Wukela calls for investigation of city funding

FLORENCE — Democratic Florence Mayoral candidate Stephen J. Wukela said city Council should ask the S.C. Attorney General’s Office to investigate and audit funding given to councilman Ed Robinson or any organizations with which council members are associated.

“The appearance of impropriety is impropriety,” Wukela said Thursday during a noon press conference. “The time for the good ol’ boy system of closed-door dealing must come to an end and give way to change through honest leadership and open government.”

Wukela said all council members should voluntarily disclose the amount of public funds they have received from the city and how those funds were spent.

Robinson recently came under fire for Florence’s delayed Juneteenth festival, which celebrates the end of slavery and was funded by $7,400 of the city’s state accommodations tax money.

The event was held Aug. 23. Robinson has said that nearly $6,000 of the funding went toward booking singer Little Royal and his band.

Robinson said he thinks there’s a “team effort” to discredit him and win the black vote by leading him into a battle with The Community Times editor Larry Smith.

“It is not my intent to have a black-on-black fight here,” Robinson said.

Smith has written articles calling Robinson into question regarding Juneteenth funds.

In February, Robinson made a motion to deny Smith’s request for the S.C. Black Family Expo to receive $6,000 in accommodations tax funding, but wouldn’t say why. Council unanimously denied the request; Mayor Frank Willis didn’t attend the meeting because he was ill, and councilman Bobby Holland was out of town.

Robinson said checks for Juneteenth, which are received quarterly, were made out to the Black Music Festival, the Juneteenth organization and the Florence Community Development Agency. He said he promotes Juneteenth but is not on the event’s committee.

Rocky Pearce, who will face Wukela as an independent candidate, said “every penny was accounted for” when he served as mayor, as it would be if he’s elected this year.

“If there is a hint of any kind of conflict, there should be more scrutiny there,” Pearce said.

Wukela also has called for an independent auditor to review each contract the city has signed over the past five years. He said he wants to ensure that the city followed procurement policies, that fair market value was paid, that no conflicts of interest existed with city government officials, and that contracts were awarded fairly in a way that promotes diversity.

Wukela also said the city prosecutor should submit to the State Law Enforcement Division and state attorney general any warrants or summons issued for council members within the past five years, as well as a statement of whether the warrants were dismissed or prosecuted.

He also said that council should direct the police chief to refer any criminal investigations involving city government officials to SLED.

Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said his department has made it a practice to refer such an investigation to SLED to avoid any conflicts of interest.

If an officer witnesses a crime, however, he or she can make a case, Shells said.

Robinson has been arrested twice in the past two years on charges of driving under suspension. Since 2004, he has pleaded no contest to interfering with a police officer and has been acquitted of simple assault.

“Any incident that I’ve had with the police hasn’t been handled by the city,” but in county court, Robinson said.

Wukela made his comments during a press conference where students from South Florence High School, his alma mater, asked him about his memories of the school. He recalled his American government teacher, Eva Grant.

“Eva Grant would never have stood for this kind of operation of government where there wasn’t a disclosure of what’s going on,” Wukela said.