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Published: Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010 / Updated: Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010 06:33 AM

Lindemann wants two more years on York Co. Council

York County Councilman Paul Lindemann has decided to seek another term after a lengthy flirtation with a run for a state House seat.

Lindemann said he would “definitely” run for state House or Senate in 2012. For now, he says the state’s budget woes make it a bad time to be in Columbia.

“I can be way more impactful here than at the Statehouse, while it’s still in disarray,” Lindemann said.

A crowded field will compete for the District 1 seat, which represents much of northern York County, including Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

The list of Republicans includes Tom Audette, a customer service manager at AT&T; David Bowman, a financial adviser; and Kyle Boyd, a former private school headmaster and former S.C. House candidate.

Lindemann, 30, talked about running against state Rep. Deborah Long in a GOP primary for District 45. That idea upset some York County Republican leaders, who have been unhappy with Lindemann since his drunken driving arrest in July 2008.

Legal troubles have plagued Lindemann, most recently in January when a judge ordered him to pay a subcontractor more than $2,000 to resolve a civil lawsuit.

Lindemann made the right decision in opting not to run for the Statehouse, said York County GOP Chairman Glenn McCall. The party will leave it up to voters to judge Lindemann’s personal behavior, McCall said.

“We’ve put that behind us,” McCall said. “I think Paul has, too. Paul has served admirably on the council. It will be up to the voters in terms of other issues.”

Lindemann said his run-ins with the law don’t seem to be a problem for voters.

“I’ve already been elected once with my legal issues, and it was a pretty overwhelming vote,” he said, noting his 2008 win over Democratic challenger Marion Davenport by 14 percentage points.

In a third two-year term, Lindemann said he wants to improve the Exit 90 corridor in Fort Mill and pass development guidelines to ensure orderly county growth. He also favors a change to the countywide smoking ban to exempt private clubs and establishments.

Lindemann plans a campaign kickoff March 26 at the law office of Fort Mill attorney Bayles Mack.