Hilton Head Mayor McCann announces he’s not running for reelection. Here’s what to know

Hilton Head Mayor John McCann will not run for reelection, he announced Monday afternoon during a press conference at Town Hall.

“When I first became mayor, I told everyone I’d be a one-term mayor,” he said. “I meant that.”

McCann, 81, was elected mayor in November 2018, and has been a member of the Hilton Head Island Town Council since 2012. Before becoming mayor he served on the Town Council in Ward 6. He also served as chairman of the Finance and Administrative committees and the Parks and Recreation Commission.

The mayor’s last day in office will be Dec. 5. Beginning Dec. 6, the newly elected mayor will take office. The mayoral election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 8.

“It’s been a privilege to serve as mayor of Hilton Head Island and represent the residents who live here,” he said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed serving the community in this capacity and working alongside a dedicated and caring group of Town Council members, our Town Manager and our Town Staff.”

McCann is also stepping down to keep a promise: He said he had privately pledged to support Alan R. Perry if he ever ran for the position following his term.

Perry, a longtime Hilton Head resident and a senior loan officer at Mortgage Network, announced his candidacy in February. He filed to run for mayor last week, as did Michael Santomauro.

Perry could not be immediately reached for comment.

McCann said he will formally announce his endorsement for the race Friday.

When asked to summarize his legacy, the one-term mayor said he was “leaving this place in a better place than where we got it.”

McCann’s tenure was often marked with controversy, with some residents criticizing the mayor’s “extravagant” spending during his four years in office. Notable is McCann’s trip to Verona, Italy, to sign a sister city “friendship pact,” which cost Island taxpayers over $14,000 and wasn’t approved by the Town Council.

In his first year, McCann took four major trips, including three to Verona and one to Washington D.C., to attend a state dinner with then-President Donald Trump and the Italian president. A trip to Verona in June 2019 cost Hilton Head Island taxpayers $7,231 on air fare alone for first-class flights for McCann and then-Town Manager Steve Riley and Riley’s wife, the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reported previously.

Taxpayers also paid $20,039 for meals, travel, meetings and office expenses — on top of McCann’s $25,000 salary — in his first year in office. By comparison, the previous mayor, David Bennett, charged the town $25,414 over his four years in office for expenses.

The Town pays $50 for every meeting the mayor and councilmen attend on official town business, plus mileage, and lunch for him and his guests. McCann frequently entertained guests for lunch and called them businesses lunches, so much so that he had a special table with his name on it at one local restaurant, the newspapers reported.

His term also was marked by:

▪ Wrangling over the widening of U.S. 278 and the controversy over whether to build one new bridge or two.

▪ The need for more workforce housing on the island, and how to pay for it.

▪ The coronavirus pandemic and its impact on local businesses, tourism and the beaches. The town closed the beaches and passed a mask ordinance, despite vocal public opposition to both and a state ordinance that said masks would be optional. Government meetings were held on Zoom for months.

▪ A flap over attempts to silence critics at Town Council meetings.

▪ A lawsuit filed by the Town against Beaufort County over a special fee the county imposed on Hilton Head residents for police services by the Sheriff’s Office. Hilton Head officials said the island was already paying for those services.

Despite contention surrounding the town’s handling of the U.S. 278 bridge plan, McCann said he considers the project to be a success of his term.

“It will be done,” he said. “The agreements will all be signed before I leave.”

McCann said he hasn’t yet figured out what’s next for him. After his term ends in December, he plans to take a short break, but says he’ll likely end up “somewhere in public service.”

(The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette will publish a comprehensive list of candidates for all races after the filing period ends at noon Monday, Aug. 15.)