By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press
SENECA, S.C. (AP) — Voters choosing a sheriff in one South Carolina county can pick from four men accused of doing something wrong, including a former Secret Service agent accused of trying to kidnap someone and a second man investigated by state agents.
If neither suits their fancy, voters also can pick from a former deputy who was fired last year after his bosses accused him of lying on his time sheets, or the current chief deputy, who was the No. 2 man at the agency when a former office manager stole more than $500,000 forfeited by drug dealers. All four men deny any wrongdoing.
"It's a travesty for all the people of Oconee County," said Jeff Bright, an engineer who backed the ex-Secret Service agent facing the felony charge, James Bartee.
To top it all off, they will all have to conduct write-in campaigns or get back on the ballot in November through collecting signatures. All four were kicked off the ballot Wednesday because of mistakes filing campaign paperwork, just six days before the Republican primary. No Democrats were running for the seat.
Most people expected an intense campaign after 20-year Sheriff James Singleton announced his retirement. But the ugliness has become unsettling: Salacious allegations with little to back them up are swirling on Facebook, and the candidates frequently trade copies of court documents and personnel files at forums.
The sheriff's office is typically an important seat of power in South Carolina, where strict incorporation laws mean 65 percent of the state's residents don't live in cities or towns. Sheriffs often control jails, can hire and fire anyone and have tight control over finances — in Oconee County, the sheriff's office gets nearly 15 percent of the $43 million budget for the county of about 74,000 people. They also choose what their deputies concentrate on, meaning drugs may be a focus in one county while it's traffic control in another.
Oconee County is a rural area of haves and have-nots: Wealthy retirees attracted by the beautiful waters of Lake Keowee and the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from lakeside mansions contrast with the remnants of mill villages where nearly a third of households make less than $35,000 a year, according to U.S. Census figures.
Candidates are willing to spend big bucks to get the job, too. With weeks left before what was supposed to be the election, campaign finance documents showed the four Oconee County candidates spent a combined $130,000, or about $3 per registered voter, for a job that pays anywhere from $68,000 to $103,000 a year depending on experience.
Leading the spending was Bartee, who has loaned more than $34,000 to his own campaign. He spent more than two decades with the U.S. Secret Service, and his website shows him on the presidential protection details for Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He also, for the first time in his life, is facing a felony charge.
The State Law Enforcement Division said Bartee was taped asking someone to arrange the kidnapping of a former judge so he would miss a court hearing questioning whether Bartee has the proper credentials to be sheriff. Bartee was hauled off to jail in the middle of that hearing, which has been suspended, and charged with solicitation of a felony.
Bartee vigorously maintains his innocence, saying he was trying to stop the kidnapping. The tone of his campaign has changed. On the billboards he bought months ago is the slogan: "Businessman. Gentleman. Lawman. Your Man." Recently, as he held a fundraiser in a karaoke bar for his defense, he spent a lot of time explaining the arrest and telling people, "it's time to get the pigs out of the water."
Bartee appeared at a candidate forum 12 hours after he bonded out of jail, telling the audience he has heard horrible stories of police abusing their power in the county. He said if someone like him could be railroaded, then anyone in the county could wind up in a heap of trouble.
"I thought it was going to be tough going against an ingrained system," Bartee said a week after his May 30 arrest. "But I never thought it would go this far."
Then, one day after the karaoke bar event, Bartee abruptly decided to drop his run for sheriff and campaign for state Senate instead. He said spending a night in jail made him realize the system is broken in a much bigger area than Oconee County.
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