EXCLUSIVE: Newly Elected Council Member Must Return 1k in Campaign Donations

Larry Goodson, who defeated Michael Reynolds in a for City Council Seat 6, will have to return nearly $1,000 in contributions according to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.

Cathy L. Hazelwood, general counsel for the Ethics Commission, told Patch that Goodson will have to return $966.90 to the Committee for Better Government.  Hazelwood said the group gave Goodson $1,966.90 in the last election cycle, which is a violation of State Election Law 8-13-1348, a bill passed in 1991. The law states that a local candidate can receive no more than $1,000 from any individual or organization per election.

Hazelwood said that Goodson received a form letter from the Commission five days after the close of the last filing period on Jan. 10. The letter is an automated response to reports that were run at the end of the filing period. Goodson will be given 10 days to respond. Should he not respond, further action could be taken.

“Our policy is to give the filer (in this case Goodson) the benefit of the doubt,” Hazelwood said.

When contacted by Patch, Goodson said he was unaware of the violation. “I’ll do what I have to do,” he said.

Page 21 of the Candidate Campaign Disclosure User Guide (see attached pdf) informs candidates of the amounts they can accept in an election cycle.

“Candidates should know what the contribution limit is,” Hazelwood said.

The Committee for the Better Government is the organization that paid for the campaign signs that appeared throughout Mauldin the weekend before Election Day, criticizing Reynolds and former Mayor Don Godbey for implementing a trash fee of $45. The fee was with Dale Black being the only dissenting vote.

The new city council has in the upcoming fiscal year.

, the sole donor to The Committee for Better Government was Special Systems Inc., a company owned by former Mauldin Mayor Wayne Crick. Special Systems Inc. gave the entire $1,966.90 to the committee, which in turn contributed that amount to Goodson.

Upon hearing that the signs that targeted him were paid for with illegal funds, Reynolds told Patch, “It’s a shame for the people of Mauldin. You think you have to go to Columbia or Washington, D.C., to find corruption and you don’t. It turns out it’s right here in Mauldin.”

Reynolds called for more than a slap on the wrist for the parties involved, “It has to be punitive,” Reynolds said. “There is little doubt they should be fined.”