After leadership meltdown, Richland County hires interim administrator

It’s been more than five months since Richland County Council voted to fire their county administrator, Gerald Seals. Five months since they backtracked with a vote to suspend him. And four months since Seals resigned and walked away with a $1 million settlement and a promise not to sue the county.

On Tuesday, council members filled the leadership void by hiring Edward Gomeau as interim county administrator. Gomeau is expected to begin working for the county Oct. 29.

Gomeau is expected to serve several months until the county hires a permanent administrator. A search firm already is helping the county find candidates for Seals’ successor.

The administrator is the top official in county government, overseeing all the day-to-day operations of the county, similar to a director or CEO of a private organization.

Gomeau has a lengthy background in finance and local government administration in Connecticut, including working in the past as the finance director for Greenwich, Conn., one of the richest towns in the country.

Since Seals’ departure in May, Richland County has been without a top administrator. Assistant county administrator Sandra Yudice has fulfilled the administrator’s duties in Seals’ absence.

Seals initially was hired as interim county administrator in July 2016, replacing retiring administrator Tony McDonald. In December 2016, council members abandoned a national search and chose to extend a full contract to Seals.

He departed in a cloud of controversy earlier this year, when a slim majority of council abruptly voted to fire him April 3. Seals argued his firing was done by an illegal procedure and without cause.

Some council members said they voted to fire Seals because he slept on the job, had a rapid turnover of staff and took major actions without input from the council. Seals refuted those reasons and claimed he was being fired in retaliation for personal grievances held by some council members.

His tenure officially ended in May when he negotiated a $1 million settlement from the county, with the agreement that he would not sue the county or County Council members. A Richland County resident, William Coggins, has sued Seals and the county over that settlement.

This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 10:00 PM.