Stephanie Ganaway-Pasley, Christopher Emde elected to North Charleston City Council seats

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — Two new faces are set to join the North Charleston City Council following a special election Tuesday that saw less than 15% of registered voters turn out.

Stephanie Ganaway-Pasley and Christopher Emde were elected to represent Districts 3 and 5, respectively, after defeating a slew of candidates in the May 27 race, according to unofficial results from the Charleston County Board of Registration and Elections.

The results showed Ganaway-Pasley earned 32% of the vote for the District 3 seat, which covers the Northwoods and Deer Park communities between Rivers Avenue, University Boulevard, and I-26.

“This win is a clear referendum from the people, demanding more transparency, greater integrity, and genuine collaboration,” Ganaway-Pasley, a former judge, said in a statement declaring victory. “These values will be the foundation of my service on City Council. I won’t be serving a political party — I will be serving the people.”

Emde, a Marine veteran, also won 32% of the vote in District 5, which encompasses communities along Dorchester Road and near the Ashley River.

“Thank you everyone for all of your support!” Emde wrote in a Tuesday night post on his campaign’s Facebook page.

Of the more than 13,000 registered voters within the two districts, around 1,400 cast ballots in the special election, indicating a roughly 11% turnout.

The special election was ordered after two North Charleston city councilmembers resigned in February amid a federal corruption investigation.

Jerome Heyward (District 5) and Sandino Moses (District 3) were charged Feb. 26 in a year-long public corruption investigation that uncovered several schemes involving bribery, kickbacks, extortion, and money laundering. Both resigned shortly after the charges were announced.

Six other people, including District 1 Councilman Mike Brown, were also charged with public corruption as part of the investigation. Brown’s seat was not included in the special election, as he did not resign and is currently suspended by the governor.

This story is breaking and may be updated.