Though the discourse was spirited, the four Swansea mayoral candidates who debated on Oct. 12 agreed on more than a few things.

Among them was the fact that four people running for the office and the town having a debate to judge candidates for political office were both historical, and perhaps unprecedented.

The town, which often sees hopefuls for mayor and town council run unopposed, will choose a replacement for its top elected official on Nov. 2. The previous mayor, Jerald Sanders, was removed in July as a result of being indicted for misconduct in office and From siphoning more than $4,500 may from town coffers to his personal charity.

Mayor Pro-Tempore Woodrow Davis, currently serving as acting mayor, is not seeking the office.

The Lexington County Chronicle and Fish Wrapper held the first and only debate between all four people vying for the job, with publisher Parks Rodgers and myself moderating. Some questions came from the Chronicle staff, but most were submitted by the audience, a full house of more than 50 at the Swansea Freshman Academy cafeteria.

The town — which has a population of less than 1,000, per 2019 U.S. Census estimates — faces a variety of issues. It is months late in passing a budget. Council members have accused Sanders of shutting out dissenting voices from meetings. The downtown is dominated by empty storefronts and some crumbling buildings.

With their opening statements, the candidates each sought to establish their credibility.

As he would throughout the night, Ray Spires sought to shine a positive light on the previous 17-year stint he served as mayor. His tenure saw two investigations from the State Law Enforcement Division, but no convictions.

“There were some ups and downs,” he said of his time on the job. “But it was a great experience. During this time, I’ve been able to serve on the [Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission] for 16 years. I worked with the other local municipalities, Lexington County government and state agencies, to try to find better means and ways of doing things here in Swansea.”

Viola McDaniel worked as an administrative supervisor for the state health department before retiring. She now runs a small cleaning business in Swansea. Throughout the debate, she talked about how her decades of administrative ex perience would help her sift through Swansea’s problems.

While all candidates pushed the need for greater transparency from Town Hall and to rethink how duties are divided among mayor and council, McDaniel hit it the hardest. She put special emphasis on the need for a town administrator to take over many of the responsibilities that have been ceded over the years to the mayor.

“We need to separate the duties of the mayor and the town administrator, separated duties, because so far when the mayor has been the admin-