City Council

Chaquez McCall is a lifelong resident of Florence, SC. He’s a graduate of Wilson High School and Francis Marion University, where he majored in political science. While at Francis Marion, he was awarded the Jesse A. Cole Political Science Scholarship and The Neal D. Thigpen Award in South Carolina Politics and Government.

After graduating from Francis Marion University, he attended North Carolina Central University School of Law. While in Law School, he served as a staff editor for the NCCU Law Review and worked extensively in the Civil Litigation Clinic, where he worked on complex civil rights cases.

Chaquez is now the owner and Managing Attorney for McCall Law firm in Florence, SC. In 2020, he was elected to Florence City Council, making him the youngest member elected in the city’s history. Currently, on City Council, he serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee and Judicial Review Committee.

He is the Vice President of the Wilson Alumni Association and a board member of The Florence School Foundation and Tenacious Grace. In addition, he’s a member of the American Association of Justice, the South Association of Justice, the South Carolina Bar, the Florence County Bar Association, the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, the National League of Cities, and a graduate of the SC Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government.   

Chaquez is married to Adriane McCall, and they have three kids: Amiyah McCall, Chaquez McCall II and Ava McCall. Together they attend Monumental Missionary Baptist Church.

In his spare time he loves to play basketball and get his heart crushed by his beloved Gamecocks.

City Council Committees:

• Chair of the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee.
• Member of the Community Development Committee.

George D. Jebaily was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Florence when he was 7 years old. After attending Southside Jr. High School and graduating from West Florence High School in 1974, where he served as Student Body President, George pursued higher education at the University of South Carolina, getting his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978 and his law degree in 1982. He then practiced law in Columbia for two years before returning to Florence in 1984 to begin practicing law at Jebaily Law Firm, where he serves as Managing Partner.

Since 1995, George has been a leader in the efforts to redevelop Downtown Florence. He served as Chairman of the “Florence 2010” committee, which was responsible for the oversight of creating a community vision and Master Plan for Downtown Florence. George helped found the Florence Downtown Development Corporation (FDDC), where he served as Chairman of the FDDC Board of Directors from 2002 to 2009. George also served as Chairman of the FDDC’s Downtown Master Plan Update Committee, which oversaw the development of the revised Downtown Master Plan that was adopted by Florence City Council in 2011. He has also served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Pecan Festival Committee from its’ inception until the present, an event which annually brings over 50,000 people to Downtown Florence. In 2014, George was recognized by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) as a top 10 finalist for the prestigious national “Trial Lawyers Care” award for his work on behalf of Downtown Florence.

In addition to his work with Downtown Florence redevelopment, George has spent the greater part of his adult life serving on many different boards and commissions. He currently serves as a board member of the South Carolina Humanities Council, a state-wide organization in support of the humanities throughout South Carolina. A past board member of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, George also served as a two-term President of the Florence Little Theatre Board of Directors and served on the Arts Alive Committee for over 15 years.

George is a past board member of Carolina Regional Legal Services Corp, a local entity helping the indigent gain access to legal services, and currently serves as a board member on behalf of the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority (PDRTA).

George has also worked extensively with the youth of our community, serving on the board of directors for the Irish Children’s Summer program, volunteering as a coach on various local sports teams, working with the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts, serving as a Middle School and High School Mock Trial Attorney-Coach, serving on the School Board for St. Anthony Catholic School, and assisting with Life Teen Youth Group activities.

Since 2012, George has served as a featured speaker on behalf of EndDD.org, sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation, speaking to thousands of youth and adults on the dangers of distracted driving. It is George’s fervent hope and desire that, through this outreach, the driving habits of both youth and adults will be altered to make our highways safer for all South Carolina drivers.

George is married to his wife, Debbie. They have two children: a daughter, Kayla Jebaily Adams, married to Taylor Adams, and a son, Kirk.”

City Council Committees:

• Chair of the Business Development Committee.
• Member of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee.

Lethonia Peaches Barnes is a hometown girl of the greater city of Florence. She is the 4th child out of 5 born to Sudie Moses and the late Edward Bradley. Lethonia has been married to the love of her life John Kirven Barnes Sr. for 31 years and they have 2 beautiful children, Brittany Barnes age 31 and John Kirven Barnes Jr. age 27. They are also the proud grandparents of Autumn Christina Lacy, the 2nd love of her life.

Lethonia has always been active in her community, where she seeks for opportunities to give of her service to better her surroundings. Lethonia was reared in an environment where leadership was modeled at the highest level. A causal review of her record will reveal that she has always been a servant of the people as a business woman, as a member of the Downtown revitalization board, an administrator at Florence Darlington tech and Virginia College and as a part of Helping Florence Flourish and other efforts to improve the quality of life in our community.  Lethonia has served in many capacities as a youth and as an adult. She is very passionate about getting engaged in the political arena and making a difference in the world we live in. She is currently an executive committee member of the Democratic Party and a member of the Democratic Women Council.

Lethonia is a graduate of the beloved Wilson High School and an Alumnus of South Carolina State University, where she majored in Business. She was an educator for 21 years, administrator for 9 years, business owner of 30 years and currently the Pastor of Fletcher Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Florence can expect her to work enthusiastically with her fellow members of council to develop policies and practices that will promote and empower the city economically, bridge the cultural, social and political divides that prohibits unity and dispel any myths that may seek to undermine our greatness.

City Council Committees:

• Chair of the Community Development Committee.
• Member of the Business Development Committee.

