Most Beaufort Co. school board candidates could face SC fines over campaign finances
Most candidates running for the Beaufort County Board of Education have not submitted financial disclosure forms as required by state law ahead of the Nov. 6 election — making them subject to fines.
Since the forms include information about where a candidate has received contributions from and what businesses a candidate collects income from, the information can be used to identify potential conflicts of interest.
Without that information, the public is left in the dark.
Under state law, candidates running for any state or local office are required to submit a statement of economic interest form within 15 days of filing for candidacy and a campaign disclosure form at least 15 days prior to the election.
As of Tuesday morning, 11 of the 20 school board candidates had not submitted the necessary documents, according to records from the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.
Nine of the 20 school board candidates had not submitted either forms — Terry Thomas in the District 2 race; Natasha Robinson in District 3; Ray Johnson and Stew Butler in District 5; Rachel Wisnefski and Chris Davey in District 7; John Eddy and Paul Roth in District 8; and Melvin Campbell in District 10.
Patricia Fidrych in the District 4 race and Buryl Sumpter in District 3 completed their campaign disclosure forms but failed to submit their statements of economic interest.
David Stribeinger of District 2; Cynthia Gregory-Smalls and William Smith of District 3; Joseph Dunkle of District 4; Richard Geier and Sarah Stuchell of District 5; Evva Anderson of District 7; Cathy Robine of District 8; and Peter Kristian of District 10 each submitted the two forms. But Stuchell, Robine and Smith filed their statement of economic interests outside the established time frame.
When asked about it Tuesday morning, most of those candidates — who have also never run for or held a public office — said they were unaware of the requirements but wanted to correct their mistakes.
“I can put my hand on the bible and say this is the first I’ve heard anything about it,” said Butler, who is running for the District 5 seat.
Fidrych, who is running against incumbent Joseph Dunkle for District 4, expressed confusion when initially asked Tuesday afternoon about her missing statement of economic interest.
While on the phone form with a reporter, Fidrych discovered that she saved the online form but inadvertently did not submit it. After realizing her lapse, Fidrych quickly submitted the form.
Failure to submit the forms before the election does not disqualify a candidate from appearing on the ballot, but it could result in a fine of at least $100 from the ethics commission.
Who is running?
A total of 20 candidates are running for seven open seats on the school board in the Nov. 6 election:
District 1: Seat held by board member Earl Campbell is up for election in 2020.
District 2: Longtime Lady’s Island resident Terry Thomas filed in April. Board member David Striebinger filed for re-election in July.
District 3: Board member Cynthia Gregory-Smalls filed for re-election in March. St. Helena businessman William Smith filed in mid-July. Mortician Buryl Garnett Sumpter and Gullah Geechee performing artist Natasha D. Robinson filed in late July.
District 4: Board member Joseph Dunkle filed for re-election in early July. Retired Beaufort County educator Tricia Fidrych filed in mid-July.
District 5: Two retired military men — Richard Geier and Ray Johnson — filed to run in March. Sarah Stuchell, a licensed marriage and family therapist, filed in July. Stew Butler filed in August.
District 6: Seat held by board member John Dowling is up for election in 2020.
District 7: Hilton Head native Rachel Wisnefski and Chris Davey, parts and service manager at Vaden of Beaufort, filed to run in July. Board member Evva Anderson filed in August for re-election.
District 8: Former educators John Eddy and Cathy Robine have both filed for the race, as well as former school board member Paul Roth.
District 9: Seat held by board member Christina Gwozdz is up for election in 2020.
District 10: Peter Kristian, the manager of Hilton Head Plantation, filed for the seat in late June. Melvin Campbell, a longtime retired educator and native islander, filed in August. Board member Bill Payne is not running for re-election.
District 11: Seat held by board member JoAnn Orischak is up for election in 2020.
To find which board district represents you, visit https://bit.ly/2FyQiNW.
This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 3:26 PM.