Tuesday’s gathering of Glover supporters at Trinity Baptist Church in Florence came a week after about 15 black ministers from throughout District 30 publicly pledged their support to Norwood, who is white, and agreed to serve on his recently-formed Ecumenical Council of African American Pastors.
Glover and several pastors who spoke during the meeting accused Norwood of establishing the council in an effort to buy the “holiest institution in the African-American community.”
“In life, there are times when lines are drawn in the sand, and as far as I’m concerned, this is a line drawn in the sand when you start prostituting churches,” Glover said. “By forming this ecumenical council and having that press conference last week, Tim Norwood was sending me a message. He simply wants me to know, ‘I bought your black church.’ This is unacceptable. We will not be bought. We will protect our most sacred entity - the black church.”
Darrell Jackson, an ordained minister and state senator from Hopkins, said he was appalled not only that black ministers came against Glover, but also that some of them might have been paid.
“I am a pastor, and it amazes me how anybody who calls themselves a minister and a man of God can stoop to something this low,” Jackson said. “When church leaders are for sale, it’s damaging to the very institution of the church. There are Judases among you and if you tolerate Judases, they’re going to tear up everything you’ve worked for. You’ve got to expose them, because if Maggie is defeated by this, we’re next.”
After the press conference, Glover referred to a line item in Norwood’s most recent ethics disclosure form listing “payment for preachers” as proof of her claims.
“I took that to mean exactly what it said - that he was paying for preachers, and what else would you be paying them for?” she asked. “I saw that on his ethics disclosure with my own eyes.”
Glover said she did not have a copy of the ethics disclosure form on hand, but said the document is public record that anyone can obtain from the S.C. Ethics Commission office.
Norwood said the line item marked “payment to preachers” to which Glover referred was payment for ecumenical council dinners he held in Florence and Marlboro counties and dismissed her claims as nothing more than a desperate political attack.
“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Norwood said. “She impugns my integrity and the integrity of the entire council when she says that. Not one shred of evidence exists that anything like that has happened, because it hasn’t.
“I think Maggie’s just grasping at straws trying to energize her base because her constituency is finding out that she doesn’t care about the most important issue in this race, which is economic development and bringing jobs to this area,” he said.
Glover’s supporters agreed Tuesday that jobs and industry recruitment are important for District 30 , but many said the district was created specifically so that blacks would have adequate representation. They said they believe Glover has consistently fought for minorities during her 12 years in the Senate.
“We are still far behind as black folks in this country,” the Rev. William P. Diggs of Trinity Baptist Church said, “and we need people to represent us who recognize our special needs.”
Some of Glover’s supporters also accused Norwood of misrepresenting himself and his party affiliation.
“I was at Francis Marion with Tim Norwood and he and I talked several times just after he decided to run for this office,” Glover supporter and Florence County Council Chairman, the Rev. Terry Alexander, said.
“During one of those conversations, I asked Tim why he was running as a Democrat and he said, ‘Because I can’t win as a Republican in this district.’ That bothers me,” he said. “I don’t hate Republicans. Many of my best friends are Republicans. But I don’t think it’s right for someone to misrepresent themselves just to get elected.”
Glover’s supporters did not limit their criticism to Norwood. They also voiced questions about opponent Kent Williams’ party loyalty and motivation for running for office.
“I’ve always been a Maggie supporter, but I became even more interested and involved in this race when I learned she was running against two Republicans - one black, one white,” local attorney John Gaines said. “You see, the black Republican candidate was supposed to split the black vote so the white Republican could win. But the black candidate fared a little better than he thought he would with some white folks over in Marion County, so he and the white Republican started fighting over who could win.”
Williams scoffed at Gaines’ comments and said he’s not going to get into any negative campaigning or mud-slinging.
“This is nothing but political propaganda to try to cipher some votes away from me, because Maggie Glover doesn’t want Kent Williams in the runoff,” Williams said. “She knows the only candidate she has a chance of beating is Tim Norwood.
“Check the voting records and my record will reflect what primaries Kent Williams has voted in. I’ve always been a Democrat,” he said. “They like to try to associate me with my brother (conservative columnist Armstrong Williams), but this isn’t about my brother. This is about Kent Williams, and my record speaks for itself.”
Glover, Norwood and Williams will face off in a new District 30 primary Tuesday.
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