Richland County Council unanimously re-elected Jessica Mackie as chair and retained Derek Pew as vice chair during a special organizational meeting on Thursday evening.

The action set the council’s leadership for the 2025 session and included routine organizational votes: approval of the meeting agenda, election of the chair and vice chair under council rules, and seat selection according to seniority.

Council members first approved the meeting agenda by voice vote. The clerk recorded affirmative responses from Councilmembers Brenham, Pugh, Little, Livingston, Weaver, Baron, Aline, Mackie, English and Newton; the motion carried unanimously.

Under Council Rule 2.7, the council opened nominations for chair. A nomination was made for Jessica Mackie; the council then voted by roll call. The clerk recorded unanimous affirmative votes from the ten named members, and the motion to elect Mackie as chair was approved. After the vote, Chair Jessica Mackie thanked colleagues: “I appreciate your vote of confidence to serve again as your chair for 2025. I’ve enjoyed working alongside each of you and look forward to working alongside our 2 new council members that were sworn in earlier today.”

The council then moved to elect a vice chair under Council Rule 2.8. A motion to retain Derek Pew as vice chair for 2025 was made and seconded; the clerk again recorded unanimous affirmative votes from the ten named members and the motion carried. Vice Chair Derek Pew addressed the chamber, saying, “Thank you so much. I want to thank my colleagues for believing in me and having the faith to allow me to lead as vice chair again for the 2025 council season, and I look forward to us continuing to work hard for the citizens of Richland County.”

Following the leadership elections, council members selected seats for the year under Council Rule 3.1, which sets seating order by seniority and then alphabetical order. Members moved to new seats as needed and the chair and vice chair remained in theirs as prescribed by the rule; no separate roll-call vote was required for seating.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed by unanimous voice vote. The clerk recorded the same ten affirmative responses as at earlier votes.

Votes at a glance
- Approve meeting agenda: Approved (unanimous roll-call yes by Brenham, Pugh, Little, Livingston, Weaver, Baron, Aline, Mackie, English, Newton).
- Elect Jessica Mackie as chair (Council Rule 2.7): Approved (unanimous roll-call yes by the ten named members).
- Elect/retain Derek Pew as vice chair (Council Rule 2.8): Approved (unanimous roll-call yes by the ten named members).
- Adjourn meeting: Approved (unanimous roll-call yes by the ten named members).

Meeting context: the session was procedural and focused on organizational matters to start the council’s 2025 business; council members noted that two new members had been sworn in earlier that day.