Friday, June 19, 2020

True State of Ethics in State

In an article in the June 18, 2020 online edition of The State newspaper, a well-known expert on ethics had this to say: “I think a lot of (elected officials) just don’t give a s***,” said Crangle. “Ethics is not a priority in South Carolina. It never has been.”

John Crangle was Executive Director of South Carolina Common Cause for many years and published Operation Lost Cause in 2015. It's about South Carolina legislators who violated the trust of those who elected them and about some who went to jail for it. A copy of Crangle's 600-page book is available at each Richland County Library. When I checked it out last year, it appeared I was the first to open it.

When I read Crangle's comment, I could not help but think of two people on the Richland 2 School Board.

One has owed $51,750 in fines and fees to the S.C. Ethics Commission and hasn't paid a penny in two years. She has a judgment against her in that amount, filed in July 2019 in the Richland County Common Pleas Court. Why isn't she paying it off?

The other is an attorney with multiple tax liens for numerous business and personal taxes. 

Are these people who should be serving on a school board and responsible for managing millions of dollars in assets and revenues?