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Article published Jan 5, 2005
Peeler demands Turner resign as Cherokee election board
chief
Lynne
Powell
Cherokee County Bureau
GAFFNEY -- An otherwise
bland Cherokee County legislative delegation meeting took a sharp turn Tuesday
when Sen. Harvey Peeler asked the chairwoman of the county election commission
to resign.Peeler, quoting an article from the state Constitution, said election
commissioner Suzanne Turner should resign as the election commissioner because
she was also on the board of directors for the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School
in Columbia.Peeler, a Republican, also said Turner was a member of the county
Democratic Women organization and was a state-paid aide to Democratic Rep. Olin
Phillips, which posed a conflict of interest to her neutral election post.Turner
responded to the charges by saying she was also a member of the county
Republican Women organization and had recently resigned from the Wil Lou Gray
board, which she's served on for nine years.Turner then said she had not paid
annual dues to either the Republican or Democratic Women's organizations, so she
wasn't a member of either."I just thought I couldn't go to (political)
fund-raisers," Turner responded.Phillips then asked Turner if she would resign
as his aide and not campaign for him in the future. Turner agreed.Peeler fired
back, saying the state Constitution reads that if a person holds two offices,
they must relinquish the office they accepted last.Turner has been the election
commissioner for five years and on the Wil Lou Gray Board since 1995."You can't
hold two offices," Peeler said. "It's become personal, I didn't want it to, but
the Constitution is clear."When asked by someone in the audience whether Peeler
had sought a lay attorney's opinion on the matter, Peeler responded that
Attorney General Henry McMaster has made it clear that a county election
commissioner can't hold two offices and can't have partisan views.Rep. Lanny
Littlejohn, a Republican, said he had confidence in Turner's abilities, but
asked her to do "what's necessary to get legal."Delegation Chairman Dewitt
McCraw, a Democrat, also asked Turner to take the appropriate action to conform
to the law.Phillips pledged support for Turner before the meeting
adjourned.Lynne Powell can be reached at 487-7146 or lynne.powell@shj.com.