Yesterday afternoon featured some flashy headlines from O (Columbia, SC) State newspaper and The (Charleston, SC) Post and Courier as the post of governor Henry McMaster made a big fuss about his decision to end Amy Cofield as executive director of the SC State Accident Fund (SCSAF).
Not only did McMaster fire Cofield for cause, he instructed the SC Inspector General’s Office (SCOIG) to launch an investigation into “significant ethical and legal issues regarding employee conduct” at this agency – which is responsible for providing “cost effective, guarantee of occupational accident insurance for state agencies and other government entities. ”
Specifically, McMaster instructed SCOIG to “conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether criminal violations of state law have occurred.”
What happened?
As the headlines attest, a company that employs Cofield’s husband – Jimmy Terrapin – was hired by your agency for a two-year contract valued at up to $ 600,000 earlier this year.
Wow … nepotism as always, right? Just another South Carolina bureaucrat looking after a family member at the expense of taxpayers, correct?
That’s certainly what it sounds like … and that’s the perception that McMaster’s office was undoubtedly betting on when it notified reporters about Cofield’s termination on Monday afternoon (just as she was told to pick up her calls). things in your old office).
In fact, McMaster went on to say that actions like Cofield’s dismissal were “critical to maintaining public confidence in the state government.”
Cofield aggressively defended himself against allegations of impropriety … but let’s be realistic: Is there a justifiable excuse for allowing someone’s agency to pay the spouse that amount?
Some background …
Based on what she told the mainstream media, the Cofield agency was in the midst of building a new case management system after the spectacular failure of a similar system in the SC Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW). In fact, previous efforts by accident fund leaders to address this problem had been an absolute failure – returning taxpayers more than $ 1 million.
(Click to view)
(Via: Provided)
To listen to Cofield (above), she knew that her husband – who has three decades of experience in the information technology sector – could help with the project, but it would be inappropriate to hire him.
After an initial public request for proposals (RFP) did not yield answers, however, Cofield allowed his subordinates to explore the possibility of hiring her husband – including obtaining permission from state purchasing officers before moving on to another RFP.
This second public RFP yielded only one response – from the company that employs Cofield’s husband.
Cofield told the press that he had no role in the decision-making process that led to the signing of the contract on January 6, 2021 – that all of these decisions were made by his subordinates. She also made it clear that her husband did not report to her.
Once again, the view of an agency that hires its director’s wife is absolutely terrible in any circumstances. And there is a fair argument to be made Cofield should have Never considered this possibility – no matter who gave your blessing.
But there is also an argument to be made that Cofield’s husband was (is) eminently qualified for the job – that no one else applied after two rounds of public RFPs – and that Cofield handled the situation properly in terms of revealing the conflict and refuse herself of any decisions related to him.
At the very least, there is an argument to be made that Cofield did not deserve to be fired from her job based on the way she handled the situation – much less find yourself on the receiving end of charges of criminal conduct.
Cofield was appointed to the position of executive director of the fund in January 2019. Before taking office, she was a lawyer specializing in labor, real estate and probate indemnities.
Sources close to Cofield told us that she was in the process of hiring a lawyer to defend herself during the SCOIG investigation – and file an illegal termination suit against McMaster.
According to our sources, the process will feature the former McMaster nominating czar Tommy Windsor, who got a job at the Cofield agency shortly after taking office. Windsor was accused by Cofield of leading the effort to fire her because he was unhappy with his role.
(Click to view)
(Via: Twitter)
Cofield told reporters that Windsor (above) wanted her to create the agency’s chief of staff position, a title she did not create (or confer on him) because she believed it was superfluous.
Clearly, this bureaucratic battle is just beginning, when Cofield’s lawyers are tasked with shooting Windsor and McMaster. We were also told that the former Lexington County professor – who ran unsuccessfully for the superintendent of education a few years ago – has several influential legislative allies at her side as she struggles to restore her reputation.
Our vision? Like most of our readers, we were shocked by the allegations of nepotism that dominated the headlines yesterday – and inclined to give McMaster and his management the benefit of the doubt in their decision to shut down Cofield.
But if her account is accurate, there is clearly much more to this story … that we suspect that her next process will develop in the coming weeks.
-FITSNews
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Flag: SC State Accident Fund
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