Tension among town leaders roils Irmo

Bad blood among Irmo town leaders is threatening to boil over.

Three Town Council members led by Mayor Hardy King are looking for a way to eject another whom they consider excessively argumentative and unruly at meetings.

Their search is under way despite advice from the state attorney general’s office that council members aren’t allowed to oust one of their own from sessions because that person is being disruptive.

The target is Councilman Barry Walker, who says King and allies don’t like it when he objects to their ideas.

“We just have differences of opinion,” he said. “They don’t seem to respect that. If I don’t agree, I’ll talk about it.”

The problem isn’t disagreement, but rudeness, as Walker interrupts others repeatedly with comments and questions, King said.

“It’s that he won’t let me or others finish,” the mayor said. “That’s not proper decorum.”

King is recommending rules of conduct that make ejection a last resort that other council members may consider only after two warnings.

Setting standards has become necessary “to run an effective meeting,” he said.

Walker isn’t backing down, even if it means confrontation. “I’m not going to change my style,” he said.

The ill will comes after Walker supported candidates who lost in town elections last fall to King and Councilmen Mark Pouliot and Julius Waites.

Walker also supported an unsuccessful effort last year to stop King from presiding at meetings and setting agendas. Their conflict took root after King beat Walker for mayor at the polls in 2011.

King denies the idea of ejection is political payback, saying it’s necessary because Walker appears dedicated to “giving me a hard time.”

The friction is becoming a black eye for the community of 11,000 residents, Councilwoman Kathy Condom warns.

Any effort to remove a town leader from a meeting for behavior others dislike would become an embarrassment, she said.

“It would put the town in a bad light,” Condom said. “It would be a very negative thing to do.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 6:38 PM.