HANAHAN — A city councilwoman and a local developer deny accusations leveled this week by Mayor Christie Rainwater, who said the elected official was recording closed-door proceedings and sharing information with the company — which is suing the city.
Councilwoman Amanda Colvin-Shea told The Post and Courier she has been accused of things she hasn’t done and said this is happening because she doesn’t always vote the way Rainwater and other council members want her to. She considers the accusations “some sort of power trip” against her and plans to stay on council despite the allegations.
“I’m going to go with it because I got elected by the people to represent the people and to help them,” Colvin-Shea said. “I’m not here for photo ops and opportunities to further my agenda.”
At a special City Council meeting Aug. 18, Rainwater said Colvin-Shea had recorded and shared confidential information from executive sessions with The Wrenn Group, developer of the Bowen community that is involved in two lawsuits against Hanahan. The meeting was called to allow council members to receive legal advice on the lawsuits.
Rainwater claimed Colvin-Shea had met with the developer and his attorney during the lawsuit, and that associates of the developer had placed information in Colvin-Shea’s mailbox. Additionally, Rainwater said Colvin-Shea provided the developer affidavits from former city employees and did not cooperate with an internal investigation regarding executive session leaks.
According to the city’s municipal code, all information from executive session, written or expressed, is not to be shared or discussed outside of executive session. Any violation is punishable by a fine of $200.
In a statement, Ray Wrenn, founder of The Wrenn Group, said he was disappointed by what occurred at the meeting.
“Mayor Rainwater and others used their positions to make misleading and defamatory remarks about me and my company in a public forum,” he said. “These statements were false and intended to damage my reputation and the future of the Bowen community. I will be discussing the matter with my legal counsel and reviewing all available options.”
Rainwater said there are no next steps regarding Colvin-Shea. The goal was to publicly share what Colvin-Shea has been doing, and Rainwater feels like they did that, she said.
City Council is limited in its authority to discipline Colvin-Shea. Because she is elected, council cannot fire her, Rainwater said. State law says council members must forfeit office if hey lack the qualifications to serve, such as not living in the area they represent or if they are convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
During the meeting, Rainwater and council members asked Colvin-Shea if she wanted to recuse herself from executive session. She initially declined after a recess and phone call with her attorney but agreed after a second recess and consultation with her lawyer.
At one point, Colvin-Shea confirmed that she has a criminal defense attorney.
“People don’t hire criminal defense attorneys unless it looks like they may have committed a criminal act,” City Councilman Michael Sally said at the meeting.
Colvin-Shea responded that she has had the criminal attorney for several years to help with marital issues. She later told The Post and Courier she has several different attorneys on retainer, including a criminal attorney, because as a nurse she needs to be proactive to protect her license and career.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
