Charlie Rivenbark announced earlier this year that he would not run for a seventh term, hanging up his hat after 24 years in office.
A Vietnam veteran and businessman, Rivenbark was first elected in 1993 and reelected in 1997. He left office in 2001, and spent the better part of a decade working for the Azalea Festival, among other things, but returned to politics in 2009 and won reelection three consecutive times, in 2013, 2017, and 2021.
Rivenbark is notoriously outspoken — it was a rare meeting when I didn’t know how he felt about a particular issue — and could be blunt at times, but also diplomatic when necessary. He’s become known for colorful turns of phrase; outgoing Republican Councilman Luke Waddell dubbed them “Charlie-isms.”…