Wendell Gilliard

Gilliard was born in Charleston, South Carolina. His father came from Marion, South Carolina, and worked at the Charleston Air Force Base. He has five siblings. Gilliard's mother died of an aneurysm when he was five years old.[1]

Gilliard grew up on the East Side of Charleston before moving to West Ashley at the age of seven.[1] He attended Burke High School and Rivers High School, graduating from Rivers in 1973. He then attended Bell and Howell School of Technology (now known as DeVry University).[1][2] He also attended the United Steelworkers of America program which was held on the campus of Tennessee State University.

Gilliard left Bell and Howell after three years to work in a retail store owned by his brother. The store closed due to declining sales, and in 1981, Gilliard began to work as a plant operator for Mobil Chemical. He later worked for Rhodia.[1] In 1982, Gilliard was elected vice president of Local 863 of the United Steelworkers.[3] He later became its president.[4]

Gillard was elected a Charleston City Councilman in 1998.[2] In 1999, he sponsored non-binding legislation that labeled the Ku Klux Klan as a terrorist organization.[5] He was unopposed in his bid for a second term in 2002.[2] In 2003, Gilliard walked out of a city council meeting after Herb Silverman, an atheist, gave an invocation.[6] While serving as a city councilman, Gilliard levied a charge of unsafe working conditions against Rhodia, and was fired.[7] He also rallied against a porn shop and for modesty laws in Marion Square.[8]

In 2008, he ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives in the 111th district.[9][10] Gilliard contemplated running in the special election for South Carolina's 1st congressional district.[11]

In August 2023, Gilliard reacted to the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission's decision to remove "no concealable weapons allowed" signs from Charleston area parks, controversially stating, "[w]hether they circumvented the law or not, it was with good intentions, nothing is wrong with that."[12]

On March 13, 2023, Gilliard announced his intention to run for the South Carolina Senate District 42 seat, vacated by Marlon Kimpson after his appointment to a role in the Biden administration. The seat will be decided in a special election in 2023.[13] Endorsements that Gilliard received in his race for the Senate seat include Our Revolution, a group affiliated with US Senator Bernie Sanders, and Local 1442 of the International Longshoremen's Association.[14]

The Democratic Primary took place on September 5, and the special election will take place on November 7.[15] Other candidates in the race were Democrats SC Rep. JA Moore and SC Rep. Deon Tedder, and Republican Rosa Kay. In Democratic Primary unofficial results, Moore was bested by Gilliard and Tedder, who went on to a September 19 runoff.[16][17] Gilliard led the evening with close to 47% of the vote.[18]

On September 19, Tedder led the runoff by 11 votes, triggering a recount.[19] The recount was conducted and results certified by the Charleston County Board of Canvassers and the Dorchester County Voter Registration and Elections Office on September 21; later that day Tedder was declared the winner by the South Carolina State Election Commission.[20]

Gilliard has three children, two sons and one daughter.[1][21] He is divorced.[2]

• Wendell Gilliard South Carolina Senate 42 Campaign Website
• Appearances on C-SPAN