If you thought the final 48 hours of the Republican runoff for sheriff of Greenville county, South Carolina couldn’t get any crazier … you thought wrong. On Sunday afternoon, an Anderson, S.C. woman took to social media to identify herself as “Cindy B” – a name referenced in a mail piece sent last week by the campaign of A.T. “Tommy” Smith.
The significance of this name?
The Smith campaign’s mail referenced an allegation that Hobart Lewis – the newly minuted frontrunner in this special election – left his job at the Greer, S.C. police department in 2004 after “having sex with (a) subordinate.”
“Hobart, who is Cindy B?” the mailing asked.
According to Cindy Barnette Camp, she is “Cindy B.”
“I cannot sit on the sidelines anymore,” Camp wrote on her Facebook page on Saturday. “Mr Smith I am Cindy B. and your awful attacks on my character and my family must stop. I will not sit idly by and let you try to destroy two people for your own political gain.”
(Click to view)
(Via: Facebook)
Camp (above) went on to state “that Hobart Lewis and I never had any type of inappropriate relationship.”
“These lies you have deliberately spread about me have caused harm and I feel bullied,” she continued. “You have shown no proof of any type of an affair, cause there is none, but let me tell you Mr. Smith my lawyers are going to want to see proof too, cause that is who you will be answering to next.”
This news outlet was the first to report on allegations involving Lewis’ tenure with the Greer police department from 1994 through 2004.
From that report …
Multiple Upstate law enforcement personnel have told this news outlet that Lewis’ departure from the Greer police department in 2004 may not have been completely voluntary – hinting at something the two-time candidate reportedly disclosed to his future superiors at the Greenville county sheriff’s office prior to being hired there in 2010.
“GCSO leaders were made aware of an acknowledged relationship between Lewis and a female subordinate at Greer,” a former sheriff’s office employee told this news outlet earlier this month. “They chose to ignore it and hire him anyway.”
The employee who put us onto this particular scent told us they reached out “because Hobart is doing all that Bible thumping.”
“You can’t do that when you have these types of skeletons,” the employee told us.
This news outlet has been provided with the name of the female officer with whom Lewis is alleged to have engaged in the improper relationship during his time in Greer, however we are declining to publish it at this time. According to our sources, the female officer acknowledged the alleged affair when she was hired by Greenville county prior to Lewis.
“She told them she had engaged in an affair with a sergeant at Greer,” our source said.
In addition to a name, this news outlet was provided with a photograph of the woman alleged to have been Lewis’ paramour – and other information which would have made her easily identifiable. We declined to publish the name or the photo – or any of the other identifying information we were provided.
Also worth pointing out? It is not immediately clear whether Camp is the woman who was pictured in the photo we were provided by our sources.
The “Cindy B.” mailing began arriving at homes in Greenville county on Saturday – one of dozens of last-minute communications bombarding citizens ahead of Tuesday’s election.
It was paid for by Smith’s campaign, although the candidate distanced himself from it on social media.
“This is a piece that was sent from our office,” Smith wrote in response to a comment on Facebook. “We own it. While I do stand by all of the factual information in the mailer, there is one comment that was personal in nature and should not have been approved by me. I missed it in the review process and while I could give you a hundred excuses, I can only say it is my fault and I intend to apologize in person for it.”
Take a look …
(Click to view)
(Via: Provided)
Another mailing sent to Greenville county residents over the weekend also made mention of Lewis’ alleged indiscretions.
Specifically, the mailing stated he allegedly “admitted to an illicit extra-marital sexual affair … with a woman under his command.”
Take a look at that piece …
(Click to view)
(Via: Provided)
According to its disclaimer, this mail piece was “Paid for by Greenville Citizens and Businesses Tired of Being Embarrassed by our Sheriff.”
Lewis garnered 37.3 percent of the vote in the six-way GOP primary election on January 7, edging Smith – who received 32.7 percent. Because neither candidate eclipsed the fifty percent threshold, a runoff election between Lewis and Smith will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.
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(VIA: GETTY IMAGES)