FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Many in the Florence area are still mourning the death of Florence City Councilman Ed Robinson.
Robinson died Wednesday at the age of 69 at a Charleston hospital. Florence County Coroner Keith Von Luckten tells us an autopsy said Robinson died of natural causes.
Robinson had been on council since 1989 and, at the time of his death, was council’s longest serving member.
For years Robinson was the voice of his constituents in the north and east Florence communities.”Folks didn’t want Ed to be Ed. That was Ed, whether you liked it or not, that was Ed. I respected him, didn’t always like it. How he said it, what he said but that was who he is,” said State Representative Terry Alexander.
On Wednesday, News13 spoke with Alexander and former City Councilman Billy D. Williams.
Williams served over 20 years on council with Robinson.
“The people that Ed represented, he was their voice. They don’t have any other voice. They are forgotten when it comes down to representation, except Ed,” he stated.
“He had passion for helping the least of these,” Alexander mentioned.
For years he fought for areas like east and north Florence, as the city continued to grow. More recently he was vocal about issues like “ban the box”, to give ex-offenders a chance at jobs.
“What he was saying was not wrong. It is just some of us didn’t want to hear what he had to say,” said Alexander.
The city released a statement Wednesday saying in part,” Councilman Robinson was a fixture in our city and was known as a strong advocate and a dedicated representative of the district and the people he served.”
It also went on to mention his work with the annual freedom march in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As far as funeral arrangements, right now we haven’t heard anything.
We also found out that the filing period to fill Robinson’s seat opens April 8th and closes the 18th.
The primary will be June 7th, and if needed, the runoff will be June 21st.
The election will take place July 26th.
