Bell Offered County Ads to Voice in Exchange for Endorsement
WINNSBORO – Moses Bell’s request for an election endorsement
may have resulted in a violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bars the
intermingling of political campaigning and government work.
Bell also offered The Voice the county’s ad revenue in
exchange for an endorsement in the newspaper.
COG Exec Endorses Bell
Ben Mauldin, executive director of the Midlands Regional
Council of Governments, which coordinates a multitude of federally funded
projects, confirmed to The Voice that he endorsed Bell for re-election to
Fairfield County Council. But Mauldin also doesn’t think the endorsement
violates the Hatch Act.
“I don’t think so. He (Bell) is the one who asked for a
quote,” Mauldin said. “It was something he asked for. It’s nothing we’ve
normally done, just a quick little quote.”
Maudlin said Bell is the only political candidate that he
recalls ever requesting an endorsement from himself or the COG.
When contacted by The Voice for comment, Bell responded via
text message with personal attacks.
“Evidently you are an idiot. It is not an endorsement but a
comment concerning my leadership strengths. Are you afraid people may know of
my strengths and capabilities?” Bell‘s text read.
As County Council chairman, Bell sits on the Central
Midlands COG board of directors as well as the Executive Committee which hires
and oversees the executive director. The COG facilitates the flow of millions
of federal taxpayer dollars to various road, employment and other projects in
the Central Midlands, which includes Fairfield County, according to agency
records.
Jay Bender, a media law attorney with the S.C. Press
Association, of which The Voice is a member, said the agencies accepting
federal money potentially fall under the Hatch Act.
“The question of whether or not the Hatch Act applies
depends on whether or not the Council of Governments receives any federal
funding.” Bender said. “If the COG has federal funding, then I think the Hatch
Act might apply.”
The endorsement in question came in a print ad from Bell for
his District 1 re-election effort. Bell’s ad includes a quote attributed to
Mauldin, which says “Bell’s leadership, expertise and time volunteered is very
much appreciated” by the COG.
Enacted in 1939, the Hatch Act limits political activities
of federal employees as well as local government employees who work in
connection with federally funded programs, according to the U.S. Office of
Special Counsel, which enforces the act.
The law’s purposes are “to ensure that federal programs are
administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from
political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are
advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation,” the OSC states
on its website.
Local and state agencies that “frequently receive financial
assistance from the federal government” fall under the Hatch Act.
A majority of the Central Midlands COG’s Aging Services
division is federally funded, according to the COG’s website.
The COG has also facilitated the flow of millions of federal
highway dollars to various road projects in the Midlands, agency records show.
As an elected official, Bell likely wouldn’t face any
sanctions over the advertisement. Hatch Act sanctions are typically aimed at
employees of federal agencies or agencies that receive federal funding.
Penalties can range from a warning to the agency losing some
of its federal funding, according to the OSC website.
In extreme cases, the OSC could recommend removing a
violator from federal service, according to the OSC website.
Bell Offers The Voice a Deal
Bell also asked The Voice’s publisher for an endorsement on
Monday in exchange for placing all the county’s ads with The Voice.
The newspaper, which had run the county’s ads for several
years, was one of a number of heads to roll under Fairfield County’s new
council majority that was seated in January, 2021 – Councilmen Moses Bell, Tim
Roseborough, Mikel Trapp and Councilwoman Shirley Greene.
In March, 2021, the following announcement was posted on the
county’s Facebook page:
“Please be aware, effective immediately, Fairfield County
will no longer use The Voice of Fairfield County for ads and legal notices…”
A week earlier, county officials notified The Voice’s staff
that (former) Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor had been instructed
by Council Chair Moses Bell to immediately switch the county’s advertising from
The Voice to The Country Chronicle, which is published out of Camden.
The final move to cut all advertising to The Voice came
after months of verbal and emailed instructions from Bell pressuring Taylor to
switch to the newspaper of Bell’s choice.
In an email dated Jan. 12, 2021, Bell took a new tack,
trying to convince Taylor that, “The Voice newspaper has not been a friend to
our communities.”
During council meetings, Bell publicly criticized The Voice
and urged citizens to support other newspapers.
“Mr. Bell does not like hearing the truth,” Councilman
Douglas Pauley said during a subsequent council meeting. “He has found out that
he cannot bend The Voice to his will and make them write what he wants. He
would just rather shut them down.”
Publisher
Barbara Ball contributed to this story.
