BLYTHEWOOD – A six-month investigation launched by an ethics complaint filed against Blythewood’s Richland County Council representative Derrek Pugh has ended in dismissal.
The investigation focused on whether Pugh, as a government official, had violated the S.C. Ethics, Government Accountability, and Campaign Reform Act (Ethics Act) for accepting free use of the Town of Blythewood’s event venue—the Manor—for two separate events valued at more than $8,000.
“In this case, there is insufficient evidence to find that the economic benefit that inured to [Pugh] was the result of an action taken in his official capacity,” stated F. Xavier Starkes, Chairman of the South Carolina Ethics Commission. Starkes announced the dismissal in a letter sent to both the complainant – Blythewood Town Councilman Donald Brock – and Pugh.
Starkes emphasized, however, that, “the facts of this case are troubling. It is clear that the fee schedule for events held at the Manor has been unevenly applied and that the Ordinance has not been followed,” Starkes continued. “The Commission finds that the current scenario, at the very least, has an appearance of impropriety.”
Starkes stated, however, that an appearance of impropriety is not a violation of the Ethics Act.
The ethics investigation began twelve days after a story was published in the July 17, 2025, edition of The Voice regarding two Manor events that, according to Manor records received through a Freedom of Information request, were 100 percent comped for Pugh.
Starkes stated that Commission investigators interviewed Mayor Griffin, Pugh, and Manor Director Fred Layman during the course of the investigation.
Mayor Griffin’s Interview
Griffin stated that he had known Pugh for some time, and that Pugh contacted him (Griffin) about renting the Manor only after Pugh had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Manor staff on multiple occasions, according to Starkes. Griffin stated that he then telephoned Manor staff and asked them to contact Pugh, Starkes stated in the Order of Dismissal. He said Griffin, “denied directing Manor staff to waive or reduce Pugh’s rental fees, while staff notations indicate otherwise.”
“While it is undisputed that Pugh contacted Mayor Griffin to inquire about renting the Manor, Griffin denied that Pugh sought directly or indirectly, the reduction or waiver of rental fees.
Pugh’s Interview
“Pugh stated that he did not direct any person to waive or reduce the rental fees,” Starkes wrote.
Layman’s Interview
Layman stated that Mayor Griffin telephoned Manor staffer Kim Kacsar to schedule Pugh’s events, and that Kacsar then logged the two events in the Manor’s electronic filing system, according to the Order.
No Kacsar Interview
“As to the May 17 event, Kacsar noted ‘No pay, per Mayor.’ As to the Aug. 1 event, Kacsar noted ‘per Mayor,’” Starkes wrote.
There is no indication in the Order that Kacsar was interviewed, why Kacsar made the notations, or if she stated who asked her to waive the fee for Pugh’s events.
The Investigation
According to the Ethics Commission’s investigation, on April 1, 2025, Pugh and/or his wife scheduled two events at the Manor – one on May 17, 2025, and one on Aug. 1, 2025. Commission investigators concluded that both events were personal in nature and were unrelated to Pugh’s public office.
The town’s ordinance regulating rental fees for the Manor listed the rent for the Manor for the May 17, 2025, event as $4,500, and the rental fee for the Aug. 1, 2025, event as $3,700.
As earlier reported in The Voice, and stated in the ethics report, no rental fees were paid to the Manor for either of the events prior to Brock filing the complaint.
The following is taken from the Notice of Dismissal:
“On July 29, 2025, in response to local reporting [about Pugh receiving free reservations], a meeting occurred between Pugh, Town Mayor Sloan Griffin, and Manor Director Fred Layman. The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate rental fees for the [Pughs’] events. The parties ultimately agreed to a payment of $1,500 for both events, with $500 of the payment a refundable security deposit.
“On July 31, 2025, Pugh’s spouse provided a certified check for $1,500 to the Manor [for the negotiated fee.]
“[Brock] alleged that Pugh’s rental fees were initially waived and/or reduced because of his [Pugh’s] status as a public official, in violation of Section 8-13-700.
“Because of Pugh’s longstanding friendship with Griffin,” Starkes wrote in the Order of Dismissal, “the Commission is unable to find that Pugh’s phone call was an action taken in his official capacity.”
“I appreciate the Ethics Commission looking into this complaint and I respect their decision to dismiss,” Brock told The Voice. “It does give me pause that it appears it was dismissed on a technicality, but if they considered all facts and reached the conclusion that the Ethics Act wasn’t violated, so be it.
