Surfside Beach has a new mayor, council members. Here are the town election results

Surfside Beach appears to be getting a major shakeup in its town council after Tuesday’s municipal election with no incumbents retaining their seats.

Rob Krouse looks set to become the town’s new mayor with more than 48% of the votes, according to unofficial results.

Krouse told The Sun News Tuesday night it was going to take a while for the results to sink in, and he wanted to thank his supporters and ensure them that he plans to follow through with his promise to put residents first.

Harry Kohlmann, Shawn Fallon and Skip Walls are all leading the town council race with about 20%, 19% and 16% of votes, respectively.

A total of 1,178 ballots have been counted out of 4,029 registered voters, though absentee and early voters’ ballots still need to be counted.

The town was guaranteed to get a new mayor and at least one new council member after incumbent Mayor Bob Hellyer decided not to run, and incumbent council member Cindy Keating chose to run for mayor. Keating received 11% of the votes, according to unofficial results.

Council incumbents Paul Holder and Michael Drake received 11% and 5% of the votes, the lowest percentages among seven candidates for the three openings.

All the mayoral and council candidates said the primary issue they heard about while campaigning was the long delayed opening of the pier, which has cost millions over budget.

“It’s been an embarrassment,” Walls said Tuesday outside the Dick M. Johnson Civic Center polling location.

Three of the candidates, including Krouse, were members of the currently suspended pier committee.

Krouse, former chairman of the suspended committee, had a lengthy career as an automotive engineer and manager before moving to Surfside Beach four years ago. He said he was looking forward to digging into the town’s financial records to understand what needs to be done in future budgets to avoid any further debt.

Kohlmann, a retired New York Police Department inspector, said he was happy with Tuesday’s turnout and looking forward to moving past the pier project toward other town needs. He previously told The Sun News he doesn’t believe the town needs to grow, though improvements to existing areas should be the focus.

Fallon, a retired FBI agent, told The Sun News she wants to prioritize keeping the small town feel of Surfside Beach and improving communications with residents, particularly senior citizens.

Walls, a retired hospitality executive, said he was honored to be chosen to represent the town’s residents, and his number one priority would be the coming budget.

Other issues candidates heard about from residents included a need for more transparency from the council and town staff, a desire to keep the town’s “family beach” image and high turnover within the police department, candidates told The Sun News.