BRACK: Nerf candidates for mayor up to it again

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |   The Nerf candidates of Charleston’s mayoral race are up to no good again.

Instead of working to make Charleston more livable and better, as exemplified by what Mayor John Tecklenburg is trying to do, these nimrods are spewing slimy spitballs during council meetings and generally wasting time.

And perhaps, they’re showing their intelligence and leadership, or lack thereof.  Or maybe they’re just taking attack bait supplied by the Tweedle Twins, West Ashley council members Bill Moody and Keith Waring, who have spent three years plotting against Tecklenburg.

First comes Republican councilman Gary White, who so wants to score a political home run that he attacked the mayor for a contract with the Charleston School of Law first negotiated in 2007 on a Woolfe Street property.  In 2017, the city and law school renegotiated the deal to allow the school to sell the property if it didn’t want to build a permanent campus there and, if that happened, to return 25 percent of the proceeds to the city.  Council voted unanimously to approve, even though White was absent that night. The deal was to last until July, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

But like a pouty child, White made a motion last month to not extend the agreement, flailing during a mayor’s race that he now didn’t like the deal.  Council went along, seemingly not understanding how the school can work around the extension by paying off the note – which should be pretty easy because it has a buyer for the property.

While White denies using the deal for political purposes, Charleston School of Law President Ed Bell was skeptical, as he told the Charleston Regional Business Journal:  “To have someone use this, to use one of their best institutions in Charleston, for political purposes, was shocking to me,” he said. “It was basically a squeeze play.  They tried to put a squeeze on one of their local institutions.”

Then comes humdinger Harry Griffin, a young council member little known for more than bombast and ego.  He complained earlier this month about Tecklenburg having his wife’s contact information on the back of his business card.  (It’s well-known around town that people often call the mayor’s wife to relay concerns because, as Tecklenburg said here, “Some folks, I don’t know if they’d  be intimidated to call on the mayor. I authorized it.  I thought it was a good idea.)

We do too.  It’s a way for the mayor to get more information to do his job better.  City lawyers say there’s nothing illegal or unethical about adding his wife’s phone number to the card, which cost a whopping extra $10 or so.

But Griffin, like White before him, had to play the politics:  “”After looking into this matter, I wanted to find out who paid for this card. My initial concerns are, number one, is she a city employee or a city official? This has gone unnoticed and swept under the rug. We are giving Ms. Tecklenburg some credibility.”

What hogwash, as former mayoral candidate and state Rep. Jimmy Bailey of Charleston said in a Facebook post that’s gained some momentum:

“Shame on all the members who did not have the common decency to inquire about this issue in  private conversations with the mayor — or talk to the city’s legal folks or the finance office.  Had they done so, they would have found out the extra cost was less than $11 — $11 — and that nothing was illegal or unethical

“My conclusion is several members knew  what the councilman was up to before the meeting.  If true, it is the most underhanded display of leadership, very much like Trump and his lack of decency. … I understand politics and differing opinions on positions, but let’s get real.  Mayor Tecklenburg is dealing with a rogue council that is at best obstructionist.

“When we have traffic, flooding (and) more people than our city can accommodate, the cheap politics of this city council is beyond belief.”

Well said.  But don’t look for this nonsense to stop.  Unless you call them on it. The election is Nov. 5.

• Andy Brack’s new book, “We Can Do Better, South Carolina,” is now available for $14.99 in paperback via Amazon.
• Have a comment?  Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com