Richland County Council seeks SLED probe after staffer claims councilman bullied her
Richland County Council voted Monday afternoon to ask that SLED investigate allegations brought by an assistant county administrator that she had been bullied and threatened by Councilman Norman Jackson during a closed-door council meeting last week.
Council members, after another closed-door meeting on Monday, voted 9-0 to seek the investigation. Jackson, who represents parts of the Lower Richland area, abstained from voting. Councilman Jim Manning did not attend Monday's meeting.
The complaints against Jackson were made by Assistant County Administrator Sandra Yudice.
No details were given publicly of the exchange between Jackson and Yudice, but County Council Chairwoman Joyce Dickerson confirmed the exchange stemmed from issues surrounding Pinewood Lake Park in Jackson's district.
Several council sources said the exchange involved invoices Jackson related to the park.
Jackson called the allegations a "slander campaign by a disgruntled employee" prior to the upcoming June primary and November election. Jackson, a Democrat, is being opposed by Chakisse Newton in the June Democratic primary.
The primary winner will face Republican Zoe Pruitt Owen in November.
The council named Yudice the acting county administrator after moving to fire Administrator Gerald Seals. Yudice, who could not be reached for comment, was hired by Seals to be an assistant county administrator.
Jackson said he welcomed the investigation.
"Anyone attacks my character, I have to have it cleared," he said. "I will not stand by and be abused and bullied by a disgruntled employee."
Seals told The State last month that the effort to fire him came, in part, because he challenged Jackson over the purchase of land in Lower Richland for the Pinewood Lake Park, a purchase Seals said was illegal because the council never approved it.
Seals claims Jackson pressured a county staff member last year to direct a private company to purchase four acres of land on behalf of the county. The $120,000 purchase was to expand Pinewood Lake Park, which is located off Garners Ferry Road in Jackson’s District 11.
Jackson has been the driving force behind Pinewood Lake Park for the better part of a decade, since he began encouraging the county to buy a swath of land at Pinewood Lake, sometimes known as Caughman Pond, off Old Garners Ferry Road. Anchored by the lake, the park features walking trails, several picnic shelters, bathrooms and an office.
Jackson told The State he wasn't involved in the land purchase, and accused Seals of lying. Seals is on paid administrative leave.
On April 3, Jackson made the motion to fire Seals. He was backed by a slim majority of fellow council members: Gwen Kennedy, Paul Livingston, Manning, Greg Pearce and Seth Rose.
Jackson later told The State that he moved to fire Seals for alleged insubordination and for hiring friends as contractors. Council members later issued an official notice to Seals saying they intended to fire him because of what they said was a rapid turnover of county staff under Seals' tenure, unauthorized policy decisions and literally sleeping on the job.
Seals told The State the effort to fire him is driven in part because he raised questions about the Pinewood Lake Park land purchase.
This story was originally published May 7, 2018 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Richland County Council seeks SLED probe after staffer claims councilman bullied her."