Cayce Mayor Elise Partin formally announces her candidacy for re-election to the office of Mayor in the upcoming November 7, 2023 election. Mayor Partin, a nonpartisan, has had a strong campaign start in fundraising support from Cayce residents as well as local and regional businesses.

The first female to serve in the office of Mayor in Cayce when she was elected in 2008, Partin has proven herself as a dedicated leader whose priorities include fiscal responsibility, award-winning economic development that preserves Cayce’s small-town feel, and open, accountable communication between citizens and city officials.

Under her leadership, Cayce was recognized as one of the top 10 most tax-friendly places to retire in South Carolina and as the number one city in S.C. for recent graduates and millennials.

“Elise looks out for us hardworking taxpayers,” notes local resident, Jennie Jordan. Jordan’s husband, Dan Gooch, agrees. “Thanks to Elise’s leadership, we don’t have to think about City government, because we know she makes sure it works. Our trash always gets picked up on time, we are safe, and our low City taxes and fees mean we get to keep more of our dollars and enjoy life.”

Due to Partin’s work, Cayce now has some of the lowest taxes and fees in the entire region, if not the lowest. The City provides a high quality of life because of the culture of customer service she and her team have created, and she is responsible for bringing more jobs and more choices to Cayce citizens by making smart economic development a priority. She ensures investment in infrastructure, most recently winning a $10 million grant from the State of S.C. for storm water improvements.

She is a dedicated public servant, not a politician, and was recognized as such by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in 2019 as the Public Servant of the Year.

Partin is a proven mayor that’s a strong voice for Cayce’s citizens. She has embedded multiple communication avenues that didn’t exist prior to her tenure to ensure that citizens voices can not only be heard but amplified. This has allowed Cayce to operate from a plan of action driven by citizens. Citizens’ input has been given even more weight by City Council due to moving the public comment section to the beginning of council meetings, which allows council to incorporate feedback into decision-making.

Fiscal responsibility has remained a top priority as Cayce moved out of debt, creating reserves for emergency services, created foundations to support city services without tax-payer funds and procured several grants and partnerships to off-set city expenditures.

Partin has a meaningful, measurable track record of success. She ensures that there is investment in staff and in the equipment needed to run Cayce effectively and efficiently. She stays laser focused on local people and the services that every person in every neighborhood needs to make our quality of life better, so much so that when the citizen driven rebranding was done several years prior, the overwhelming message from residents was that there is “Time for Life.” That message has now become the tagline on Cayce’s rebranding.

Under Partin’s steady leadership, City services have continued to be modernized and are more cost-effective. By reversing the City’s credit to an excellent rating (it was poor before her tenure), Partin and City staff were able to get a low-interest loan via the State of S.C. to replace and upgrade 75% of the city’s water lines in 2017 — a massive public works project. Cayce also has completed several phases of stormwater improvement prior to the recent $10 million storm water grant award.

A few of Mayor Partin’s awards and current and past leadership roles include:

• AIA Columbia Presidential Citation Award, 2022
• International Women’s Forum, 2021 to Present
• Capital City/Lake Murray Country 2021 Tourism Advocate
• Mayors Institute for City Design 2.0 Fellow, 2020
• Columbia Regional Business Report 2020 Women of Influence
• Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce Public Servant of the Year, 2019
• National League of Cities, Women in Municipal Government Board, 2022 to Present
• Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities, Advisory Board, 2018 to Present
• Riley Mayors Design Fellowship Advisory Team, 2018 to Present
• Municipal Association of South Carolina, Board, 2011 to 2019, President 2017
• Mayors Institute for City Design Fellow, October 2015
• Leadership South Carolina Class of 2015
• Furman University’s Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative Fellow, Spring, 2012

To learn more about Cayce Mayor Elise Partin, visit www.elisepartin.com.

About Mayor Elise Partin

Elected in 2008, Elise Partin is a nonpartisan leader who holds the distinction of being the first female to serve in the office of Mayor in Cayce, South Carolina, a historic city across the Congaree River from the state capital of Columbia, S.C. A leader on numerous boards including the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities, Elise is known as a devoted servant-leader who builds consensus. She has been recognized for her focus on economic development, her strong representation of Cayce’s diverse residents and her efforts to promote regionalism and ethics reform while protecting taxpayer dollars.

A Leadership Columbia graduate, Mayor Elise Partin is the only person to have served as president of both the Leadership Columbia Board and the Leadership Columbia Alumni Association Board. In 2012 she became a Furman University Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative Fellow. She is a 2015 graduate of Leadership South Carolina and was the first female president of the Columbia Museum of Art Contemporaries, the museum’s membership organization for young professionals.

As her wide range of service demonstrates, Mayor Partin is not only keenly interested in the healthy governance of the City of Cayce but is fully committed to building the strong regional partnerships necessary to move the entire Midlands region forward. To that end, she partnered with her former neighboring Mayor from Columbia, S.C. and played a key leadership role in creating and sustaining the Midlands Mayors Forum, focused on stronger collaborations, and establishing a unified voice for impact.

For more information on Mayor Partin, visit www.elisepartin.com.

About The City of Cayce, S.C.

The City of Cayce, S.C., is located on the banks of the Congaree River in the heart of the Midlands of South Carolina, just across from the state capital of Columbia. An area with a documented 12,000-year history, the city has several public events, venues, and parks; the beautiful Cayce Riverwalk Park offers more than 12 miles of scenic walkway in addition to the 46 acres of park area in the City. Cayce has a Council-Manager form of government; City Council meets on the first Tuesday and third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm at City Hall. For more information, visit www.cityofcayce-sc.gov.

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