Back in April, Latta, South Carolina mayor Earl Bullard threw the town just west of Florence into an uproar by abruptly firing the city’s police chief, Crystal Moore, for insubordination and dereliction of duty. The uproar became louder after evidence surfaced that Bullard fired Moore because she is openly lesbian. Bullard had reportedly objected strongly to having an LGBT person as police chief, and had been looking for an excuse to fire Moore since December. Backing up these claims, town councilman Jarrett Taylor recorded Bullard saying that he would rather have an alcoholic watch his kids rather than an LGBT person. In response, town residents voted overwhelmingly to change the town government from strong-mayor to weak-mayor, which stripped Bullard of his power to hire and fire on his own authority. Town council members announced that their first order of business would be to rehire Moore.
Well, those plans may be on hold. Late Wednesday, with the results of Tuesday’s referendum beyond doubt, WPDE-TV in Florence reported that Bullard had hired Freddie Davis as the town’s new police chief. Bullard formally hired Davis on June 18, and Davis signed his contract on June 23. In April, the town council had voted to block Bullard from hiring a replacement for 60 days; Davis signed his contract just hours after the expiration of that window. Bullard said that Latta needed to “move forward” and hire a permanent chief after having an interim chief for almost two months.
The hiring came as a surprise; indeed, the first anyone on the town council heard about it was when it was announced in the media. For that reason, it may not be legal; the town code requires the mayor to seek the approval of the council before entering into hiring contracts. It wouldn’t be the first time that Bullard has skirted the law in this dispute. His initial firing of Moore may have broken town policy that called for him to give her a verbal warning, then a written warning, then discuss the matter with the council before firing her. Bullard apparently anticipated losing the referendum; Davis’ contract calls for him to be paid $40,000 per year regardless of whether Latta has a strong-mayor or weak-mayor system, and also puts the town on the hook for that money if Davis is fired.
Moore and Taylor appeared on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” last night, and unequivocally denounced Bullard’s action as illegal. Moore said that she only learned of Bullard’s hiring of Davis while chatting with her fellow officers, and called his actions “a nightmare that will not stop.” Taylor said that based on discussions with the South Carolina Municipal Association, Bullard does not have the authority to unilaterally write out a contract. He said that when the council meets on Friday, “we’re going to test his (Bullard’s) ability to put the new chief under contract.”
Earlier today, election officials with both the town and Dillon County certified the referendum results, which will likely set up a showdown at tonight’s council meeting. Taylor said last night that he and his five colleagues support Moore “100 percent.” All indications are that at tonight’s meeting, the council will reverse the hiring of Davis and rehire Moore. Stay tuned, and let us know what you think on the Liberal America Facebook page.
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.
