Read this so early today, I forgot to mention it before…
How about Nikki Haley taking decisive action on the Richland County Recreation Board?
Gov. Nikki Haley is moving to fire all seven members of the Richland County Recreation Board.
The rare action by Haley comes after months of lawsuits alleging sexual harassment by recreation director James Brown III, who retired last month after he was indicted for misconduct in office.
It also follows allegations by a bipartisan majority of the 17-member Richland County Legislative Delegation that members of the appointed recreation board that oversaw Brown had grossly mismanaged the recreation commission’s affairs for years.
Lawmakers said board members allowed unwarranted pay raises and widespread nepotism and thus had neglected their duties.
In a 10-page executive order announced Thursday afternoon by the governor’s office, Haley affirmed the charges brought by the delegation majority and named the seven board members she seeks to remove.
They are: chairman J. Marie Green, vice-chair Barbara Mickens, Weston Furgess Jr., George D. Martin Jr., Joseph Weeks, Thomas Clark and Wilbert Lewis….
This is a bit more than lawmakers had asked for — they had just wanted to ditch the four who had most enabled Brown.
But they weren’t complaining. Sen. Joel Lourie sent me this last night:
In response to the Executive Order issued by Governor Haley today, members of the delegation issued the following statements:
Senator Joel Lourie:
“We thank the Governor and her staff for their diligence in pursuit of all the facts dealing with this complicated matter. This has always been about what is fair and right for the employees of the Recreation Commission and about providing quality, fiscally responsible services to the citizens of Richland County.”
Representative Beth Bernstein:
“I want to personally thank the Governor and her office for hearing our concerns and taking this unprecedented, but warranted, initiative on behalf of the citizens of Richland County. This Board will now be held accountable and the voices of the aggrieved employees of RCRC have been heard.”
Representative James Smith:
“This is a critical next step to restore public confidence in the Recreation Commission.”
Of course, those are members of the pro-reform majority of the delegation.
One of the defenders of the status quo said this:
“This is an absolute overreach,” said Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, who said Haley should leave the board members alone. “They didn’t do anything illegal or unethical.”
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The Governor has definitely done the right thing. Thanks to Gov. Haley, and to the delegation members who asked her to act.
Politically, Haley did the right thing; what she had to do. That said, not all the board were bad eggs, but they all got crushed for the greater good. I’ve heard Thomas Clark wasn’t part of the cabal; and I hope that’s true.
Todd Rutherford, on the other hand, continues to prove why his path is not one of civic leadership.
Mark, I know Thomas. He is a good egg. He works as a paid GAL for Richland County CASA, and he is very good working with the volunteer GALs. He was publicly angry about how the RCRC Board Chair was handling the situation. IMHO, he is collateral damage.