Chairman Horry Gardner to pay ethics fine to SC from 2022 campaign
Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner admitted to six breaches of state ethics rules stemming from his 2022 campaign for president and agreed to pay a $3,650 fine, the commission said. South Carolina Ethics.
The charges against Gardner were campaign finance violations. An ethics commission investigation found he'd mismanaged loans to his campaign and accepted several campaign donations above allowable limits.
Gardner signed a consent order on Wednesday to confess wrongdoing. It came out on Thursday.
Gardner said Thursday that while he doesn't handle the day-to-day finances of his campaign, he “takes responsibility” for the violations and is prepared to pay the fine and put the situation behind him.
“In a nutshell, I did not perform the day-to-day management of the campaign account, but when I came across there have been issues, I cooperated and we fixed the errors,” he explained. -he declares. “It will be nice not to have to reply to any more questions regarding it.”
Gardner admitted the following six violations, according to the consent order signed by Gardner and Childs Cantey Thrasher, the chair of the ethics commission:
- Failing to disclose a $50,000 loan from Anderson Brothers Bank in the campaign disclosure reports;
- Failing to disclose a $20,000 loan from Anderson Brothers Bank in his campaign disclosure reports;
- Not disclosing an $8,700 campaign contribution from his campaign manager Luke Barefoot;
- Not disclosing a $1,200 campaign contribution from local developer Randy Beverly;
- Accept a campaign donation more than $1,000 from Barefoot and;
- Accept a campaign donation greater than $1,000 from Beverly.
Gardner agreed to pay the fine, pursuant to the consent order. The state ethics commission charged Gardner $500 per violation, for any total of $3,000, plus an administrative fee of $650.
Gardner had previously said he planned to plead guilty and pay any fines the ethics commission imposed on him, according to local media. A hearing for his case was scheduled for August 19.
William Martin, a Myrtle Beach resident who filed the original lawsuit against Gardner, didn't return a note from The Sun News seeking discuss Thursday.
How the Complaint Started
The charges against Gardner arose in February 2022, when Martin, a former political operative, filed a lawsuit against Gardner alleging the current president improperly accepted, repaid and reported loans to his campaign in 2022.
Under Sc campaign laws, candidates for local office, such as a county council, cannot accept loans or donations greater than $1,000 and should report all contributions in reports of regularly filed campaign disclosure. In the case of loans, state law dictates that the loan must be from the written agreement and the terms of the loan should be disclosed on the disclosure forms.
On forms initially filed by Gardner, Gardner indicated that the loans came from what the law states firm he owns, that the Ethics Commission investigation found inappropriate. Gardner had also failed to list the other two contributions from Barefoot and Beverly. During its investigation, the Ethics Commission subpoenaed and reviewed Gardner's bank statements as well as documents relating to the two loans.
According towards the consent order, Gardner has since amended his campaign disclosure reports and refunded the 2 contributions that exceeded the $1,000 limit. The consent order also says Gardner has pleaded guilty to the violations and can spend the money for fines.
“(Gardner) admits that he violated the Ethics Act by failing to disclose the right supply of his campaign loans,” the consent order reads. “(Gardner) further admits that he violated the Ethics Act when he accepted $8,700 from Luke Barefoot and $1,200 from Randy Beverly.”
Previous concerns concerning the campaign
Concerns about Gardner's 2022 campaign loomed over his administration, beginning before his 2022 inauguration. Then your state regulations Enforcement Division (SLED) opened a study into Gardner and Barefoot after allegations that they extorted people in the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation for donations.
Reports later revealed that Horry County attorney Arrigo Carotti, who had been informed about the allegations, wrote instructions to SLED investigations saying he believed the allegations contained some truth.
In 2022, after Gardner was sworn in, Gardner and other council members pushed to oust then-county administrator Chris Eldridge, who eventually decided to step down later that year. County Administrator Steve Gosnell replaced Eldridge.
Then, in 2022, came the campaign violation charges against Gardner, that have been made public in March of this year.
As Horry County has emerged in the COVID-19 pandemic, Gardner makes significant progress on several important initiatives, including increased funding for public safety departments, better flood protection for residents and also the imposition of impact fees on promoters.
On Tuesday, Gardner celebrated the county council's passage of two major bills, one that drastically updated the county's building rules to avoid future flooding of homes, and the other that imposed impact fees on new developments for the first time. Both were heralded by defenders as historic.
Gardner said Thursday he hopes the consent order will put the controversies behind him and allow him to pay attention to his other priorities and accomplishments.
“I'm happy to have (the consent order) therefore we don't have to talk about it anymore,” he said. “We can discuss flood mitigation and impact fees and all the good stuff we're doing for public safety.”