Former LR5 board member Loveless’ attorney challenges his ethics charges in hearing
Former Lexington-Richland 5 school board member Ken Loveless didn’t violate state ethics laws during construction of an elementary school because he didn’t vote on the project and any discussions he participated in are legal, his attorney argued Thursday.
A hearing on four ethics charges filed against Loveless was held Thursday before the state Ethics Commission. The charges accuse him of improperly discussing and inquiring about the construction of Piney Woods Elementary School in 2020. That’s illegal because the general contractor on the Piney Woods project — Contract Construction — had hired Loveless’ company for another project, the construction of a lab for SLED, according to the ethics commission’s staff.
The hearing was held before a panel of the State Ethics Commission that included Chairman Scott Frick, Vice-Chairman AJ Holloway and Xavier Starkes. A ruling will be announced in a few weeks.
The commission’s staff says Loveless inquired about the Piney Woods construction in a March 24, 2020, letter to former Superintendent Christina Melton. Loveless is also accused of participating in board discussions about Piney Woods on June 15 and Sept. 14, 2020. Staffers also say Loveless visited Piney Woods in June 2020.
Desa Ballard, Loveless’ attorney, said that according to state law, it’s not illegal for Loveless to participate in conversations about the school as long as he didn’t participate in any voting. Ballard also alleged Loveless didn’t visit Piney Woods that month.
Ballard had previously argued that Loveless did not participate in a government “action” as defined by the Ethics Act, according to a previous article in The State. She said taking “action” should be limited to voting on matters related to Contract Construction.
During Thursday’s hearing, the commission’s chief investigator, Ryanne W. Caldwell, testified that state law says public officials with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from any action related to the conflict.
Loveless did recuse himself in early 2021 after he reached out to the ethics commission. The commission said that the recusal would only be temporary, until the South Carolkina Law Enforcement Division lab was finished. Loveless testified Thursday that his involvement with the project had ended.
The dispute over whether Loveless visited the Piney Woods construction site in June 2020 was a major point of contention in Thursday’s hearing.
Then-superintendent Christina Melton had organized a tour of Piney Woods that month for all board members. Former LR5 board member Michael Cates said Loveless was on the tour. Cates testified on Thursday he remembers Loveless talking to the construction site manager during the tour.
Loveless testified he wasn’t there.
Ballard showed the commission photos of the construction site in June 2020 to say there was no reason for Loveless to visit at that time, as construction was starting. There is no written proof that Loveless was present at the tour.
Loveless said he only visited the site twice - “once for the ribbon-cutting ceremony well after my recusal. The first time I went, it was cold. Everybody had coats on, and there was a roof on the building,” Loveless testified.
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
