Disapproval of Cayce City Council’s handling of recent accusations of racism against a city volunteer was publicly voiced on Dec. 22.

At a regularly scheduled council meeting, the president of the city’s Riverland Park Neighborhood Association, representing his group along with eight other Cayce neighborhood associations, handed council members a statement encouraging the body to do better and delivered comments laying out the groups’ grievances. Christopher Kueny expressed concern about the body’s failure to dismiss the accused Cayce Historical Museum Commission appointee and then delaying a vote to name his replacement.

Those votes came after an accusation by an anonymous city employee against Marion Hutson, a member of the commission, was brought to the public’s attention at a Nov. 9 meeting by Mayor Pro Tem James “Skip” Jenkins. The employee was reported to have accused Hutson of stating Columbia, which sits just across the Congaree River from Cayce, did not need another “colored” mayor.

Hutson resigned three days after that meeting, during which council voted against his dismissal. Mayor Elise Partin subsequently revealed another accusation saying Hutson made racist statements, which she said was emailed to council by a citizen, at the body’s Nov. 18 meeting.

“Last month you held a vote and decided 3/2 that you would prefer to keep in place a volunteer who you believed had made very racist comments to one of our staff,” Kueny said in his remarks, a copy of which were acquired by the Chronicle. “Further, you postponed by a 3/2 vote an appointment to that commission who would have added needed diversity to the commission. There is a saying about quacking like a duck, but I don’t remember exactly.”

He referred to votes that happened on Nov. 9 and 18, respectively.

The appointment in question would have added Marcy Link Hayden, a member of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe, to take Hutson’s place on the museum commission.

The statement Kueny handed to council was signed by leaders representing the Hunters Mill, Cayce Avenues, Broad Acres, Julius Felder Community, Edenwood, Glenwood Estates, Moss Creek and Concord Park neighborhoods. The Chronicle acquired a copy.

“We feel Cayce thrives economically when we are all connected,” the message reads. “We are asking Cayce City Council to look at the larger picture, work together without the doubt of inaction, to right any wrongs, and to represent all our citizens for the good of all in our community in all of its diversity.”

Kueny addressed council at the beginning of the meeting, during public testimony ahead of council’s vote to approve the city’s new comprehensive plan. He explained that the November votes went against the plan’s declared priority to support Cayce’s diverse population.

“Your recent votes have not done that, but quite the opposite,” he said.

He took aim at one council member in particular.

“One of you recently campaigned on the issue of combating the transient community,” he said. “When I inquired what this meant, I was told it meant that there were not enough people in Cayce in the 25-34 age group. It just happens that that is his age group. ... Since not every one in our city is going to look like you or be your age, do not let that affect your decision making.”

The only member of council fitting the description is newly elected Councilman Hunter Sox, whom Hutson was out on election day supporting when he allegedly made his racist comment to a city employee. Sox also pushed for the vote to delay the appointment of Hayden to the museum commission.

Sox addressed his support for holding off on approving Hayden and other council appointees during the council comments period at the end of the meeting. He looked forward to making a decision on the vacancies in January, when City Attorney Danny Crowe’s ongoing, council-ordered investigation into Hutson and other potential instances of racism amongst city staff and volunteers is set to conclude. He indicated this input would help them make informed decisions.

“I just want to say I really appreciate staff looking into the appointment and reappointment and removal processes for other municipalities, getting that back to us in such a timely manner,” Sox said. “Having that information to review along with Danny’s investigation wrapping up on Jan. 4, that should provide us a great opportunity to further discuss adding any potential protections to our processes so we can continue to empower good people to make great change here in Cayce.”

Other than these two moments, the meeting was mostly civil and brisk, with every vote taken having little discussion and resulting in a unanimous decision.

However, following a vote to move council’s monthly Wednesday meetings from 5 to 6 p.m., Mayor Partin chided the rest of council for the manner in which the idea was proposed at the body’s previous session. In the wake of the Hutson accusation, previous council meetings were contentious, as reported in this publication and others.

“I am just going to request of council that we go back to the way that we used to function professionally,” she said, referring to her practice of emailing council members and receiving feedback when setting each meeting’s agenda. “Where we actually communicated with each other ahead of time.”