STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ) IN THE SUPREME COURT

)
John David, ) Case No.: 2023-_______
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) COMPLAINT
)
Town of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, )
Jake Evans, Josephine Isom, )
Jacqueline Gore, Town of Atlantic Beach )
Municipal Election Commission, )
)
Defendants. )

Plaintiff, complaining of Defendants, would show as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. In January 2023, Plaintiff John David won a special election to fill a vacated seat

on the Atlantic Beach Town Council. In that race, he defeated Michael Isom.

2. Plaintiff John David has not yet taken this seat on the Town Council because

Michael Isom challenged the Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission’s certification of

the results. Oral argument before this Court in Michael Isom, Appellant, v. Town of Atlantic

Beach Municipal Election Commission, Respondent, Case No. 2023-000888, is scheduled for

December 13, 2023.

3. This action does not directly arise from the January 2023 special election, but

instead from the more recent November 7, 2023, Atlantic Beach municipal election where

Plaintiff, John David, ran for Mayor.

4. Challenging Plaintiff John David in this race was incumbent Councilmember

Josephine Isom i.e., Michael Isom’s mother. By the last tally of votes on Thursday, November 9,

2023, Plaintiff John David won the election by securing 65 votes, while Defendant Josephine

Isom secured only 64 votes.

1
 5. As described below, in the week following the November 7, 2023, municipal

election several alarming events transpired that have undermined confidence in the integrity of

this municipal election and serve as another example of the “disputes that inevitably accompany”

municipal elections in Atlantic Beach. Cole v. Town of Atl. Beach Election Comm'n, 393 S.C.

264, 267, 712 S.E.2d 440, 441 (2011).

6. Given the close 65 to 64 mayoral race vote count, on the morning of Friday,

November 10, 2023, the Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission convened to re-count

the votes and certify the results of the election.

7. This proceeding of the Municipal Election Commission was interrupted by

Defendant Mayor Jake Evans, though. He asserted that the proceedings could not move forward

until a court reporter was secured to transcribe them.

8. Minutes later, while the Municipal Election Defendant was on recess pending the

arrival of a court reporter, Mayor Evans, along with Defendant councilmembers Josephine Isom

and Jacqueline Gore, convened a hastily organized and largely clandestine “emergency” hearing

of the Town Council, which, in the words of Defendant Mayor Evans, “dissolved” the Municipal

Election Commission.1

9. Today, without a Municipal Election Commission in place (or the members of

that Commission otherwise capable of carrying out their duties), the whereabouts and

security of the ballots of the electors of Atlantic Beach are unknown to Plaintiff John

David.

1
See WMBF News Staff, “Atlantic Beach Removes Election Commission After Issues
Certifying Mayoral Race Results,” WMBF News, November 10, 2023,
https://www.wmbfnews.com/2023/11/10/atlantic-beach-removes-election-commission-after-
issues-certifying-mayoral-race-results/ (Appended as Exhibit 1).
2
 10. Moreover, neither the Town Council nor Defendant Mayor Jake Evans, “know

what’s gonna take place next” with the democratic process in this small town.2

11. As further detailed below, the actions of Defendant Mayor Jake Evans and

Councilmember Defendants Josephine Isom and Jacqueline Gore and others affiliated with them

were a “direct attempt . . . to interfere with the full and fair expression of the voters’ choice . . .

[and] circumvent the plain purposes of the law and open the door to fraud.” Cole, 393 S.C. 275,

275, 712 S.E.2d at 446.

12. By bringing this suit, Plaintiff John David seeks to vindicate the democratic

process and ensure that the citizens of the Town of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, are not

disenfranchised by the unlawful, covert, and oppressive actions of those in Atlantic Beach who

have unlawfully sought to retain power for themselves—over the will of the people in Atlantic

Beach.

13. This Court should not grant its imprimatur on these “wear[isome] . . .

shenanigans” arising from the electoral process in Atlantic Beach. Cole, 393 S.C. at 275, 712

S.E.2d at 446.

14. Plaintiff is entitled to a declaratory judgment vacating the recent decision of the

Atlantic Beach Town Council to “dissolve” that body or remove its members. And, for “blatantly

disregard[ing]” the “election laws of this State,” Defendants Evans, Gore, and Isom are properly

the recipients of this Court’s opprobrium and “sanction.” Id.

2
See Emma Parkhouse, “Atlantic Beach Town Mayor ‘Doesn’t Know’ What’s Next When It
Comes to Certifying Controversial Elections,” WPDE, ABC 15 News, November 13, 2023,
https://wpde.com/news/local/atlantic-beach-town-mayor-doesnt-know-whats-next-when-it-
comes-to-certifying-controversial-elections-jake-evans-mayoral-race-lawyers (Appended as
Exhibit 2).
3
 FACTS

15. Plaintiff brings this action seeking the original jurisdiction of this Court’s because

it is a case that involves an “emergen[t]” matter of the highest “public interest” impacting

foundational tenets of our democratic system and the rule of law. Rule 245(a), SCACR; see also

S.C. Const. art. V, § 5

16. This Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction over this dispute and personal

jurisdiction over the parties.

