Marvin Rashad Pendarvis (born October 13, 1989) is an American politician who represented the 113th District (parts of

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the List of counties in South Carolina, third-mos ...

) in the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

from 2017 to 2024. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Education, career and public service

Pendarvis attended Garrett Academy for Technology, a high school in

North Charleston North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

, where he was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

on the football team. He graduated in 2011 from the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

with an undergraduate degree in political science, and in 2014 with a J.D. from the University's School of Law. He was a member of the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. Pendarvis served on the North Charleston Board of Zoning Appeals from 2016-2017. Pendarvis worked as an attorney in

for the Peper Law Firm, the Pendarvis Law Firm, LLC, and as the attorney for the

Dorchester County Dorchester County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Dorchester County, Maryland * Dorchester County, South Carolina Dorchester County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was ...

town of

Ridgeville, South Carolina Ridgeville is a town in Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,979 at the 2010 census, up from 1,690 at the 2000 census. Ridgeville is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area. Histo ...

, and as a member of the legal team for the Charleston-based Racial Justice Network. He also had a backlog contract with the Ninth Circuit Public Defender's Office, which ended in 2022.

South Carolina House of Representatives

2017 When long-time Democratic state legislator Jackson Seth Whipper resigned in August 2017 to become a magistrate judge in

, Pendarvis became a candidate for his seat in District 113. He ran against Angela M. Hanyak and Chris Collins in the Democratic primary. Pendarvis won with 79.9% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Republican Theron Sandy II of Pinehurst to win by 1,118 votes. 2018 Pendarvis was unopposed in the Democratic primary and general election. 2020 Pendarvis won his primary on June 9, 2020, and was unopposed in the general election on November 3. In June 2020, he hired his only major staffer, communications director Jackson Hamilton. Pendarvis introduced legislation to reduce the high rate of evictions in South Carolina, working with advocacy groups on the issue. 2023 After the announcement that North Charleston Mayor Keith Sumney would not run for re-election, Pendarvis declined to run for the seat, expressing his decision to remain in the House of Representatives. In March 2023, Pendarvis introduced a bill to create an independent redistricting commission to combat gerrymandering. He served on the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs and the Legislative Oversight committees. 2024 Pendarvis filed unopposed for re-election. Pendarvis resigned his seat on September 16, 2024. Because information did not come in time to remove his name from the general election ballot, a special election was scheduled for March 25, 2025. Charleston County School Board Trustee

Courtney Waters Courtney Waters is an American politician representing South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to ...

announced her intention to run for the seat on November 7. In a Special Election Democratic Primary on January 21, 2025, Waters defeated Michelle Brandt and Kim Clark. Since no other opponents filed, Waters was the presumptive member-elect for the seat. She went on to win the March 25, 2025 Special Election.

Election history

Controversy

On May 17, 2024, Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty of the

South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.

released a decision to temporarily suspend Pendarvis' license to practice law, in connection with a lawsuit filed against him alleging legal malpractice and forgery. After the lawsuit was filed April 11, 2024, First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe requested an investigation by the

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency in South Carolina. SLED provides manpower and technical assistance to other law enforcement agencies and conducts investigations on behalf of ...

(SLED). SLED confirmed the following day that it had begun an investigation into the matter. On September 16, 2024, in a letter to House Speaker Murrell Smith, Pendarvis resigned his seat, effective immediately.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendarvis, Marvin R. Living people 1989 births Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly