Governor, AG asked to probe allegation SC mayor had kickball umpire fired over call
A recreational kickball league umpire who says the town of Moncks Corner’s mayor effectively had him fired over a call he made against the mayor’s team has filed a lawsuit and is asking the state’s top officials to investigate the mayor for possible misconduct.
But a spokesman for the S.C. Attorney General’s office indicated the state’s top prosecutor won’t take the case.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Berkeley County, accuses Moncks Corner Mayor Michael Lockliear of throwing a tantrum during an Aug. 6 kickball game and pulling strings to have Graylnn Moran Jr. removed from his part-time gig officiating games in Moncks Corner.
The lawsuit says Moran made about $1,200 per season, working exclusively in Moncks Corner since 2015, but was told by his employer, a contractor for the town, not to show up for work at the Moncks Corner Regional Recreational Complex anymore. That call came after the town’s recreation director, Becky Ellison, called Moran’s employer and asked that Moran be reassigned, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit isn’t about the money, Moran’s attorney said.
“The amount is not really the target,” said Berkeley County lawyer Tom Fernandez. “It’s the message that our politicians cannot bully private citizens and get away with it.”
Fernandez on Friday asked Gov. Henry McMaster and Attorney General Alan Wilson to investigate the case for possible misconduct in office.
In a two-page letter, Fernandez noted that South Carolina law allows the governor to remove a public official from office for committing a “crime of moral turpitude” — regardless of whether their conduct is illegal.
“As you both know, our public officers must be watertight when it comes to corrupting influences,” Fernandez wrote. “Similarly, our public servants must not belittle, demean, debase, degrade, or threaten their constituents or any private citizen; especially when they lose their temper over something so trivial as a kickball game.”
Efforts Friday to reach Lockliear for comment were unsuccessful.
Reached by phone Friday morning, Ellison said she was in an area with bad reception and couldn’t fully hear a reporter’s questions. The call ended seconds later. Subsequent attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
Robert Kittle, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said a decision on any investigation would be left with local law enforcement.
“If there were to be an investigation for misconduct in office, that would start with the local solicitor,” Kittle. “So we would not necessarily be involved.”
Fernandez said he is unaware of any local investigation into Lockliear’s actions. He said he was considering asking 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson to investigate.
News of the kickball scuffle was first reported in August by local outlets. The mayor acknowledged he yelled at Moran but said he didn’t ask to have Moran reassigned.
Fernandez said his client only officiated games in Moncks Corner, where he lives, so the decision to remove those assignments was effectively a firing.
The lawsuit alleges Lockliear approached Moran after the call — in which Lockliear’s son was thrown out at home plate — and asked, “Are you stupid?”
Then, according to the lawsuit, umpire Moran told the mayor that he was playing for and representing the town. Then, the lawsuit alleges the mayor said: “I own this town! You won’t have to worry about representing this town anymore because you won’t be back out here.”
The lawsuit states Moran’s boss got a call from Ellison, the recreation department director, stating that “someone above her did not want Graylnn back out there.” Moran’s boss then told him not to show up to the sports complex, the lawsuit alleges.
This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Governor, AG asked to probe allegation SC mayor had kickball umpire fired over call."
