Residents in Nelson, which straddles the Cherokee-Pickens border, will head to the polls in a special election and choose between Edith Portillo and Tami Loggins to fill the council seat vacated by Larry Sellers, who resigned earlier this year.
Loggins, 51, said she’s a lifelong Nelson resident and cares about the direction the city is going.
She said she decided to get involved in politics because she’s become irritated about the recent happenings in the small city.
“Nelson means a lot to me,” she said.
Loggins, who is self-employed as a property manager, said she’s lived in the same home in the city for 21 years that belonged to her grandmother.
Loggins graduated from Cherokee High School and is a member of the Cherokee County Historical Society.
She has two sons, Blake and Blane Loggins.
Loggins said she hopes residents will cast their votes for her because she has a vested interest in the city.
“I hope that they would understand the love I have for the community,” she said. “I have so many roots here. It means a lot to me.”
While she said she does not have any specific issues she’d like to address if she’s elected, Loggins said she hopes to have a voice in preserving the city’s Edmondson Field.
Nelson received $250,000 of Cherokee County parks bond proceeds to make parks and recreation improvements in the city.
The city is working with the county on the design of its revamped park.
She also said she hopes to use her background in property management to help clean up the city because she’s concerned about the city’s appearance.
Portillo, 71, is not a newcomer to politics. She made an unsuccessful run for the Nelson City Council last year. She did not return calls for comment.
She and her husband Eddy moved from West Palm Beach, Fla., about six years ago.
She was raised in New York City and studied musical theater at the New York City School of Performing Arts.
Portillo, who is retired, was a semi-professional ballroom dancer in Miami for 18 years.
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