Six weeks after residents voted to incorporate, a dozen Tega Cay neighbors filed for the city’s first municipal election. The York Observer profiled each one.
On April 17, 1982, about 550 Tega Cay residents voted 410 to 148 to incorporate as a city. The developer, Point Wylie Co., was still in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia. Roads and utilities needed nearly $2 million in repairs. The Twenty-Seven Trust, a Cleveland, Ohio group holding title to the recreational facilities and utilities, had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement with the Property Owners Association. The community was twelve years old and had never had a mayor, a council, or a city budget.
Now it needed all three.
On May 23, 1982, the York Observer ran a full profile of the field: two candidates for mayor, ten for four council seats. Reporter Pam Camerra sat down with each of them. Most said their campaigns would be low-key. Many of them had already been doing the work for years.
The Mayor’s Race
Two names were on the ballot for mayor: Tony Tarulli and Everette Cabaniss.
Tony Tarulli, 50, was vice president of North Carolina National Bank in Charlotte and had spent six years on the Tega Cay Property Owners Association, including time as its vice president. He had been at the negotiating table with the Twenty-Seven Trust through the bankruptcy proceedings and knew the financial terrain better than almost anyone in the community. He lived at 1089 Palma Dr.
“I feel the first couple of years are crucial to the way this community will go.”
Tony Tarulli, The York Observer, May 23, 1982
He was direct about the stakes.
“If people are elected that don’t understand all the issues, decisions could be made that would wipe out what we’ve been working for for the last two years.”
Tony Tarulli, The York Observer, May 23, 1982
His campaign approach fit his background. “At this point, I don’t plan to do much campaigning,” he told the Observer. There were forums planned. That would be enough. His chief goal, he said, was to see Tega Cay prosper through sound fiscal policies.
Everette Cabaniss, 68, was a self-employed builder who lived at 23024 Point Clear Dr. and had been in Tega Cay for nearly three years. He planned to put up posters and do telephone campaigning. He had a simpler pitch than his opponent.
“I’m going to do it right. My idea is to bring them together so we can have a better place to live.”
Everette Cabaniss, The York Observer, May 23, 1982
He acknowledged the history between the POA and the developer. “The POA and the developer have had a lot of problems between them. My idea is to bring them together.”
The Council Race: Ten for Four Seats
Ten candidates filed for four council seats. The mayor and council members would serve two-year terms and were scheduled to take office on June 21. Here is every name on the ballot, as the York Observer profiled them.
Bobby Cullen, 41. An insurance agent, owner of Eastshore Insurance Agency in Tega Cay, and president of the Tega Cay Lions Club. He was a charter member of the club and had lived in Tega Cay since 1974, one of the longer-tenured residents in the field. He lived at 7017 Chelsea Day Ln.
Bertha “Bert” de Varennes, 47. A registered nurse and nursing instructor. She had served five years on the POA board and had lived in Tega Cay since 1976. She was not currently employed. She lived at 1108 Palmyra Dr.
Hubert Graham, 59. General sales manager for Alcan Building Products in Charlotte. He had been a Tega Cay resident for nearly nine years, making him one of the community’s founding-era neighbors. He lived at 1151 Molokai Dr. (Graham would go on to serve as Tega Cay’s second mayor.)
Malcolm “Max” Heron, 66. Retired. A former director of information systems for the Martin Marietta Corporation in Washington, D.C. He had served as treasurer on the POA board for two and a half years and had lived in Tega Cay for three and a half years. He lived at 1179 Molokai Dr.
James Imler, 42. District manager for Phelps Dodge Magnet and Wire in Charlotte. He had served on the POA board for three years. He lived at 3025 Point Clear Dr.
Art Lancaster, 58. A self-employed builder who had lived in Tega Cay since 1973, one of the earliest residents in the race. He was a former representative on the POA board. He lived at 2007 Marquesas Ave.
Frank McCarthy, 58. A salesman for Monarch Color Corporation in Charlotte. He had been in Tega Cay for nine years, was a charter member and past president of the Lions Club, and was a member of the POA. He lived at 4089 Windward Dr.
Anne Suite, 45. Director of internal affairs and finances for Carolina Marketing Associates in Charlotte. She had lived in Tega Cay for nearly three years. She lived at 1155 Molokai Dr.
Kathryn “Kitty” Updike, 52. Owner and president of Dandi-Lion Inc. in Binghamton, New York. She had moved to Tega Cay three years earlier and was not currently employed. She lived at 8017 Kiwi Point. Kitty did not win a seat in this election. Six weeks later, when one of the original council members was transferred to Germany, the remaining council elected her to fill the vacant seat. She would go on to serve as Tega Cay’s Finance Chairman, personally prepare the city’s first three budgets, and oversee the contest that produced the “The Good Life” motto and pine tree logo. All of it for one dollar a year.
Garry Zettersten, 28. An environmental engineer for Talbert, Cox and Associates in Charlotte. At 28, he was the youngest candidate in the field. He had lived in Tega Cay for four years and was serving as director of community affairs for the POA board. He lived at 27069 Catamaran Dr.
A Low-Key Campaign in an Urgent Moment
The Observer noted that despite the apparent interest in serving on Tega Cay’s first-ever governing body, most candidates planned quiet campaigns. The Lions Club had already hosted a breakfast to let the candidates speak. The POA was planning a general membership meeting on June 13 for another round of public appearances.
There were enough forums, Tarulli said. That was the Tega Cay way. Most of these people already knew each other. Many had been fighting together, or alongside each other, through the POA meetings and bankruptcy hearings and incorporation campaign that had consumed the community for years.
The election was June 19, 1982. Two council seats were too close to call and went to a runoff on July 3. On July 4, SC Attorney General Dan McLeod swore in Mayor Tony Tarulli and council members Max Heron and Garry Zettersten at the Tega Cay Clubhouse at 4:21 PM. Bertha de Varennes and Hubert Graham, winners of the runoff, took office officially on July 5. One of those twelve neighbors would later become mayor. One would serve six years for a dollar a year and build the foundation of a city government from scratch. The others gave what they could in those first years, when Tega Cay was new enough that every decision still felt like the first of its kind. Read Why is July 4th Tega Cay’s Official Birthday?
Sources: The York Observer, Sunday, May 23, 1982. “Tega Cay Candidates See Low-Key Campaign,” by Pam Camerra, Observer Staff Writer. Page 4.
Related posts: The Incorporation of Tega Cay (1982) | Kitty Updike: The Woman Who Built Tega Cay’s City Government for One Dollar a Year
TAGS: Tony Tarulli, Everette Cabaniss, Hubert Graham, Kitty Updike, Bobby Cullen, Frank McCarthy, 1982, incorporation, first election, city council, mayor, Tega Cay government, York Observer, POA, Property Owners Association
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