‘Cowardly and unethical:’ Tri-County board thwarted in secret attempt to fire CEO

A last-minute effort by Tri-County Electric’s embattled board to secretly fire the co-op’s chief executive and top attorney was thwarted Friday by a judge’s restraining order protecting the executives from retaliation.

More than 225 of the electrical co-op’s customer-owners — including more than two dozen Tri-County linemen — packed into Friday’s unannounced board meeting to show support for CEO Chad Lowder and general counsel John Felder.

Faced with the furious crowd, the co-op’s six remaining board members stayed in a back room, dodging a mob of customers for a second straight day, before agreeing to do nothing.

The bizarre meeting was held three months after The State first revealed the part-time board’s members had paid themselves about $52,000 on average in 2016 — triple the national average and more than any of South Carolina’s 19 other electric co-ops. For years, the board members, tasked with keeping costs low for the co-op’s rural customers who also are its owners, had boosted their pay with co-op funded health insurance plans and by racking up $450-a-day payments for attending an inordinate number of board meetings.

Friday’s unannounced board meeting was called a day before Tri-County customers — up to 13,600 of them in six Midlands counties — are set to meet Saturday at the co-op’s St. Matthews headquarters for an unprecedented vote on whether to throw the entire Tri-County board out of office.

The board did not show up for its regularly scheduled monthly meeting Thursday, angering the 60 customers who came to question them. However, on Friday morning it scheduled a secret 2 p.m. meeting.

The purpose was to “discuss the issues in (board attorney) Jake Moore’s last letter,” according to a message sent by another board attorney, Hugh McNatt of Georgia, and obtained by The State newspaper.

That letter — sent Aug. 10 from Moore to CEO Lowder — raised the issue of whether Saturday’s special meeting is legal, accused Lowder of refusing to comply with the board’s requests and hinted the board could move to suspend or fire Lowder “and other advisory staff.”

Moore also told WIS TV on Friday morning that Lowder could be suspended at the Friday meeting.

“It led us to believe they were going to take retaliatory measures against the employees, including Chad,” said David Black, an attorney for Tri-County.

First Judicial Circuit Administrative Judge Edward Dickson agreed, signing a temporary restraining order — 22 minutes before Friday’s meeting — to block the board from firing or suspending Lowder or his staff.

Speaking to a small group of employees, attorneys, reporters and customers who were allowed into the back room where the board was, Tri-County’s directors agreed to take no action Friday and said they would not attempt to stop Saturday’s special vote.

McNatt, the board’s attorney, said he thinks that special meeting is illegal but did not say why.

“Y’all can deal with the law stuff in court,” replied state Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, who pressured the board for assurances it would take no action Friday.

The board also refused several calls to face the angry crowd waiting for them in a larger room about 50 feet away.

Board Chairman Heath Hill — who was paid nearly $80,000 by Tri-County last year — said the directors had no reason to face their customer-owners after receiving the temporary restraining order.

“You’ve solidified your character as cowardly and unethical,” 41-year-old Tri-County customer Joe Strickland told the board.

“We would like for you to have the courage to address your members,” said state Rep. Wendy Brawley, D-Richland.

Last weekend, The State reported the board members also gave themselves co-op funded retirement plans that paid out nearly $81,000 to each director in 2008, $300 Christmas bonuses normally reserved for employees and expensive dinners at restaurants, including Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Columbia.

In May, several board members campaigned against a package of proposals that would have reined in their pay. The proposed changes were voted down by a razor-thin margin at Tri-County’s annual meeting.

Those same bylaws changes will be up for another vote when Tri-County’s customers reconvene Saturday in St. Matthews. Customers will be asked whether the board should be fired and whether the pay changes should be approved.

Nearly 700 customers must show up for the vote to count.

“The meeting tomorrow is very important,” Tri-County general counsel John Felder told the crowd Friday. “That is democracy in action. That is your time to shine. That is your time to express your voice.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 4:13 PM.