The mayor said his truth with his quote, “I am the Town of Blythewood. I am the mayor.” That’s the quiet part, accidentally said out loud, that the public does not get to hear, but we do as council behind the scenes. Make no mistake, this is an administration of ONE. Yet, the councilmembers, who try to hold him accountable, not diminish his position, get accused of bickering and not working with the mayor. Let me be clear, this mayor has not felt the need to work with council. He doesn’t have to because we operate under the mayor council form of government and that enormous authority, when not properly managed, leads us to where we are today. I did not run for council with the intention to spend my first term fighting all the time to be included in an administration where the people elected me to serve. Would you like to serve under those conditions?
We all have different backgrounds, ideologies and professional strengths, yet you are led to believe the four of us have gotten together to execute a coup, a cabal. For what reason? That could not be further from the truth. The mayor was one of the first few people I called to say I was running for council. His response to me was, “Good. We need you.” Now, I’m in cahoots with three other people who I had never even met to take him down and overthrow this local government? Let that sink in. Could it be that I was misled?
We have a duly elected mayor of this town and will continue to when this referendum passes. However, he is not the only elected official. I am. Donald Brock is. Rich McKenrick is. Erica Page is. Each of us loves this community. We live here. We signed up to support this administration, even if sometimes we don’t agree. That is called democracy. Well, it’s hard to support an administration you know nothing about. I cannot count the number of times we have been blindsided and it plays out in public as a 4-1 attack. A good leader would include his or her team and utilize their strengths to make governing more effective. An even better leader wouldn’t want it to be all about them by playing the victim. Yet according to some, there is only one person, out of five elected who cares about our community. The rest of us are there to burn it down! Really?
The town manager (administrator) is not a new position. We have always had one, and that fulltime person has been allowed to run day to day operations, under the direction of the mayor and council, until now. That person has always been the highest paid position in town hall. Why? Because town managers (administrators) are highly trained and educated specific to running a town government. They are virtual experts in zoning and planning, the bid process, managing staff, economic development, budgeting and finance, proposals, ordinances, annexation, procurement, utilities, and much more.
There is not an elected official in Blythewood town government who is qualified to do that. Each elected official, including the mayor, is a part-time position.
The manager does NOT supersede the mayor. He or she still reports to the mayor and council and does not operate without oversight. They execute the overall directives of the legislative body.
What they don’t do is knowingly hire a friend under SLED investigation for allegedly stealing money from another town and bring them to Blythewood (she was later indicted). They don’t give unauthorized Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthday bonuses to staff to curry loyalty. They don’t throw $18,000 self-promoting parties. They would not be allowed to give public funds and resources away for political favor and posture. If that happened, the manager would be terminated immediately. With elected officials, you have to wait until our term is up.
This seat belongs to you, and I’m honored to have it as long as you chose to have me. I benefit in no way by misleading you. This is not about me, and I am not a victim.
I ran for town council with the hopes of working together with my colleagues to build a better Blythewood and offer what I thought was a more transparent way of governing. The change of government, for me, is about trying to keep a campaign promise to you. True transparency. I’ve only been in this seat a little over 18 months, and I can tell you, this form of government is not working. There is little transparency, and this is not the best way moving forward as Blythewood grows rapidly.
This isn’t about who is likeable, it’s about the people of the town. It’s about telling you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it or find it hard to believe.
Blythewood is not the same today as it was even three years ago. It ranks as one of the fastest growing municipalities in South Carolina. My goal is to make sure each elected official is included, not to outshine the mayor or have the final say, but just be included. That’s what you voted for. If not, there should only be one elected official in the town.
Personal feelings, friendships and loyalties aside, this is truly a needed change for our future. It’s the right thing to do. No one person is the Town of Blythewood. Vote “Yes!”
Andrea Fripp
Councilwoman, Town of Blythewood
