Letter to the Editor: SBI should investigate Mayor Hardy using on-duty firefighters for watermelon giveaway

“Elections have consequences” is a phrase most often used when someone who did not vote complains about the actions of a politician. Recently I discovered that at least one politician has forgotten that winning an election also has consequences. Any elected official, immediately upon taking their oath, becomes subject to a great many laws regarding holding public office. We see this every day in the media where politicians are caught breaking campaign finance laws or abusing the power of their office.

On August 14th, I drove by Grainger Stadium and observed cars lined up as watermelons were being given away by our current Mayor, Don Hardy. As I had received a flyer about the event this is what I expected to see. What I did not expect to see was on-duty City of Kinston firefighters being used as labor. Having been the victim of two residential fires, I am keenly aware of the reason we have on-duty firefighters in multiple stations all around Kinston every minute of every day. A fire doubles in size every minute so it is vital these men be in place and ready to go the second they are called. This bothered me to the point that I emailed our Interim City Manager and inquired why on-duty City of Kinston firefighters were away from their stations and working an advertised campaign event.

The response I received was that the Mayor had called the City requesting permission to use Grainger Stadium for another food distribution event and permission was granted. Puzzled, I emailed over a copy of the event flyer that clearly stated the event was “Sponsored by the Committee to Elect Don Hardy”. I sent this flyer to the Interim City Manager. Shortly after, the Interim City Manager emailed me that this occurred on her first day as Interim City Manager and she had no knowledge of the communication to schedule the event. Upon learning of my email, Mr. Hardy emailed stating, I “must not continue wasting our time or my staff’s time”. I did not respond to this email but both Mr. Hardy and the interim City Manager should be aware that there is a section of the North Carolina General Statutes, Section 160A-169 entitled City Employee Political Activity.

The statute states its purpose is to ensure that City employees are not subjected to political or partisan coercion. I have learned the firefighters were ordered to help the Mayor and that some were not very happy about being forced to help. I know that the police learned it was a political event and correctly did not allow their officers to be used for the event. 

I want to make it perfectly clear that I am certainly not an attorney and that I might not have all the facts; however, based on what I know now I believe any reasonable person would feel this event raises questions. I have asked the Interim City Manager and the Interim Police Chief to follow normal protocol and call in the SBI to conduct an investigation. The main role of the SBI is to conduct investigations where local law enforcement has a conflict of interest. The Interim City Manager said she would investigate, but how can you investigate the very people who decide if you have a job tomorrow?

As of this writing, the Interim Police Chief has agreed to gather all the information and contact the SBI. Hopefully, then questions can be asked and a determination can be reached as to whether any laws were broken. I myself, for the sake of the City’s reputation, hope nothing illegal occurred and that I am wrong. We will never know until an unbiased law enforcement agency investigates.

Anthony Kennedy
Kinston, NC