Pro-Grounsell Forces Rally at City Council Meeting

It was like old times at Simpsonville City Hall on Tuesday night.

After a few months of relative calm at Simpsonville City Council meetings, a band of supporters of fired Police Chief Keith Grounsell rallied outside city hall before Council's workshop session Tuesday evening.

The group, estimated at around 70 or so, carried signs in support of Grounsell and against Mayor Perry Eichor and a handful of Council members who voted to oust the chief last December.

As part of the "Rally for Transparency," Grounsell said he was seeking an apology from Eichor and the Council, and his reinstatement as chief. He and others also called for the resignations of Eichor, along with Council members Matthew Gooch, Brown Garrett, and George Curtis, all of whom voted to fire Grounsell last December, setting off a firestorm.

Council member Dr. Julius Welborn also voted in December to oust Grounsell, but last month apologized and made a public statement during a City Council session stating that he now regretted his decision.

Council members Geneva Lawrence and Sylvia Lockaby, both outspoken Grounsell supporters who voted to retain Grounsell, stood with him outside before the Council meeting.

In an impromptu news conference during the rally, Mayor Eichor reiterated that Council was fully within its rights to fire Grounsell over violating the terms of his employment agreement and other transgressions. Grounsell supporters maintain the former chief was ousted largely because of a lawsuit filed against the city by former assistant chief Colleen O'Neil after she was passed over for the job.

As for an apology from Eichor, the mayor said he didn't believe he needed to make one.

“Not from me, maybe somebody else, but not from me,” Eichor said.

Inside the Council chambers, a handful of the pro-Grounsell, anti-Eichor forces stood to reiterate their displeasure with the Mayor and certain Council members and decry what they see as corruption in city government. They included Taylor Graham and Joan Davidson, both of whom have said they plan to run for open Council seats this November.

The only person on Council to offer an apology was Council member Gooch — but it wasn't what the audience wanted to hear. His apology was to city employees and staff who he said for months have dealt with the "farce" that the pro-Grounsell protests has spawned.

When Gooch also took the liberty to defend Council's firing of Grounsell, that set off a testy exchange between Gooch, Grounsell, and Lockaby — and a rumbling through the crowd. Hearing enough from Gooch, Grounsell stood up and left the chambers and was followed by a majority of his allies.

In addition to re-airing the grievances that have hanged around city hall like a fog the past several months, many in attendance also were there to protest possible procedural changes at Council meetings. Most irksome was the possibility that Council might change its rules to limit public comments to 30 minutes and prohibit people from bringing up issues that have been discussed in previous meetings.

The move was seen as a direct response to the many residents who continually attend Council meetings to excoriate Council for the firing of Grounsell and matters related to his firing.

Said city resident Joan Davidson, "“The changes are to prevent our citizens from exercising their rights by telling us what we can say and when we can say it.” 

The Council didn't vote on any rule changes and agreed to discuss the matter further without indicating whether any such changes were likely to be adopted.

Meantime, amid the continued rancor, Grounsell said he would continue to fight, saying his firing has made it virtually impossible to get work in law enforcement. Without the opportunity to wage a formal grievance against the city, he said he looked forward to the results of a SLED investigation into his firing. He vowed to continue to push for vindication.

"I'm here for the long haul," Grounsell said. "I will not back down."