Has Joey Preston resigned?

Stunner of a headline this afternoon on the AIM website:

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Seems County Council is in the process of figuring it out as we speak.

Just to get the debate started, ol' JD said several times before and after June 10 that he thinks Joey Preston's critics are in danger of overplaying their hand, especially when they started talking about suspending him and the Finance Director after the first of the year during the proposed "forensic" audit.

My personal feeling is that JP has just called their bluff. Now, let's see how the hand plays out. [image]

-jdtippett

Hmmm,  WYATT wonders aloud if THIS is why, during last meeting, a independent attorney was hired by members of council to defend Anderson County  for a matter deemed "personal in nature"???

And here we were, worried about the cost of the forensic audit, when indeed this wrongful termination case would cost millions.....not to mention the embarrassment to Anderson!

Hmmm. JDTippett wonders aloud if Wyatt may be on to something with those thoughts. Sounds plausible.

Stringcheese, John T. (Tom) Hendricks was Pickens County Administrator from 1989-1999 (and later Oconee County Administrator.) On Labor Day Weekend, 1999, he cleared out his office and addressed a letter to Pickens County Council regarding what amounted to an "anticipatory breach of contract" and simultaneously filed a lawsuit against Council. (Sound familiar?)

Hendricks was on very sound legal footing -  on the surface, far sounder than JP's unless Anderson County Council has already taken some affirmative action to breach his contract that we are unaware of.

Then-Pickens Council Chairman Bob Nash has already negotiated with - and, actually, signed a contract with - a fellow named Eugene Klugh to serve as "interim administrator" while Council sought a replacement for Hendricks (Nash alleged the entire Council was aware of his actions; they weren't.) After Hendricks left, Council went through a process and ultimately selected Alan Ours as the new administrator.

A jury eventually heard Hendricks' lawsuit. He won, was awarded damages and had his reputation restored despite Nash's deceitful efforts to ruin it.

There may be far more to any legal action Preston may take - and, keep in mind, right now all we have is an AIM story that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. We have no idea, for instance, what has been going behind the scenes to lead him to believe his contract has been, or is about to be, breached.

Be afraid, Anderson County taxpayers, be very, very afraid. .

One of the first thing a fighter (Boxing) learns is not to telepath his punches. One who does never gets a knockout.

Maybe some council members have done exactly that. Telepathed their punches and have been countered.

Even a fake can cost millions if it hinders a man at his work!

Mr Preston is most likely going to sue the ENTIRE Council. That is why the attorney was hired at the last meeting. He is trying to lay the groundwork for a FORCED buyout of his contract.

Does this man ever tire of lawsuits and his own agenda?

Similar to the rumor-mills about Gracie Floyd not doing anything for the past decade for Anderson, all the while tooting their horns about how much progress the Driver-brigade has wrought. I made the mistake the other day of pushing the botton on my radio and heard some @sshole with pure-hatred and racial overtones, saying nothing but erroneous and false statements.  I am assured that whomever speaks on that station, I vote quite the opposite of their stance.

JRP is a nice enuf fella. His job performance & progress would be much greater IF he had overall cooperation from council.  I can almost assure readers that if this comes to a contract violation and personal vendetta, the civil penalties and fines/fees/judgements will be unbelievable!  And he'd deserve every penny.

Ahhhh, SSHM, I understand what you're saying, and I do agree with the "loose lips, sink ships" theory, but just putting the word "CONFIDENTIAL" at the top of an official letter does NOT automatically exclude it from the requirements of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

This I know for a fact. I tried it once as a county employee. I should have just written, "SOMEBODY POST THIS ON THE BULLETIN BOARD AND CALL CHANNEL 4" instead.

Besides, even the FOIA says that certain items "may" be withheld from the public. It doesn't say they "must" be withheld from the public. Elected officials are generally given broad discretion on those issues.

SSHM, I'm not disputing you on that point. It probably WAS leaked by a county official or employee. The only question I have is whether or not it was actually an ILLEGAL breach of confidentiality. (I have my doubts about that.) My personal guess is that is was NOT the product of an FOIA request, because if it had been, we wouldn't have known about it until sometime next summer, if at all.

In any event, the law is absolutely clear that the AIM had every right to publish it as long as they received it through legal means (in other words, if they didn't break into somebody's office and swipe it - and I seriously doubt that Liz Carey took the "Breaking and Entering 101" class in college.)

Besides, the source of the information does nothing to change the subject of whether Joey Preston has resigned or not. Inquiring minds want to know - and I do, too.

Hmmmm. You don't think, maybe, this is all part of a Sheriff's Office "sting" operation, do you?

Kidding. Any leak would have had to come either from one of the people who received the letter (Council member or County Attorney) or from Preston's office. I still contend that, in the overall scheme of things, it doesn't matter who leaked it - although it is intriguing that it apparently went through the Sherrif's Office.

Since I pay taxes in Anderson County as most of you do, this action by Mr. Preston interest me also. If he is planning a huge lawsuit against the County it will cost all of us more taxes for years to come if he wins. I hope that Mr. Preston is a man of character and will not seek excessive dollars at the expense of the everyday people like us that fund the County.
I realize there are two camps facing off in the political battle at ground zero, Mr. Preston's position as County Administrator. Rather than slander each other we should think first of our County and what is best for us. I have often wondered just how our County would be faring if the dispute between Mr. Preston and Ms. Wilson had never occurred. When she as an elected official asked Mr. Preston her very first question some years ago: "Mr. Preston, will you give us a report on how much the County has paid in legal expenses for the past fiscal year?" (I don't remember what the original sin or question was but it was probably a simple question.) What if Mr. Preston had done what I believe he should have done by answering in the positive and provided Council a written statement by the next Council meeting. Seems now that would have made lots of sense and perhaps the road traveled the past few years would have been a nice paved road instead of the gravel potholed road we have been on.
Maybe both camps will consider my statement and tell us why Mr. Preston should have replied to Ms. Wilson's request or why you believe that Mr. Preston has done correctly by trying for years to keep Ms. Wilson, and others, from getting correct and quick answers to questions concerning our tax money.
Al Brown

-mral

“anticipatorialy breeched”? He anticipates the contract will be breeched and wants a buy out before it happens? Can we do that by anticipating we will win the lottery? LOL Maybe he should wait and see rather than show panic. Is he afraid he may face tighter restrictions (like - - get some direction from the CC) and be required to open the books?

The cost for wrongful termination is in his contract that was posted here. No one has ever addressed if the contract was voted on by CC when it was signed or if W Floyd just signed it on behalf of the County. Betcha someone’slooking into that now.

This is a weird county. 

Good points mr al.

And let me add... GO TERPS under possibly soon to be gone Coach Ralph!