17. The Town of Atlantic Beach is a municipality and body politic of the State of

South Carolina.

18. The Town of Atlantic Beach employs a council-manager form of government,

provided for in title 5, chapter 13 of the South Carolina Code. S.C. Code Ann. § 5–13–10–100.

The governing body of Atlantic Beach is the “[Town] Council, composed of a mayor and four

. . . councilmen.” Id. § 5–13–20(a).

19. The individual Defendants here, on information and belief, are citizens and

residents of South Carolina and of the Town of Atlantic Beach.

20. Defendant Jake Evans is the incumbent Mayor of the Town of Atlantic Beach. He

did not run for re-election in the municipal election held on November 7, 2023.

21. Defendant Josephine Isom is a member of the Town Council of Atlantic Beach

and presently serves as the Town’s Mayor Pro Tempore. In the municipal election on November

7, 2023, she was a candidate for Mayor.

22. Defendant Jacqueline Gore is an incumbent member of the Town Council. In the

municipal election on November 7, 2023, she ran for re-election to Town Council.

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 23. Edward Campbell is also an incumbent member of the Atlantic Beach Town

Council, but his seat was not up for re-election, and he was not a candidate in any other race in

connection with the municipal election held on November 7, 2023. This Complaint does not

allege any misconduct by Mr. Campbell.

24. The fourth seat on the Town Council was vacated when councilman Jim Dewitt

died in October 2022. As referenced above and explained below, the January 2023 special

election for this seat remains contested.

25. Plaintiff John David is a citizen and resident of South Carolina and the Town of

Atlantic Beach, South Carolina. He was a candidate for Mayor of the Town of Atlantic Beach,

South Carolina, in the municipal election held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, and, as noted

above, secured the most votes for election to the Town Council in the special election in January

2023.

26. Previously, as required by law, the Town Council established the Defendant Town

of Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission. See S.C. Code Ann. § 5-15-90. The

Municipal Election Commission has the power to “supervise and conduct all municipal ...

elections,” id. § 5–15–100, and in the case of contested election results, the power to “conduct a

hearing on the contest, decide the issues raised,” and when a decision is made to invalidate an

election, to order a new election. Id. § 5–15–130.

27. Under South Carolina law, a municipality may “transfer authority for conducting

municipal elections to the county elections commission.” S.C. Code Ann. § 15-45-145(A). In

such a circumstance and where “the total responsibility for the conduct of a municipal election is

transferred to a county election commission . . . the municipal election commission is abolished.”

Id. § 5-15-145(C).

5
 28. But unless such a transfer has occurred, “[a]ll municipal elections . . . must be

conducted by a municipal election commission composed of three electors who are residents of

the municipality and who must be appointed by the municipal governing body” and the “terms of

the members are six years” staggered such that one member of the municipal election

commission is appointed by the Atlantic Beach Town Council, every two years. S.C. Code Ann.

§ 5-15-90(A).

29. Joseph Montgomery, Kenneth McIver, and Carolyn Gore were each appointed by

the Town Council of Atlantic Beach to serve as members of the Municipal Election Commission

for the Town of Atlantic Beach.

30. During the municipal election held on November 7, 2023, Defendant Jacqueline

Gore appointed Irene Evans Armstrong to serve as her designated “poll watcher.”

31. Irene Evans Armstrong is the sister of incumbent Mayor Defendant Jake Evans.

32. Irene Evans Armstrong was previously Mayor of Atlantic Beach, but was

suspended from that position on March 21, 2008, by the Governor of South Carolina after she

was indicted for “three counts of bribery at elections and two counts of misconduct in office” by

the grand jury of Horry County, South Carolina. See Executive Order 2008-05.

33. On or about September 28, 2023, Irene Evans Armstrong’s husband, William

Holly Armstrong was charged with two counts of “Assault or Intimidation Due to Political

opinions or Exercise of Civil Rights,” see Horry County Case Nos. 2023A2610202303,

2023A2610202304, after being caught on camera removing political campaign signs from

private property in Atlantic Beach, as depicted in Figure 1 below:

***

6
 Figure 1: William Holly Armstrong pictured just after throwing one election sign and in the
middle of pulling another one out of the ground on private property.

34. During the municipal election of November 7, 2023, several challenges were

made to the validity of votes cast. These challenges generally asserted that various electors who

cast ballots were not qualified to vote in the municipal election on residency grounds. See S.C.

Const. art. II, § 5 (providing that voters for municipal elections “must have resided in the”

pertinent “municipality . . . for thirty days next preceding the election.”). Most of these

challenges were made by Irene Evans Armstrong.

