No Baddourah. No Courson. Suspended politicians leave Columbia district voiceless

Thousands of Columbia residents are in an unusual position of being arguably unrepresented, or at least underrepresented, in their local and state governments.

Their situation amounts to, some say, a breach of the basic principle of a representative democracy.

These residents have:

▪ A city councilman, Moe Baddourah, who was suspended by Gov. Henry McMaster in March after being charged with misdemeanor criminal domestic violence.

▪ A state senator, John Courson, who also was suspended in March by the governor after being charged with misconduct in office.

▪ A state House representative, James Smith, who is campaigning to become governor.

▪ And a Richland County councilman, Seth Rose, who is campaigning to become an S.C. House representative.

These overlapping political districts cover well-established and influential neighborhoods such as Shandon, Wales Garden and University Hill, near the city’s downtown core.

Feeling left without a voice in government, residents of at least one neighborhood are asking their suspended city councilman, Baddourah, to resign so a special election could be held.

“It’s in our best interest to have someone who is actively representing us,” said Robert Wilson, president of the Wales Garden neighborhood association.

The neighborhood voted recently to call on Baddourah to step down from his District 3 seat.

“It’s concerning for us because we’re in an urban neighborhood downtown with issues and with concerns, and we just don’t know when we’re going to have our full layer of representation back,” Wilson said.

Baddourah, though, said Friday “resigning is not an option.”

“I was elected by the people who want me to represent them,” Baddourah said. “I may not be able to vote on council ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but I’m still active in my district.”

Baddourah faces a second-degree domestic violence charge stemming from an incident last year involving his estranged wife. Baddourah maintains that he “didn’t do anything wrong.” He has not been convicted.

He has challenged the governor’s decision to suspend him and believes he and his legal team are “getting close” to a resolution. A state judge recently has upheld the governor.

Neighborhood issues

With nine months passed since Baddourah was silenced on City Council, some of his constituents worry how much longer this situation could drag on.

“It’s been such a long time, and the issues surrounding his seat have not been resolved, so I think it’s time that we had an opportunity to put somebody else in there,” said April Lucas, a resident of the University Hill neighborhood that sits between Five Points and the University of South Carolina campus. “I do think that missing that vote, missing that support is beginning to show.”

There are issues ranging from the granular – removing a dangerous tree or fixing water or flooding problems – to the heavier – zoning fights over new businesses or the ongoing controversy over Dreher High School’s athletic fields – that residents say they would turn to their council representative for help with.

“There’s just a perception that we don’t have anyone to fight our fights or be on our side or tell us how to handle some of these big issues,” said William Lynn Shirley, president of the Hollywood-Rose Hill neighborhood group.

Taxation without representation?

Though City Council representation has a more personal effect on most residents than state-level representation, some are feeling slighted by their lack of representation in the S.C. Senate, too.

“All it takes is one matter or something that comes up and you realize – it’s like you never worry about what kind of insurance you have on your house until there’s a flood,” Shirley said.

It’s a double-whammy for folks in the overlapping area of Baddourah and Courson’s districts, not to mention that their Richland County Council and state House representatives both are juggling political campaigns on top of constituent services.

“We kind of feel like, to a large extent, nobody’s really focused on our best interest,” said Kit Smith, a Wales Garden resident and former Richland County Council member.

Altogether, these residents’ lack of representation amounts to a breakdown of democracy, said John Crangle, the former director of Common Cause of South Carolina and a resident of the unrepresented districts.

“The reason why the United States was founded was a protest over taxation without representation,” Crangle said. “It’s a fundamental issue in American democracy. The people are entitled to representation, and we’re not getting that.”

He’s pushing for the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for Courson, at least.

Filling the gap

While suspensions drag out, City Council District 3 residents have turned to the city’s two at-large council members, Howard Duvall and Tameika Isaac Devine.

“It’s not like our only conduit for justice was through Moe Baddourah,” Hollywood-Rose Hill’s Shirley said.

Devine said she’s become the first point of contact more often than ever for folks in neighborhoods she rarely dealt with in the past.

Despite the increased constituent workload, Duvall said he does not believe Baddourah should resign his seat.

“I think he was improperly removed in the first place,” Duvall said.

However, Duvall said, if Baddourah resigned, Baddourah likely would be able to immediately turn around and run for his own seat in a special election.

A misdemeanor charge – or even a conviction – does not prevent a person from running for or holding public office, Duvall said.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 8:09 AM with the headline "No Baddourah. No Courson. Suspended politicians leave Columbia district voiceless."