Maybe it’s the water. Or the barbecue. Or the sand clouds rising from the back roads surrounding the town, but the Batesburg-Leesville municipal government never fails to be interesting. And we’re probably going to have to thank Town Councilman Steve Cain for this. We first came across the gentleman when he got into a physical confrontation with fellow Town Councilman Todd O’Dell.
O’Dell says Cain shoved him as Cain tried to confront town manager Joan Taylor.
Cain says the arrest was “a setup.” He says O’Dell jumped in front of him and he grabbed him to move him aside. Cain says the arrest came in retaliation for his outspokenness.
That was in July of last year. By the time October rolled around, Cain was running against Mayor James Wiszowaty, and the two evidently did not get along — then or before. During the campaign, Cain was alleging that Wiszowaty had a conflict of interest when it came to a new water facility for the town. Cain sent off his complaints to the State Ethics Commission, and sure enough, Wiszowaty was cleared of any wrongdoing. When asked what he wanted after the ruling, Wiszowaty said he wanted Cain to resign from the Council. No such luck.
But, oh, it wasn’t over. After Cain lost the election for mayor last November, he and other candidate complained that there were irregularities and the election process wasn’t conducted properly. Needless to say, that one didn’t go anywhere, either.
The latest news came out at the end of last week. Wiszowaty seems to have had enough of dealing with Cain’s antics, and is suing him for slander. This should be a good trial, if it ever gets that far. According to the news brief, the mayor is suing because Cain said Wiszowaty is “a cocaine user, an alcoholic and dishonest.”
Damn. This one obviously isn’t over.
Batesburg-Leesville has been having more than its share of political drama over the past few weeks, as municipal affairs are turning into fisticuffs, allegations of improper conduct in relation to the water supply and claims of election problems.
In July, councilman Steve Cain and town manager Joan Taylor got into an argument that ended up with things getting physical between councilman Todd O’Dell and Cain, who was later arrested. Cain’s campaign for mayor against incumbent James Wiszowaty delved into supposed ethics violations, as Cain accused Wiszowaty of taking engaging in shady actions involving Wiszowaty’s convenience store and a planned water supply plant. However, the Mayor was cleared by the State Ethics Commission and called for Cain to resign.
Now, after losing the campaign last week, Cain says there were irregularities in the election.
Steve Cain and Pansy Buzhardt contend the election was flawed because of improper handling of ballots. They also renewed complaints that their challengers who won had improper nominating petitions.
Their complaint made Thursday goes to town election officials to settle next week.
Cain lost a mayoral bid but was re-elected to Town Council while Buzhardt lost her bid for a council seat.
Lexington County elections director Dean Crepes said his staff ran the election fairly and as required. “It was all done correctly,” he said.
It’s a small town with not a lot of voters, and Wiszowaty took the win 683-473. Buzhardt lost 70-52.
It took until mid-October for this situation to reach its next milestone, but here’s how we led our coverage of the last installation of the craziness that’s been going down in Sovereign County of Lexington:
In Batesburg-Leesville, it’s not all about dirt roads, barbecue and chicken farming. There’s some fighting to be done. Or, at least there was between town councilmen Steve Cain and Todd O’Dell on Monday. According to a report on the incident, a disagreement devolved into shoving and the like, leading to a simple assault charge and arrest for Cain.
Cain is running for mayor of the town that, we swear, has as many sandy roads as paved ones — probably more. He is of the opinion that incumbent Mayor James Wiszowaty violated state law by having conflict-of-interest issues involving a business he owns and the prospect of a new water plant. After the State Ethics Commission cleared Wiszowaty, he said he wanted Cain to resign from the town council. Not bloody likely, as the saying goes.
Cain said he will continue to question Wiszowaty’s support for a proposed new water plant on Lake Murray.
“He’s a slick-talking Chicago politician who operates in gray areas,” Cain said.
Wiszowaty runs a convenience store and service station on S.C. 391 in an area where Cain says new development is likely after installation of a waterline from the plant.
Cain’s complaint to the commission is a political stunt, Wiszowaty said.
“I’m used to his antics,” the mayor said. “It’s time for him to give up this fight.”
The back-and-forth in Columbia is tame compared to this.
In Batesburg-Leesville, it’s not all about dirt roads, barbecue and chicken farming. There’s some fighting to be done. Or, at least there was between town councilmen Steve Cain and Todd O’Dell on Monday. According to a report on the incident, a disagreement devolved into shoving and the like, leading to a simple assault charge and arrest for Cain.
O’Dell says Cain shoved him as Cain tried to confront town manager Joan Taylor.
Cain says the arrest was “a setup.” He says O’Dell jumped in front of him and he grabbed him to move him aside. Cain says the arrest came in retaliation for his outspokenness.
Who says small town government can’t be fun?
