Loris Councilman Herring suspended

Loris City Councilman Russell Herring will be suspended from his office until the disposition of criminal drug charges against him, but his absence should not affect the city, officials said Tuesday.

"We're all concerned, but we've got to let the court system go through the process," Mayor David Stoudenmire said. "We will continue and move forward. We're not going to let town government slow down just because we have this situation."

Herring, who has declined to discuss the allegations, retained local lawyer Carroll Padgett to represent him. Padgett also represents the city in various legal matters.

Howard Duvall, executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina, said such representation should not be a concern for Loris residents.

"I think the attorney can represent him without conflicting the city," Duvall said. "The city is not directly involved, and these are state charges."

Duvall said the remaining five City Council members and the mayor should press on with the city's affairs.

"It'll have minimum impact," Duvall said. "Of course they'll be short one person, so it will be important for all council members to attend council meetings."

Loris City Council will gather at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss millage-rate adjustments. It will be its first meeting without Herring, who can attend the meetings but cannot participate as a councilman.

On Monday, Gov. Mark Sanford issued the executive order to suspend Herring from office after an Horry County grand jury indicted Herring on 14 charges of drug activity at his downtown business. The charges were filed by Horry County police after a three-month investigation that culminated with Herring's July 5 arrest.

It is unclear how long the judicial process might take.

The indictments say Herring sold prescription drugs without a prescription and illegal drugs April 1, 6, 11 and 20; May 2; and July 5.

Those drugs included hydrocodone, marijuana, OxyContin, Zyrtec 10, buspirone hydrochloride and ranitidine.

He also is charged with possessing those drugs with the intent to distribute them within a half-mile radius of a school, according to court documents.

Once the case has concluded, it will be up to Herring to defend his reputation to Loris residents, Duvall said.

"Charges of this serious of nature are taken into account by the electorate," Duvall said, "and it will be up to Mr. Herring to clear his good name if he wants to run for office again if he is found not guilty of the charges."