Pick to lead Richland elections walks away, board member quits as negotiations falter
Two months ago, it looked like Richland County’s search for a new elections director was over, as the county elections board extended an offer to their preferred candidate for the job.
Now the county is back to square one, as would-be director Tammy Smith has walked away from the job and one board member has resigned in frustration over how negotiations with Smith were handled.
Craig Plank, who had served as vice chair of the five-member board, said Richland County lost its No. 1 pick for the job just weeks before the June primary because his fellow board members were unwilling to negotiate a final deal with Smith.
“We fumbled the ball,” Plank said. “Two meetings ago, we agreed to complete the negotiations, and I voted no, because we continued to make the same offer.”
On Monday, Smith officially declined the job offer she conditionally agreed to in March in a letter to the election board. Plank said there was not a big difference between what Smith was asking for and the proposed salary the board offered, but the board would not adjust its offer to meet her. /Former elections director Rokey Suleman was paid $81,000 when he was hired in 2017.
Richland County election board chairman Charles Austin said the board would continue to look for a new director with the goal of filling the position by July 1. He declined to elaborate on why talks with Smith broke down.
“I would refer you back to her,” Austin said.
Reached by The State, Smith said she had asked for an “under $5,000” difference in what was offered, based on what she said were expected cost-of-living increases in moving to Columbia from Wilson County, Tennessee, where Smith currently serves as a deputy elections director.
“Up until last Thursday, I would have said I was coming,” she said. “But they wouldn’t move to the middle. It felt like it was their way or no way.”
Smith also said she was frustrated by what she felt was an inability by Richland County to answer her questions about things like budgeting or benefits. “I thought I was asking for pretty simple information,” she said, “but I had to be persistent to get anything.”
“I give credit to the board members,” she said. “I respect many of them. I don’t know where the breakdown was. I’m glad that they chose me, and I’m sorry that it didn’t work out... I hope they get to where they need to be, because the voters in Richland County deserve better.”
Richland County has been without a full-time election director since Suleman was fired last May after two years heading the department. That decision came after Richland County failed to count more than 1,000 ballots in the 2018 general election, and the entire election board was fired by Gov. Henry McMaster.
The county has continued to struggle under interim director Terry Graham, who remains on the job. Seventy ballots were not counted in February’s Democratic presidential primary, and were not located by staff until two days later. With the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, up to 300 poll workers have backed off volunteering for the June 9 primaries, and the county is looking to combine 30 polling places to carry out local and statewide votes with a reduced staff.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Austin said of completing the June primary, but “we’re going to successfully conduct the election process.”
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Austin said Richland County is coordinating closely with the state election commission and its counterparts in Charleston and Greenville counties to make sure the primary is carried out as safely as possible, with statewide social distancing requirements likely to remain in place.
Plank believes county election staff will face a logistical challenge dealing with an expected increase in applications for absentee ballots because of the pandemic. Even if Smith had accepted the job and could have begun work in the next few weeks, Plank doesn’t believe there’s enough time to correct the challenges the county will face in June.
“Don’t expect a lot of results at 7:01 on election night,” he said.
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