may be present. The opportunity to continue to improve our quality of life for all citizens and for those who may visit, should be a top priority. We need to consider options that may bring more travel teams to our complex and outside opportunities for economic growth in addition to more revenue through hospitality and accomodations tax.
5. What steps can and should the City of Clinton take to lower the cost to consumers of electricity?
This is not an easy question to answer in one hundred words or less. While none of us likes to pay high electrical costs, we have to work with what our situation is at this time. City Council is taking steps right now with PMPA to help us stabilize rates for the near future by selling some of our excess capacity. When the decision was made in 1980 to do what the city did, it was a good decision considering what was known and what was happening in our city then. Things are very different today.
Adding customers to our service area will not necessarily reduce our rates, but we will have the chance to spread what we are having to purchase from PMPA to more users.
DANNY SMITH
District 5 candidate
Give us some background about yourself - Job, Education, Immediate Family, How long have you lived in Clinton (100 words maximum)
1 My wife Ashley and I moved to Clinton in 2007 with our then four-year-old son, Jack, and two-year-old daughter, Stella. We initially came to work at Thornwell. We loved our years there and I’m still involved in their family skills group and a teen grief and loss group. Currently, we work together as a real estate team, and I’m also a technical writer. Jack (21) is finishing his last semester at Lander, and Stella (19) is a sophomore at Anderson. I have a BA in Professional Writing and an MS in Management and Leadership.
2 What is your Number 1 priority for your time on the Clinton City Council? (100 words maximum)
There are a lot of things I’d love to help improve, but revitalizing and bringing business to downtown Clinton is my top priority. What’s stopping us from becoming the most business-friendly small town in South Carolina? We’re in a prime location in the Upstate, where people want to move, and many who grew up here want a reason to stay. When someone makes an investment in our town, they deserve our support. We need to do everything we can to support our local small businesses and proactively attract more businesses to join us.
3 Clinton has many vacant commercial buildings. What can the city do to become more small-business friendly? (100 words maximum)
These old buildings are a challenge, but also a huge opportunity. I’ve seen this firsthand as we recently completed a partial renovation and opened a real estate office at 200 South Broad street. But businesses build off each other. If a small BBQ joint draws people in, another entrepreneur starts thinking about opening their gift shop nearby. Someone sees that and says maybe a sandwich shop would be successful around here. We need to do everything we can to remove barriers, offer incentives, and find the people who are ready to invest in our town.
4 The Clinton Recreation Complex on Highway 56 is nearly an opening date, with baseball/softball fields under lights and multi-purpose fields. What else would you like to see there? (100 words maximum)
I’m really excited about the Clinton Recreation Complex — it can be a game-changer for our city. Let’s take the momentum and captive audience we’ll have there and turn it into something special: walking and bike trails, cookout pavilions, a ridiculously large splash pad, frisbee golf, food trucks, and a stage or amphitheater for live music. How great would it be to use sports revenue to create a true gathering spot for everyone?
5 What steps can and should the City of Clinton take to lower the cost to consumers of electricity? (100 words maximum)
This is a huge problem. We have people call all the time saying they’re looking for a house outside Clinton city limits because of our reputation for high utilities. Clinton had around $8m in a Rate Stabilization Fund designated to keep our future rates stable and, over several years, spent around $5m of that on other expenses. Then people started asking where the money went and they had to hire an independent auditor to figure out how they spent it. Surely we can do better than this. We need to rebuild this fund and attract housing and businesses to lighten everyone’s load.
Danny Smith,
REALTOR®
