Wrong Foot

“Sometimes you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do to survive.”

Jim Preacher, Mayor of Norway, South Carolina

Photo by Mike Tually

Talk about getting off on the wrong foot. Jim Preacher was elected mayor of Norway, South Carolina (population 360) last November. He couldn’t wait to get started on the job. That’s the problem—he couldn’t wait. He showed up at town hall January 1 but the doors were locked—the council wasn’t actually scheduled to meet until January 9. Mr. Preacher opened a back window and, finding he couldn’t fit through it, helped an unnamed, smaller person through the window. Once inside Mr. Preacher changed the locks and removed the outgoing mayor’s name from the town bank accounts. The outgoing mayor is upset and has asked the sheriff to charge Mr. Preacher with burglary.

Fast forward to last week. Mr. Preacher was pulled over by a state trooper for doing 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. Mr. Preacher doesn’t deny he was speeding but says he was acting as chief constable and was in pursuit of a vehicle. Moments after receiving his ticket, Mr. Preacher turned on his siren and pulled the trooper over. Again acting as chief constable, Mr. Preacher took the trooper’s license and registration, hesitated a while, and let the trooper go. Now the state has been asked to check into Mr. Preacher’s status as a law enforcement officer.

For his part, Mr. Preacher wishes all the negative publicity would just go away. Perhaps he’ll get his wish. Today is a new month and a new opportunity for Mr. Preacher to put his best foot forward . . . or not.

Read more:

■  Norway’s mayor says he did not enter window, The Post and Courier, January 6, 2012.

■  Martha Rose Brown, Trooper pulls over Norway mayor, then mayor pulls over trooper, The Times and Democrat, January 21, 2012.