Hollywood SC mayor sued for using town Facebook page to endorse brother

HOLLYWOOD — The mayor here is being sued by a Republican candidate for her old Statehouse seat after she allegedly used the town’s Facebook page to endorse her brother for the office. 

In a lawsuit filed in state court in Charleston, James Teeple — a Republican candidate for House District 116 — claims Hollywood Mayor Chardale Murray used the town’s official Facebook page on several occasions to promote her brother, Hollywood-based pastor and Democratic Statehouse candidate Charlie Murray Jr. 

In a pair of since-deleted posts on the Hollywood Facebook page, the town appeared to be explicitly boosting Murray Jr.’s campaign, including by featuring an ABC News 4 story announcing his bid for the Charleston-area seat.

The district stretches from just outside West Ashley into the Ravenel area and south toward Edisto Beach.

After Teeple’s campaign issued a complaint, the town took down the post. But a little more than a week later, on March 20, the town posted a series of photos of Murray attending her brother’s campaign launch, which explicitly noted Murray Jr. was the brother of the sitting mayor. 

Teeple claims in the lawsuit the posts were intentionally made to help Murray Jr.’s campaign. Teeple charges the act is a violation of Section 8-13-1346 of the South Carolina Ethics Code, which stipulates an individual “may not use or authorize the use of public funds, property, or time to influence the outcome of an election.”

“It has absolutely tipped the scales in this election,” Teeple said in an interview with The Post and Courier. “I’m gonna have to spend more dollars, more time and more effort to try to combat the illegal activity of the Murrays. That is undisputed fact.”

Teeple is asking for a public apology, the reimbursement of the cost of his attorneys fees, a prohibition on the town making any political posts on social media, and for both Chardale Murray and Charles Murray Jr. to be “barred from office for 15 years, per the statute.”

Sources with Murray Jr.’s campaign, however, claim there is nothing to try them on, and are considering a countersuit against Teeple and his attorney, William Koatesworth Swope, who earned public reprimands from the South Carolina Supreme Court for violations of the South Carolina rules of professional conduct in 2002 and 2012. 

“Obviously, this is ridiculous,” Aaron White, Murray Jr.’s campaign manager, wrote in a statement. “Rev. Murray has no control over what any of his supporters post on Facebook. Mr. Teeple, who is a far-right wing extremist, and his attorney, who has previously earned a reprimand from the SC Supreme Court, are using the legal system to create a false political narrative. Rev. Murray is a respected member of this community, and the voters here will not be fooled by these shameless shenanigans.”

Emailed messages to Murray’s assistant and the Hollywood town attorney’s office were not immediately returned. 

Teeple said he has also reported the offending posts to the South Carolina Ethics Commission, which declined to confirm or deny an investigation in emails with The Post and Courier. 

The race for the 116th District is expected to be one of the most competitive of the 2024 elections.

Murray, who was elected to the seat by fewer than two points in the 2020 elections, lost her seat by a similarly small margin just two years later in her re-election bid against Johns Island Republican Matt Leber, who is vacating the seat to run for the South Carolina Senate.

After district lines were redrawn following the 2020 U.S. Census, the seat is still essentially a toss-up, though the Democratic vote share in the 2020 elections currently outweighs Republicans by a three-point margin, according to state redistricting data.

But in a presidential election year, every vote counts — particularly for a candidate who already faces a slight disadvantage. As of April, Murray Jr.’s campaign had outraised Teeple by several thousand dollars, fueled by an infusion of $30,000 of his own money, according to campaign finance reports.

Teeple said he just wants a level playing field. 

“I want nothing monetary,” said Teeple. “I’m just about making it a fair election. There’s going to be people that may not show up to vote now, that think it won’t matter in that area. And that absolutely goes back to voter suppression through their illegal use of their office. It just blows my mind that would happen.”