If you live in the Midlands, South Carolina, there is a vote scheduled for tonight that you can keep an eye on. Scandal-ridden Richland County Council members must decide who will lead their government in the next two years – Acting President Paul Livingston or first-term councilwoman Chakisse Newton.
Haven’t you heard of this race? You are not alone …
Although the contest has a significant impact on determining the future of the state’s second largest county (which is home to the state capital of Columbia, SC), the contest has received very little media attention.
Which is unfortunate …
Frankly, we are shocked that Livingston might even consider the possibility of a second term as president, due to the sheer rodeo he has chaired for the past two years.
However, according to an email sent to his colleagues last week, Livingston says that his “leadership skills, institutional knowledge and the ability to partner with community leaders and elected officials will help us meet the challenges of 2021.”
Same?
“The difficult decision to seek re-election as its president was made after much scrutiny, as well as sincere deliberation with constituents, community and business leaders and colleagues,” continued Livingston. “I believe that I can continue to help us move forward and provide the stability and institutional knowledge that is so needed right now.”
Do we believe Livingston can help move Richland County forward? Do not. Absolutely not. A year and a half ago, we wrote a column discussing the bleak situation in South Carolina’s “capital county”, determining that the government chaired by Livingston was “beyond repair.”
This column revolved around the dubious dismissal of the former county administrator Gerald Seals in April 2018 – and the subsequent reward that prevented Seals from discussing the circumstances of his departure.
Hired in December 2016, Seals fought with county council members over the recipe for a controversial “penny tax” – a $ 1.2 billion tax that was passed through a fraudulent election in 2012. The proceeds of that tax increase were subject to serious misappropriation and mismanagement – and the county was forced to borrow tens of millions of dollars to cover cost overruns related to its political motivation projects.
In fact, the SC Revenue Department (SCDOR) still struggles against the municipality for $ 32.5 million in the proceeds of that tax which it claims to have been diverted.
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Where did all the money go from this tax increase? We may never know … And we certainly won’t know as long as Livingston and his allies are in charge.
In any case, the stamps received a $ 1 million county reward a month after his termination – that a councilor claimed to be “secret money” paid to the former administrator to prevent him from revealing what he knew about the corruption and corruption of several other county council members.
In fact, had it not been for the settlement money, Seals said during a recent testimony that he “would have used names” to expose crimes allegedly perpetrated by these council members.
Controversial Seals deal canceled by SC circuit court judge Jocelyn Newman last autumn, but he was not obliged to return the money.
Several board members argued that the former administrator should be allowed to witness everything he knows at a public hearing – one that “bring transparency to his termination and see why he received a $ 1 million settlement as secret money”.
Livingston is opposed to such an audience, however – just as he is opposed to other efforts to make the Richland County government more transparent and accountable to the citizens it should serve.
In addition to “income tax” issues, Livingston is also being challenged for his role in the controversial development of the “Richland Renaissance” – a proposal $ 150 million courthouse complex in central Columbia, SC, which was filed in the fall (after county taxpayers paid nearly $ 9 million on the property for installation).
“What’s the plan for that?” a councilman asked us bluntly.
In addition, Livingston is being criticized for not promptly informing fellow board members that the top two county attorneys were stepping down in late 2020. Board members were unaware of these layoffs until early December – although Livingston seems having been alerted to impending vacancies last June.
This communication failure was mentioned by councilwoman Newton in her e-mail to colleagues who sought her support.
“In recent years, we have shared some of the same frustrations: wanting to show progress in the progress of our movements and programs instead of feeling that we are on a waiting pattern, wanting to make sure we have all the materials we need when we need them and checking if they are right the first time, not wanting to be surprised to learn of the council’s plans from The state newspaper or receiving important information months later would have been useful and appropriate, ”wrote Newton. “I have plans to address these areas. And more than a plan, I have a track record of success. “
Newton, a businesswoman, said that “helping organizations work better has been my life’s work for more than twenty years”.
“Every improvement we make in how we operate and how we behave improves the lives of our citizens,” she continued. “I am running for the presidency of the council because I believe that we can offer better services to our citizens by managing a better organization and maintaining ourselves at a higher standard. We can do a job that makes you proud. We can change our processes to be more in line with the billion dollar organization we are and work more collaboratively, work more efficiently and be more effective. “
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Newton was elected in 2018, defeating a longtime board member Norman Jackson – which was at the center of several law enforcement investigations at the time. Before his defeat in the Democratic primaries that year, Jackson was accused of corruption related to a local park, as well as “bullying” in support of his alleged self-limitation.
Meanwhile, last month, the former Richland County councilwoman Dalhi Myers was indicted for a number of corruption charges related to her alleged abuse of taxpayer resources. Myers was first elected to her position in a special election in June 2016 – taking the place of a former councilor who was removed from office for not filing an income tax return.
Is anyone spotting a trend here?
We don’t know if Newton would do better than Livingston if his colleagues entrusted him with this responsibility … but it would obviously be difficult for her to do worse.
Result? As we noted in a recent article, the Columbia area is facing some significant economic headwinds towards 2021. It cannot allow corrupt and self-centered leaders – nor can it allow leaders that enable, accommodate or tolerate such corruption.
Whoever wins in this dispute must commit (along with his supporters) to govern in a way that protects public resources and restores public faith. Anything below that is unacceptable …
-FITSNews
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