“The bigger takeaway is that the citizens of Blythewood are still missing revenue that the Mayor, regardless of what he says, gave away to political friends and supporters. Fortunately, the citizens saw fit to strip him of all authority so this doesn’t happen moving forward,” Brock said.
Authorization
The Director of the Manor is the only person authorized by town ordinance to approve Manor discounts; however, the Voice obtained through Freedom of Information requests several emails written prior to and after the Pughs’ events in which Griffin directed Layman to comp or greatly reduce Manor reservation fees for his [Griffin’s] friends and political supporters.
From mid-2024 to the end of September 2025, approximately $43,000 in lost revenue from 15 free and reduced-fee Manor reservations are linked to Griffin through emails authorizing comps and reductions as well as through staff notations in the Manor’s reservation schedules.
Below are portions of emails in which Griffin authorized comps and reduced-fee Manor reservations.
1-17-2025 – I am authorizing a fee adjustment for Ms. VonGretchen, effective Feb. 15, 2025, to $1,000…
That reservation is listed at $4,500 in the Manor fee ordinance.
11-12-2025 – I’m officially authorizing two price changes: Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Christmas Gala – No Charge; Straiter Family Thanksgiving Day Dinner – $500”
These two reservations, according to the Manor fee ordinance, are listed at $2,800 and $2,200 respectively.
Other friends and political supporters enjoyed thousands of dollars in free and reduced-rate reservations at the Manor, according to staff notations on reservation documents.
7-7-2024 – There was no payment recorded for a surprise birthday party for the Blythewood town clerk who also serves as the executive assistant to Mayor Griffin. According to the Manor fee schedule, that reservation is valued at $2,800.
7-11-2025 & 7-12-2025 – A $4,500 wedding anniversary party reservation was gifted to the mayor’s close friend and former Town Councilman Larry Griffin. A notation in the reservation schedule stated: “A gift from the Town.” Councilmembers Brock, Rich McKenrick, Andrea Fripp, and then-councilwoman Erica Page – told The Voice they had no knowledge of the party and had not authorized of funded such a gift. There was no payment recorded.
8-23-25 – A memorial service was free for one of the mayor’s staunchest political supporters, who passed away, according to the person who organized the memorial service. “As per mayor,” was noted in the reservation. The Manor fee ordinance price for the reservation is $4,500.
8-3-2025 – Khali Gallman, described on Manor documents as a Richland County Commission Member, held a festival at the Manor on Aug. 3, 2025 that included the Manor, the amphitheater, and soccer fields 2, 3, and 4 according to Manor documents. The fee was $5,000 plus $500 security deposit. Manor documents do not show any payment was made for the event.
History of Losses
Since it opened in 2015, the Manor’s bottom line has suffered from mismanagement in one form or another.
Initially, Richland School District 2, the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce, and town and county governments were allowed to use the Manor at no charge. In the last few years council has made strides toward requiring businesses, organizations and nonprofits to pay their way. Last year, council voted for the Town to pay for its own use of the Manor.
Still some youth sports organizations, civic clubs and non-profits that made reservation deals years ago with the Manor, receive reduced fees, mostly for limited, little-used time slots.
A New Pattern of Loss
Documents received in Blythewood town hall’s Sept. 8, 2025, response to a Freedom of Information request from the Voice show a new pattern of lost Manor revenue that began in mid-2024. That pattern shows reservations for the Manor, the amphitheater, and other park venues increasingly ‘rented’ for free or at greatly reduced fees to friends and political supporters of Mayor Sloan Griffin, with some comps -authorized by him in writing.
The Manor’s total net loss jumped to $175,375.56 in fiscal year 2024–25, more than $30,000 over the prior year’s net loss.
Griffin was recently quoted in another news outlet, saying, “These folks are acting like nobody has ever received anything from the Manor until I took office,” Griffin said. “This is the same thing that’s been happening during every administration. It’s just that the people may look different than the folks in the last administration that got to use the Manor. That’s all this is.”
The Voice emailed Griffin on Friday, Dec. 26, requesting to view the Manor reservation/payment records from the four years prior to his administration in an effort to report on free or reduced fees for Manor events during that time.
At press time on Jan. 7, 2026, Griffin has responded only with an automated ‘out of office’ email that same day.