Yamassee chief elected mayor of Allendale in special election

Se’khu Hadjo Gentle, the leader of the Yamassee Indian Tribe, won Allendale’s special mayoral election on May 12, defeating Larry Cohen 217 votes to 109, or 66.56% to 33.44%. The result put a Yamassee chief at the center of a town government in Allendale, a small county seat where residents have been looking for faster action, better service and a steadier tone from City Hall.

The mayoral seat opened after former Allendale County Sheriff Tom Carter Jr., who had been elected mayor in 2024, resigned on Feb. 5, 2026. Cohen, who had previously served as mayor before losing to Carter, won a town council seat in November 2025 and then resigned that seat on April 1 to run for mayor again. The race gave voters a direct choice between two familiar names in town politics.

Gentle’s support came from a community with deep Yamassee ties. Local coverage has noted that the Yamassee reservation sits in a remote part of Allendale County and that many residents in Allendale and nearby Fairfax have Yamassee ancestry. In a 2024 interview, Gentle said county governments had long struggled to build trust with the reservation, although cooperation had improved through joint efforts such as the Yamassee Green Corn festival, which the Yamassee Tribe and Allendale Town Council helped host in May 2024.

Town officials now list Se’khu H. Gentle as mayor on the Town of Allendale council page. The town website says his administration is focused on restoring pride, creating opportunity, improving transparency, investing in infrastructure, supporting small businesses, encouraging economic development, beautifying the town and embracing modern technology. Those priorities point to the practical test ahead: whether the new administration can improve day-to-day service while also strengthening confidence in town government.

Allendale carries outsized pressure because of its size. Allendale County was created in 1919 and had a 2020 census population of 8,039, making it South Carolina’s least populous county. In a place that small, local government decisions shape how quickly residents see road work, business activity and municipal responsiveness.

The town also posted a special meeting for June 1, 2026, at 1296 Main Street South to discuss preliminary town priorities. That early meeting showed how quickly the new administration was moving from election night into governing, with the first questions centered on trust, services and economic stability for families and businesses across Allendale.