CITY COUNCIL WANTS DRUG TESTS FOR ITS MEMBERS

Officials Say They Should Be Held To Same Standard As City Employees

Charleston City Councilman Kwadjo Campbell arrived at the first City
Council meeting since being charged with marijuana possession just as
Councilman Paul Tinkler proposed that council members be subjected to drug
testing.

Tinkler said members of City Council should be held to the same standard as
city employees, who can be tested for drugs upon reasonable suspicion of
illegal drug use.

"If you play for the South Carolina Gamecocks and you test positive for
marijuana, you can be kicked off the team," he said, drawing another
contrast with City Council rules.

Campbell did not object to Tinkler's drug-testing plan and joined him in
voting for the idea, but later called Tinkler "a pawn of the mayor."

Tinkler previously had said he supports Mayor Joe Riley's call for Campbell
to resign while awaiting trial on charges stemming from two separate
arrests last month.

Campbell, 33, was charged with second-offense marijuana possession in
Charleston on Feb. 24, after he was stopped while riding in a car that had
been reported stolen. Campbell's female companion, a 24-year-old college
student, told police that a marijuana "blunt" found in the car was the
councilman's, according to a police report.

The owner of the car later said he had mistakenly reported it stolen.
Campbell, who pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in 1996 and served a
probationary term, awaits trial on the misdemeanor possession charge.

Just days before his arrest in Charleston, Campbell was charged with
driving with a suspended license and giving false information to police in
Summerville, after he was pulled over for driving a car with a broken tail
light.

Several residents of Campbell's East Side district spoke in his defense at
the council meeting Tuesday night.

"The charges against Kwadjo Campbell are just that, charges," said Jackie
Cord, who asked Riley to stay out of the issue and leave it in the hands of
the courts, and ultimately the voters.

Some council members questioned Tinkler's drug-testing idea, and his
motives, while Campbell listened silently.

"I wish someone would really tell me the reason for it," said Councilman
James Lewis. "I'd sure like to see what the legality of this is all about."

The legal issue is that, under the Charleston City Code, members of City
Council forfeit their seats if they are convicted of a crime involving
moral turpitude. Riley has urged the council to eject Campbell if he is
convicted of marijuana possession, but South Carolina courts have ruled
that simple possession of marijuana is not a crime involving moral turpitude.

Councilman Robert George suggested that Tinkler was attempting to redefine
moral turpitude, as it applies to council members."To me, moral turpitude
is cheating on your wife, or misrepresenting how you live," George said.
"If we open that issue up, we'll be opening up a big bag of worms."

Council ended up voting 11-1 to direct the city's legal staff to examine
the legality of applying drug-testing rules to members of council. The
motion also called for the staff to see if other elective bodies require
such testing in South Carolina.

Lewis cast the only vote against the measure.

Later, outside the Reuben Greenberg Municipal Building, Campbell said that
if drug testing were to be instituted for council members, and were he
asked to take one, he "would gladly take the test."

He said he was gratified by the people who spoke in his defense at the
council meeting and has been hearing an outpouring of support from
constituents all week.

Tinkler insisted his drug-testing measure wasn't aimed at Campbell.

"I'll concede that it's a timely topic," he said. "It's aimed at addressing
the fact that City Council members are exempt from rules we require city
employees to follow."