{"id":1241,"date":"2026-06-09T20:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1241"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:07:32","slug":"town-council-dispute-police-departures-put-spotlight-on-south-congaree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1241","title":{"rendered":"Town council dispute, police departures put spotlight on South Congaree"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

James Galluzzo, a 20-year military veteran that served as a commissioned officer and a director of leadership development at Fort Jackson, moved to South Congaree in 2018.<\/p>\n

Read more Appeals court upholds conviction in South Carolina \u2018white powder\u2019 letter case<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Having become chairman of the town\u2019s zoning board of appeals, Galluzzo said he\u2019s noticed a lack of organization and effectiveness in local government.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of frustration right now the town government,\u201d Galluzzo said. \u201cIt stems from some issues with the current administration, the town administrator, the police chief, some ongoing challenges with staffing and finding people responsible and capable to conduct the business of the town day-to-day.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A small town of more 2,300 people to the southwest of Columbia, South Congaree has its own mayor, town council and police force. Last month, all three made headlines over controversial disputes, after Mayor Cindy Campbell being stripped of her ability to preside over town council and new police chief Carl Quinlan was removed on May 14 after a three-month tenure.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Town clerk Kelli Ricard forwarded a Freedom of Information Act request for Quinlan\u2019s personnel record to the town\u2019s attorney and is under review as of June 5. Legally, the town has 10 business days to respond to the request, which was submitted on June 1.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Quinlan\u2019s dismissal followed the September 2025 retirement of Steve Jonas, who\u2019d been on the job one year. The retirement came after a wrong-way car crash, where Jonas failed a field sobriety test but later blew a 0.0 on a breathalyzer, with the South Carolina Highway Patrol later confirming Jonas had 1.5 micrograms of a medication in his system that could not be identified due to HIPPA laws, as reported by Fox Carolina.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Investigators later concluded Jonas experienced a transient ischemic attack, also known as a \u201cmini stroke,\u201d as reported by WIS. South Congaree\u2019s public information officer Ashley Hunter confirmed the department currently has only two employees, along with support from Lexington County Sheriff\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

South Conagree\u2019s allows for up to four officers. Gaston, a town of more than 1,800 less than 10 miles to the south, employs two full-time officers, four reserves and a school resource officer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Galluzzo said in his view, Quinlan\u2019s exit was suspiciously timed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had someone that they had vetted and had been a very good, seemed to be a very good, capable officer,\u201d Galluzzo said. \u201cHe started to look into some of the things that were going on and there was some investigation. And again, he has now been overridden.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Five days after Quinlan\u2019s departure, the town council held the May 19 vote to remove Campbell from presiding over meetings for one year, transferring the role to Mayor Pro-Tempore Kitty Spires. When Spires was asked by Campbell during the meeting to publicly provide a reason for the action, Spires said it was due to \u201cInterference in town processes, with the administrative staff.\u201d as seen in a public recording of the meeting.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Campbell was the lone dissenting vote in a 4-1 result. A statement released by Hunter, attributed to council members, claimed the move was necessary for the council to remain focused on running the town.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 4-1 decision is intended to preserve professionalism, dispel ongoing misinformation, maintain orderly public meetings, support town employees in carrying out their duties without undue interference and ensure that Council meetings remain focused on conducting official town business in an effective and respectful manner,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When contacted for additional comment, council members Debbie McIver and Brian Jackson declined, while council member Dwayne Prosser, Spires and Campbell did not respond.<\/p>\n

Read more Illegal killing of alligator was recorded and video posted online, NC officials say<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Galluzzo said transparency had been an issue, and that conversations he felt should be open were only being had behind closed doors in executive session.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that these sessions are usually very long, there\u2019s no way to know if there\u2019s any information that\u2019s discussed in there that could be or should be public,\u201d Galluzzo said. \u201cIt\u2019s all tarped under an umbrella and so it\u2019s very difficult to decipher and there\u2019s really no discussion of what the results were other than just seeing the outcome when a decision is made. For example, the decision to revoke the mayor\u2019s powers to preside over the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Galluzzo said he had a positive view of Campbell.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the mayor is trying to do the right thing,\u201d Galluzzo said. \u201cThere are several of us that are supportive of her initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jamie Lucas, a South Carolina native who does not live in South Congaree, but served as police chief from 2001-02 and says he maintains close connections in the area, also said he felt the community was troubled by a lack of communication between citizens and officials regarding controversies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lucas himself has faced misconduct investigations in the past, being arrested in Lexington County for larceny charges that were later dropped, publicly reprimanded after resigning from his role as county magistrate and having later pled guilty to a petty offense following his time as a police chief in Kremmling, Colorado.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He said he knew the importance of taking accountability for and being open about mistakes and that he feels honesty about them maintains his credibility.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes back to being transparent,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cPeople are going to have different opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lucas said some locals may be hesitant to speak out after Quinlan\u2019s removal and the vote against Campbell.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have relationships with people in South Conagree, when they come to me, I completely understand this fear,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cThe hesitation of saying we just want to remain quiet, we know it\u2019s not right, but we just want to remain quiet because we don\u2019t want to go through this, we don\u2019t want to be targeted, we don\u2019t want to be harassed, we don\u2019t want to be labeled as somebody that we\u2019re not, so that\u2019s a very good and realistic fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lucas said he felt that if the town council made their decision-making more public and sought more input from locals, things would improve.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just want to be heard, they want to be validated,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Galluzzo said he believes as South Congaree grows, with more than 2,000 new residential units and a new school planned in the area, new voices will inevitably take over.<\/p>\n

Read more SC traffic fatalities down this year so far, DPS data shows. These counties have the most deaths<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis town is changing,\u201d Galluzzo said. \u201cThe growth is going to overrun them.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Congaree's town government has faced increased scrutiny after the mayor lost meeting powers and a new police chief was quickly removed from his position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"yoast_head":"\nTown council dispute, police departures put spotlight on South Congaree - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Town council dispute, police departures put spotlight on South Congaree - 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