Loveless attorney makes case for subpoenas in LR5 ethics case
Attorneys for three people subpoenaed in the ethics case against a Lexington-Richland 5 school board member argued Thursday that the S.C. Ethics Commission should relieve them of having to testify under oath.
The lawyers argued that all three — Greg Hughes, the president of a construction company at issue in the case; Michael Montgomery, the former attorney for the Lexington-Richland 5 school district; and Ed White, a former school board member — have no relevant information about the charges against board vice chair Ken Loveless. He is accused of violating the state Ethics Act in his dealings with Contract Construction, the firm hired to build an elementary school for the district. Loveless had a contract with the company on another project while the school work was being done.
The attorneys argued the subpoenas have been issued only to harass their clients and should be quashed by the commission.
But Loveless attorney Desa Ballard said she has questions for all three men that would be relevant to the case against her client.
The Ethics Commission accuses Loveless of inquiring about Contract Construction’s work on Piney Woods Elementary School in a letter on March 24, 2020, even though Loveless’ company had been awarded a more than $1 million contract with the company for another job. Loveless is also accused of improperly participating in board discussions of Piney Woods on June 15 and Sept. 14 of that year. Loveless also visited Piney Woods in June 2020 to review Contract Construction’s work.
The commissioners did not make any decisions about the subpoenas on Thursday, asking attorneys for all sides to submit draft orders to the commission by noon Friday. But the hearing gave the first indication of what Loveless’ attorney might seek in such depositions.
Hughes could testify, Ballard said, about whether Loveless’ relationship with Hughes’ company created a conflict of interest under the law. The statue says a conflict could arise if a public official is a compensated agent of a company, an owner, or if family members are involved. She also said Hughes may shed light on what government decisions Loveless may have been involved with after Loveless’ company received the $1 million contract from Contract Construction.
Hughes’ attorney Billy McGee said the contract between Hughes’ company and Loveless Commercial Contracting is public record, and he stipulated that Loveless had no ownership or financial stake in Contract Construction. Any other questions, he said, could be asked at a formal hearing of the Ethics Commission.
He said Hughes has no knowledge of any school district decisions Loveless may have been involved with after his company received the contract to build Piney Woods Elementary School near Chapin. He, therefore, would be unable to answer questions about them.
In seeking to question White, the former school board member, Ballard asserted that some school board decisions may have been made in private. She cited an affidavit White submitted in a lawsuit over the resignation agreement the board reached with Lexington-Richland 5’s former superintendent, Christina Melton. In that case — filed on behalf of The State Media Co. — White said school board members made decisions about Melton’s employment in a closed-door executive session, outside of public view.
In that case, a decision was apparently made that “should have been on the record, but according to Mr. White, it’s not,” Ballard said. “He goes into great detail about things that occurred in executive session, made allegations about votes taken in executive session in violation of the law.”
Knicely, White’s attorney, noted that White’s affidavit is about a separate matter to that being considered by the Ethics Commission, and the former board member has made no claim that decisions related to Contract Construction were made during closed-door school board meetings.
“It’s confounding that she would want to ask questions to establish that her client made government decisions that were made off the record,” Knicely said. He questioned why other board members have not also been subpoenaed for depositions on off-the-record proceedings. “It’s on the record that a quorum of board members met at a Waffle House, but Mr. White wasn’t there.”
In March 2021, The State reported that a majority of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board gathered at a Waffle House following a regular school board meeting. Loveless, who was among those at the gathering, said the group did not discuss school business during their meal.
Ballard said that her office has also subpoenaed Michael Cates, who was chairman of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board until he lost re-election in 2020.
The commissioners asked that White’s affidavit be entered into the record for their consideration.
Representing Montgomery, attorney Frank Potts said his client was not involved in any discussions about Contract Construction that would not be covered by attorney-client privilege in his role as the school district’s attorney. He certainly was not involved, as Ballard had claimed in an email, with “working with Ed White and possibly others to have Mr. Loveless removed from the Board.” Potts said that claim is, “if not defamation, it’s borderline.”
Potts also questioned the validity of the subpoena itself, which was issued by Ethics Commission Executive Director Meghan Walker, without indicating it was approved by the Ethics Commission itself or its chairman, Scott Frick. Ballard argued the commission had previously delegated that responsibility to Walker.
She said her office is seeking to conduct the depositions quickly. Montgomery’s deposition is currently set for Monday, and Ballard is seeking to have a scheduled February hearing on the charges moved up to October, before voters consider Loveless for another term on the school board in November.
“We are asking this hearing be moved up, so this can be determined before the election,” Ballard said.
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