Supporters and colleagues of Charleston City Councilman Kwadjo Campbell expressed surprise and disappointment in learning Wednesday that he faces prosecution for campaign finance law violations.

"I'm just sorry to see something like that happen to Councilman Campbell, who I think is a very good council member, even though he's had some problems in the past," said Councilman James Lewis, one of Campbell's closest allies. "I hope it's not true."

State Sen. Robert Ford speculated Campbell's troubles are somehow rooted in the councilman's frosty relationship with Mayor Joe Riley.

"I knew that was going to happen to Kwadjo when he first started speaking out. He was going to run into trouble because (Charleston Mayor) Joe (Riley) runs the system," Ford said. "All they're trying to do is destroy Kwadjo."

City Councilman Henry Fishburne said he had no idea such charges were in motion against Campbell. "I'm disappointed, obviously. Councilman Campbell is a very intelligent person. I'm surprised that he has apparently gotten himself into this situation."

Latonya Memminger, president of a neighborhood group, the Eastside Community Development Corp., said she has worked with Campbell but has tried to stay outside the political fray.

"I just feel that the East Side needs strong representation -- there's a lot going on," she said. "I'm not sure we're getting that kind of representation. But I don't want to say anything negative about anyone either way without knowing the facts."

Ford, D-Charleston, said he was suspended as a councilman in 1977 in connection with forgery charges that he was not convicted of.

"I was the only person at that time on City Council who would inform the public about things that were not right with the Riley administration," he said.

Ford also questioned why Campbell was facing charges in connection with campaign finance forms. "Here's a guy who might have filed some ethics form wrong, which you have to do four times a year. Even when you have a professional do them, they mess up," Ford said.

The Rev. Joe Darby, vice president of the state NAACP, said Campbell's service on council has been firm and effective, "and I think in doing that, he has made some enemies along the way. I don't know if some of those enemies played into the attorney general's indictment. I would hope not, but that's the reality."

Campbell's other brushes with the law have mostly related to missing child support payments.

In 2003, Campbell's ex-wife agreed to have the support payments handled privately -- rather than through family court -- because she was frustrated and felt Campbell was being treated unfairly by the system.

Campbell's legal woes didn't prevent him from winning re-election to a second four-year term, though a challenger ran so close that Campbell needed three elections before he finally triumphed. In 2003, he entered the race for mayor and got about 9 percent of the vote citywide.

The councilman's other big brush with the law came during a week in February, when Summerville police charged Campbell with misdemeanor traffic charges for an incident there, and Charleston police charged him with a misdemeanor marijuana possession in a separate incident downtown.

Those charges are pending.

In February, Mayor Joe Riley called for Campbell's resignation. After spending two days in jail, Campbell vowed to stay in office, saying that Riley "can forget it."