Brenda Bethune pulled off a major victory for both her campaign and Myrtle Beach residents eager to see their city shine once again.

Why do incumbents so rarely lose?

Challengers are forced to run against an entire system of government and those who collude with government. That systems includes: state-wide incumbent favored systems, big money filtered to incumbents, and groups that locally include the Grand Strand Business Alliance,  Coastal Carolina Board Of Realtors and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

All of these groups were either directly behind John Rhodes or tepidly decided to sit on the sidelines.

Mrs. Bethune ran an honest, spirited, and intelligent campaign for needed change.

Unlike her opponent,  Mrs. Bethune chose to be positive, yet determined in her approach that this system needs improvements.

 BETHUNE POISED UNDER FIRE

When attacked with unfair and false claims,  Mrs. Bethune responded like a true leader.

CLEAN UP AISLE 7

As a result of the many messes that will be left by the previous crop of incumbents, however, her leadership will be fully put to the test.

While Mrs. Bethune appears more than able to work with a new city council in moving forward, being a business owner, she is well aware of the learning curve that the city must now go through until better systems and personnel are put in place.  Required changes will need to be both systemic and cultural.  The entire city, as well as, the MBACC culture do need to be examined and improved.

With patience and resident support, Mrs. Bethune will bring  about the improvements needed to help our city.

The learning curve above shows that matters do initially get worse while changes to a broken system are being made.