With legal trouble nearly behind him, will Baddourah return to Columbia City Council?

It’s been 26 months since Moe Baddourah was charged with domestic violence, 18 months since S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Baddourah from Columbia City Council and less than a week since Baddourah was accepted into a program that could wipe that charge from his record.

Baddourah will not be found guilty of the alleged crime that got him suspended from office. Now, when will he return to office?

The governor, who has the sole authority to reinstate Baddourah, has not yet made that decision, McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said Wednesday.

It certainly will not happen before Baddourah has completed his pretrial intervention requirements, which include counseling and community service, Symmes said. McMaster’s office is “actively looking into” whether there is any reason why Baddourah could not or should not be reinstated at that point.

But Baddourah’s lawyer says the reinstatement should happen immediately.

“The handwriting is on the wall” that Baddourah’s charge will be expunged, attorney Joe McCulloch said. “I think it’s time for the people of that district to have their representative back.”

Baddourah, 55, was charged with second-degree criminal domestic violence, a misdemeanor, after an argument with his then-estranged wife in June 2016. Baddourah’s now-ex-wife accused the councilman of slamming her leg in a car door after she had apparently taken his cellphone and wouldn’t give it back. Their children were present for the incident.

“We maintain that this was an unfortunate accident,” McCulloch said.

A grand jury indicted Baddourah in January 2017, several days before McMaster became governor. Two months later, in March, McMaster suspended Baddourah from office, backed by an opinion of the attorney general.

More than a year later, Baddourah sued McMaster over his suspension, calling it “ill-conceived, unlawful and unconstitutional” and asking for the opportunity to continue to serve on council “until I am given a chance to clear my name.” That civil lawsuit is still pending, McCulloch said.

South Carolina law allows the governor to remove an elected official if the official is indicted for a crime of “moral turpitude,” though it does not require the governor to do so.

Both Baddourah and former state Sen. John Courson — whose district overlapped Baddourah’s — were suspended in 2017 after being indicted, but before being convicted, on criminal charges. Courson later pleaded guilty to willful misconduct in office and resigned in June, more than a year after his suspension.

But in another recent instance, the mayor of Ware Shoals,, John Hansen, continued to serve for nearly two years while facing two charges of domestic violence. Hansen pleaded guilty to one charge this June, but McMaster did not force Hansen’s removal until August.

McMaster’s predecessor, former Gov. Nikki Haley, ousted another local official, former Richland County Councilman Kelvin Washington, in 2016 after Washington pleaded guilty to not filing income taxes for multiple years.

McCulloch said McMaster has ignored the presumption of Baddourah’s innocence while his case languished in the legal system.

By completing a pretrial intervention program, Baddourah admits no wrongdoing, and his charge will be dropped and expunged from his record.

During Baddourah’s 1.5-year suspension, his constituents have gone without City Council representation. Baddourah’s District 3, which spans neighborhoods from Five Points to south Columbia, has faced a number of contentious issues in that time, including fights over zoning for a Zaxby’s drive-thru restaurant in Five Points and for new athletic fields at Dreher High School.

“We definitely need a voice, and we need a strong voice. Hopefully Moe will get back in and rise to the occasion,” said Kit Smith, a Wales Garden resident, neighborhood activist and former member of Richland County Council. “We’re tired of having to wield our own sword. We need a sword bearer.”

Though he was not able to participate in City Council discussions or vote on issues, Baddourah has said he remained involved in his district and, when asked last fall, was adamant that he would not resign.

Baddourah has said he intends to return to his council seat. His term will end Dec. 31, 2019.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 9:45 AM.