4 former Beaufort County councilmen say voters need to ‘remove Stu Rodman’ in primary
Four former Beaufort County councilmen penned a letter calling for voters to “remove” current councilman Stu Rodman from his seat in the upcoming Republican primary, saying he “does not deserve election to any public office.”
Rodman has served four consecutive terms on Beaufort County Council starting in 2007, representing District 11 which encompasses a portion of Hilton Head Island. He’s found himself at the center of multiple controversies and public scrutiny, including being pushed out of his chairman spot on council, meeting with top island officials in secret, and using his personal phone and email to privately discuss public matters.
Those incidents prompted the ex-council members — Steven Baer, Rick Caporale, Mike Covert and Steve Fobes — to release the letter against his reelection.
In order for Rodman to keep his council seat, he must first beat a Republican challenger, Tom Reitz, in the June 14 primary election then, if successful, face a Democrat challenger, Cathy McClellan, in the November general election.
“Our firsthand observations and personal sense of duty compel us to share our belief: Mr. Rodman does not deserve election to any public office,” the letter says, adding that he allegedly has “shown complete contempt for democracy and for the law.”
The letter continues: “Despite his obvious intelligence, Mr. Rodman has too often used his energy and skill to derail open, honest dialogue and to subvert participation of the public and the role of the duly elected members of Beaufort County government — all in favor of his personal agenda.”
The letter listed five examples that “taken together, they show a troubling violation of the public trust,” including:
- Rodman intentionally using his private email to conduct public business in multiple instances, including with the Hilton Head mayor and a former county employee
- An Island Packet editorial accusing Rodman of “trying to run his own personal government” and calling for him to be cut off immediately
- His participation in a private meeting where he “pushed his personal agenda for Highway 278”
- His “disruptive, devious, deceptive” behavior during the search for a new county administrator
Rodman told The Island Packet in a phone interview Monday afternoon that he saw the letter for the first time that morning.
“I don’t want to get into parsing out what’s in that letter,” he said. “I don’t think it serves any purpose.”
He did say he disagreed with a lot of it, though.
He said things like public criticism come with the territory of elections, but he “never goes negative” and has not spoken poorly in public about another council member or council decision, adding that he will continue to avoid doing so during his campaign.
Instead, Rodman said his history on council can stand on its own and his constituents can make their decision based on his leadership and service.
“If they like what I’ve done, they can return me to office,” he said. “If not, they can go with someone else.”
Caporale worked alongside Rodman for about a decade between both men holding seats on the Beaufort County School Board and later Beaufort County Council. He said he’s previously gotten along with Rodman, but “came to the conclusion (Rodman) wasn’t doing the job and didn’t deserve reelection.”
“This is nothing personal, but we felt we had an obligation to speak and we hope some voters listen,” Caporale said.
Covert, who is also on the June primary ballot for a different county council seat, confirmed he signed the letter and said it spoke for itself.
Baer echoed the sentiment, saying, “We have the opportunity to restore fair play to District 11 by voting Mr. Rodman out.”
Fobes did not immediately return a call Monday.
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 12:59 PM.