Bryan A. Braddock was born in Florence and has been a resident the majority of his life. He and his wife, Tracey Braddock, have been married for 25 years and have 5 girls: Hannah, Haley, Hayden, Holly, and Hope. He is a graduate of Francis Marion University with a degree in Economics and continues his studies at the Indiana School of Philanthropy.

Bryan is the Executive Director of the House of Hope, a local ministry to homeless men, women, and children in the Florence community. He has been with the House of Hope for 8 years. Previously, Bryan worked for 5 years with a faith-based addictions ministry in Rockford, Illinois. He is also the President of Forward Focused LLC that provides leadership training and development to local businesses and non-profit organizations.

He is very excited to serve the community he loves and looks forward to helping our City move forward.

City Council Committees:

• Member of the Business Development Committee.
• Member of the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee.

Lawrence Smith II, LFD is a lifelong resident of Florence. He is the husband of Alyssia Smith and the father of Alyse Journi Smith and J. Lawrence Smith III. He is a 2011 graduate of Wilson High School and furthered his education at Maryland Eastern Shore University earning a B.S. in Business Administration. He is a graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service earning a degree in Mortuary Science. Lawrence is the Vice President of Smith Funeral Home and Sunset Memory Gardens.

Since returning to Florence, Lawrence has been active in his community serving on boards such as the Boys and Girls Club of the Pee Dee, the Florence Housing Authority, and the United Way of Florence. He has the honor of also being the Head Baseball Coach at Wilson High School. He is a Brother of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and a member of the Florence Branch of the NAACP and the Wilson High School Alumni Association.

City Council Committees:

• Member of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee.
• Member of the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee. 

LaShonda NeSmith-Jackson is a proud native of Florence, South Carolina and a Wilson High School Graduate.  She is a community advocate, an entrepreneur, a certified mentor, a Certified Champion Influence® Coach and a Curriculum Facilitator. LaShonda strives to help unlock the potential of the underserved and disenfranchised members of our community.

LaShonda founded the Embrace Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to serve as a resource outlet for our underserved communities. The Embrace Foundation facilitates numerous community service projects such as Kids’ Coat Drives, School Supply Drives, Christmas Toy Drives, Community Clean Ups, etc...  The Embrace Foundation helped develop and launch a summer youth lifetime achievement program, which focused on teaching life skills to at-risk youth in Florence County.  She is also the 1st Vice Chair of Love Beyond Bars, a non-profit designed to strengthen families affected by incarceration, where she writes curriculums to break the cycle of incarceration in youth.

She is the former Chairwoman of the Florence County Democratic Party. She currently serves as the 1st Vice Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Black Caucus and the Co-Chair of Black Caucus’s Training Committee, where she travels around the state to train Democratic County Party Chairs and County Officers on community outreach.

LaShonda is also the founder of NeSmith Insurance Agency, LLC, and more recently started GOTV Consulting LLC, a political consulting company specializing in “Get Out To Vote” strategies in low-income areas.

LaShonda is married to the Love of her Life, Marcus “Dre” Jackson, Mother of 2 Sons, Bi’ael, 30 & Wilson’s IB Student Dre’Shon, 17. She is a loving grandmother of 2 beautiful grandsons, Ashton, 10 and Chance, 2. She enjoys showing these men how to treat a lady.

LaShonda is a community and business advocate who believes in fairness, integrity, honesty, loyalty, and being a voice for the voiceless. LaShonda continues to be active in her community, and as the Florence City Councilmember for District 1, she seeks to increase and expand her service to the community. 

Her Personal Motto is “Education for Progression”.

City Council Committees:

• Chair of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee.
• Member of the Community Development Committee.

A native of Florence, S. C., Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin is the proud daughter of the late Charlie and Isabella Myers. At an early age they gave her the courage to follow her dreams and taught discipline is needed to achieve them. Educated in Florence School District One schools, she attended Carver Elementary School, Moore Middle School, and graduated from West Florence High School.

After high school, she pursued her dream of becoming a nurse by earning an Associate Degree in Nursing from Florence-Darlington Technical College. She continued her education at Francis Marion University graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her alma mater bestowed her the highest distinction of an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree for her dedication and service to the Florence community. Mayor Myers Ervin also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree from the Agape Institute of Theology in 2022. Currently employed at McLeod as a Registered Nurse, she has over 42 years of experience in the medical field and holds a specialty certification in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), for which she served as an instructor.

In 2010, Mayor Myers Ervin was elected to serve on Florence City Council representing District One, where she served as a councilwoman for 10 years. On November 3, 2020, she made history becoming the first female and African American elected Mayor of Florence, SC.  She led the COVID-19 recovery efforts. Mayor Myers Ervin continues to work to achieve her goals of equalizing funding for Florence’s downtown and community development, expanding green city initiatives, and developing new job sources to produce business and employment opportunities.

A longtime community advocate, even well before serving on Florence City Council, Mayor Myers Ervin works to bring the Florence community together through serving on various boards and organizations including the HopeHealth Board of Directors, the Association of South Carolina Mayors, the Florence Center Board, Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Board, Florence Downtown Development Corporation and a voting member of the Florence Area Transportation Study Policy Committee. She is also a Riley Mayors’ Design Fellow, and a Fellow in Education for The School Foundation.

Mayor Myers Ervin is married to her husband of over 39 years, Lavon Ervin, and together, they have three children, Carlos Ervin, Dr. Charlie Ervin II, and Cacie Ervin. She and her husband reside in Florence, SC, where they have lived all their lives.