SUMTER, S.C. — Sumter’s Ward 1 is now getting a voting representative after nine months. Anthony Gibson is being sworn into city council on Tuesday night to take his seat after months of legal challenges that kept him from voting. But now that those legal challenges have been resolved, Gibson says he’s ready to serve.
“Our community is love, harmony and a group effort,” Ward 1 resident Derrick Ford says is how he’d describe the area of the city that he’s lived in his whole life. It’s an area that hasn’t had a voting city council member since November.
“During that lapse of time, we have a lot of concern in my community and a lot of situations that were not being handled,” Ford explains.
But now that legal challenges about the election results have been dismissed by the South Carolina Supreme Court, Anthony Gibson is being sworn in.
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“When you lose nine months of your term, that's frustrating. So now the focus is forward movement,” Gibson shares. “And every minute counts now so I'm excited about being sworn in, but I'm ready to get to work.”
Gibson has lived in Ward 1 for 17 years while serving as a pastor for Grace Cathedral and working in real estate.
“I love my area. I love my community. We also have, you know, like any other community, we have great things in Ward 1. And there's things that also need improvement,” Gibson shares. “So we plan to work on those things and make it better and so all of our constituents in Ward 1 can feel proud about our area.”
Gibson tells News 19 he’s ready to take on his new role as city councilman.
“We have a whole lot of work to do,” Gibson says. “We want to make sure that Sumter is a place that when people come and see the area, it’s beautiful and they want to stay and, you know, raise their families here. And also making sure that we're drawing in new businesses here with better pay, and help change people's lives and enhance their quality of life.”
To do that, Gibson says his first priority is safety after hearing concerns from residents.
“Every time they would show up in a city council meeting or call or inbox me on social media, almost every conversation, I heard something about public safety,” Gibson explains. “I have some things that I'm really, really working on now. Crime is a big deal in my area. And so I'm going to work with law enforcement. We're going to team up and make sure that those things are addressed and handled quickly.”
“People on the street are driving like 60 miles an hour in the afternoons and no one's been stopped,” Ward 1 resident Lula Dow shares.
Dow says safety is a top concern for her, as well as beautification efforts. With Gibson focused on helping with those issues, Dow tells me she’s hopeful for the future.
“Faith without work and hope is no good,” Dow believes. “So I have hope and faith so things going to work out I believe.”
City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month and are open for the public to attend.
Gibson says he initially decided to run for the seat after his neighbors encouraged him to consider it. At first, Gibson says he declined.
“After I refused the first time I asked myself a question. I said, ‘Look, what can I do to make sure I'm doing my part in my community? Can I do more?” Gibson remembers. “The answer was, yes, I could do more. And my reason was I wanted to make it better for my kids.”