Mayoral candidates in social media spat

SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — With the general election still five months away, two candidates for mayor of South Pittsburg have taken to Facebook to launch criticisms against one another.

On Tuesday night, Mayor Jane Dawkins presented a lengthy complaint on her Facebook page against Virgil Holder, who is one of her rivals for the position, and the South Pittsburg Housing Authority Board.

“Folks, I try to work well with all the branches of local government, but there is something happening now I just can’t get past,” Dawkins wrote.

She was talking about a new landscaping policy requiring residents living on SPHA property to remove all landscaping by June 1, unless the organization’s employees planted it.

Dawkins said the resolution “somehow managed to fly under the radar screen” for several weeks after the housing authority board approved it.

Dawkins said she found out about the new policy after an SPHA resident’s daughter showed up on her back steps and said her mother was “upset to the point of illness over this policy.”

“I admit that I am a little ill over it, too,” Dawkins wrote. “I can’t help from thinking about how devastating this is on those who have put years of time, love and expense in their flower gardens. Some [residents] mentioned they were afraid they would lose their units if they didn’t comply. This is not acceptable.”

Holder, who announced his candidacy for mayor months ago, is the SPHA board’s chairman and the only member not appointed by Dawkins.

On Wednesday, he posted a couple of extensive responses on his Facebook page and accused Dawkins of several unethical, and possibly illegal, actions as the town’s mayor.

He said the landscaping policy was the result of “conversations” with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and SPHA maintenance personnel after some trees and other flora residents planted next to buildings and sidewalks cost the SPHA points on its yearly inspection.

“These inspections determine the operating budget monies provided by HUD for operation of the SP Housing Authority,” Holder wrote. “This resolution was passed on April 18, 2016, and the final resolution notices were sent out on April 19, 2016, to all SPHA residents. The SPHA does not operate in secrecy.”

In a second post, Holder accused Dawkins of violating Tennessee ethics laws by being the provider of medical insurance and retirement plans for the SPHA through her own private insurance company as recently as 2014; unlawfully receiving the city’s health insurance benefits as a part-time employee, and holding special-called meetings of the South Pittsburg City Commission when two members couldn’t attend, among other criticisms.

Dawkins and the South Pittsburg City Commission approved a broad social media policy in December 2014 that prohibited city personnel, including elected officials and appointed board members, from criticizing or commenting in an official capacity about the town’s government or its officials.

The policy was intended to “minimize personal attacking” and “showing people in a negative light,” Commissioner Jeff Powers said at the time.

Both candidates appear to have disregarded that policy this week.

Voters will choose South Pittsburg’s mayor in the general election on Nov. 8.

Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.