Back in April, we reported that soon after Earl Bullard took office as mayor of Latta, South Carolina; he fired Crystal Moore as the town’s police chief. While it initially appeared the firing was retaliation for Moore discovering that Bullard had failed to properly vet the town’s new parks director, evidence surfaced that strongly suggested Bullard had really fired Moore because she is openly lesbian. Well, partly as a result of the furor over the firing, residents of the town half an hour northeast of Florence voted overwhelmingly to strip Bullard of most of his powers. That move that will clear the way for the town council to offer Moore her old job back–an offer that Moore will accept.
After WBTW in Florence discovered that Latta’s new parks director, Vontray Sellers, had been seen driving a town vehicle on a suspended license, Moore decided to investigate Sellers. She discovered that Sellers had recently been charged with assault, and that Bullard hadn’t even conducted a rudimentary background check on him even though Sellers has direct contact with children. In response, Bullard gave her seven reprimands for insubordination and dereliction of duty–the first such discipline in her 23 years on the force. This action gave Bullard grounds to fire Moore on the spot.
The firing was legally questionable by itself. According to town policy, Bullard should have given Moore a verbal warning, then a written warning, then discussed the matter with the town council before firing her. But Bullard took neither of those steps. The furor grew even louder after it emerged that Bullard strongly objected to having an open lesbian as police chief. According to one council member, Bullard been looking for an excuse to fire Moore ever since he took office in December. One council member gave WBTW a now-infamous recording of Bullard telling him that he would rather have an alcoholic take care of his kids than an LGBT person.
On April 22, the council voted unanimously to block Bullard from hiring a replacement for 60 days. This came after Bullard ignored numerous requests from residents and council members to rehire Moore. In a further rebuke to the mayor, the council scheduled a referendum to change the town’s form of government from strong mayor/weak council to weak mayor/strong council–which among other things would strip Bullard of his power to hire and fire at will.
That referendum took place on Wednesday night, and residents voted by a resounding margin of 328 in favor and 147 against (69.05 percent to 30.94 percent) to switch to a strong council system. According to The (Florence) Morning News, the vote will not be certified until 11 am on Friday. However, when that vote is certified, council members have let it be known their first order of business will be to rehire Moore.
For her part, Moore said that the vote was “a blessing,” and thanked the council and fellow residents for the support they’ve given her over the last two months. She also let it be known she will accept the council’s offer to rehire her, saying, “I’m ready to go back to work.”
It may seem surprising on paper–a town in rural South Carolina rallying so strongly behind a lesbian police chief? However, Latta is located in the Pee Dee region of northeastern South Carolina, one of the blue pockets in a crimson-red state. Dillon County, home to Latta, has gone Democratic in every presidential election since 1992. Now if only the rest of the state–and the nation–could follow Latta’s example.
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Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
