SC Ethics Commission won’t rule on Loveless ethics issue until after November election

The S.C. Ethics Commission will put off a hearing on a Midlands ethics complaint until after November’s election.

In an order handed down Thursday, commissioners said state law prohibits them from moving a hearing on ethics charges against Lexington-Richland 5 school board vice chair Ken Loveless ahead of the Nov. 8 election, when Loveless is standing for another term on the Chapin-Irmo area school board.

Loveless had asked the commissioners decide on the ethics charges at their October monthly meeting. But the commission ruled that state law requires that charges against an elected official “which cannot be disposed of or dismissed by the commission at least thirty days before the election must be postponed until after the election.”

“Granting Respondent’s Motion would result in a hearing being held nineteen days before Respondent’s name will appear on the general election ballot,” commissioners said in an order released Thursday. Even if an official asks for an earlier hearing, as Loveless did, state law is “unequivocal — the matter must be postponed until after the November 8, 2022 election.”

“The hearing at issue will be held, as currently scheduled, on February 16, 2023,” the commission ruled.

The decision means that Loveless will go into November’s election with the charges against him still outstanding.

Loveless faces four charges that he participated in school board actions involving Contract Construction, the firm hired to build a new elementary school, at the same time Loveless’ company had an outside contract with the company to work on another job.

Loveless is accused of inquiring about Contract Construction’s work on Piney Woods Elementary School in a letter on March 24, 2020, even though Loveless’ company had been awarded a more than $1 million contract with the company for another job. Loveless is also accused of improperly participating in board discussions of Piney Woods on June 15 and Sept. 14 of that year. Loveless also visited Piney Woods in June 2020 to review Contract Construction’s work.

Loveless faces four opponents in a race for two open seats on the Lexington-Richland 5 board — Elizabeth Barnhardt, Renard Green, Scott Herring and Mike Satterfield.

School board chair Jan Hammond, who, like Loveless, also represents the Lexington County side of the district, is not seeking reelection this year. The top two vote-getters will take the seats on the board for the next four years.