35. On the morning of Thursday, November 9, 2023, the Municipal Election

Commission of Atlantic Beach convened a provisional balloting and canvassing hearing to

resolve the challenges made by Irene Evans Armstrong and others. A court reporter transcribed

the hearing.

7
 36. The Municipal Election Commission denied every challenge to the votes cast in

the November 7, 2023, Town of Atlantic Beach municipal election. The Commission found, after

hearing testimony from various voters and witnesses and after reviewing numerous documents

(e.g., drivers’ licenses; voter registration cards; and utility bills), that an eligible voter cast each

challenged ballot.

37. After resolving these challenges, the Municipal Election Commission counted the

votes cast in the municipal election. It found that Plaintiff John David received 65 votes,

Defendant Josephine Isom received 64 votes, and two ballots were cast for write-in candidates.

38. At the conclusion of this hearing, the Municipal Election Commission voted to re-

convene the next day, Friday, November 10, 2023, to, among other things, engage in a mandatory

recount under state law. See S.C. Code Ann. § 7-17-280.

39. Later, on November 9, 2023, Defendant Josephine Isom, filed a “protest” of “the

certification of the Election for Mayor” of Atlantic Beach. Like the challenges lodged by

Defendant Jacqueline Gore’s poll watcher, Irene Evans Armstrong, Defendant Josephine Isom’s

protest contesting the election generally asserted that certain ballots in the Municipal Election

were cast by those not residing in the Town of Atlantic Beach. See Exhibit 3.

40. On the morning of Friday, November 10, 2023, at about 10:00 a.m., the Municipal

Election Commission re-convened.

41. Before the Municipal Election Commission could make any substantive findings

at this Friday, November 10, 2023, morning hearing, its activities were interrupted by Defendant

Mayor Jake Evans. Defendant Evans interrupted the hearing to assert that the proceedings could

not proceed until a court reporter was present to transcribe the hearing.

8
 42. On information and belief, while denying the proceedings required a court

reporter under the law, the Municipal Election Commission still elected to go into recess until

around 2:00 p.m. that afternoon—so that a court reporter could be secured.

43. While the Municipal Election Commission was in recess, the Town Council

quickly convened a putative “emergency” meeting at approximately 12:30 p.m.

44. The notice of the agenda for this “Town Council Emergency Called Meeting”

included two items: “Executive Session” regarding the “Municipal Election Commission” and

“Adjournment.” See Exhibit 4.

45. South Carolina law provides for “emergency” meetings only when necessary “[t]o

meet public emergencies affecting life, health, safety or the property of the people.” S.C. Code

Ann. § 5-7-250(d). An “emergency ordinance” requires “the affirmative vote of at least two-

thirds of the members of council present.” Id. And, such an “emergency ordinance is effective

immediately upon its enactment without regard to any reading, public hearing, publication

requirements, or public notice requirements.” Id.

46. Here, there was no “emergency” authorizing the Town Council to convene an

“Emergency Called Meeting” on Friday, November 10, 2023, because there was no

“emergencies affecting life, health, safety or the property of the people,” S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-

250(d), and no other exigent circumstances justifying such hasty action in abrogation of public

notice laws.

47. Once this “Emergency Called Meeting” was convened, on information and belief,

the Mayor and Members of Town Council immediately went into “executive session.”

9
 48. S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-70 proscribes “hold[ing] a meeting closed to the public”

except in specific circumstances. None of the circumstances contained within § 30-4-70(a)(1)-(6)

justifying a closed hearing applied.

49. In conducting its hasty and clandestine “emergency” hearing during the early

afternoon of Friday, November 10, 2023, the Atlantic Beach Town Council also ignored other

public notice requirements for Town Council meetings.

50. For instance, “[a]n agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings” of Town

Council “must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or

meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least

twenty-four hours prior to such meetings.” S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-80(A).

51. Furthermore, “[s]uch notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the

meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than twenty-four hours before

the meeting.” Id. And no additional matters can be added to the agenda without “a two-thirds

vote of the members present and voting and upon a finding by the body that an emergency or an

exigent circumstance exists if the item is not added to the agenda.” Id.

52. No attorney was physically present with Town Council when it entered its

putative “executive session” on November 10, 2023. On information and belief, no attorney was

present on the telephone or via other remote means during this meeting.

53. On information and belief, after gathering in this ultra vires “executive session”

the Town Council returned to an open session.

54. It is unclear to Plaintiff at this time what precisely the members of the Town

Council resolved after coming out of their so-called “executive session.”

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 55. But in an interview with news media after the meeting,3 Defendant Mayor Jake

Evans, standing next to Defendant Councilmember and candidate for Town Council, Jacqueline

Gore, announced the following: “we’ll have to follow up with information with our lawyer to see

how we move forward from this, but as we sit here today, there is no Election Commission—it

has just been dissolved.”

56. As noted above, S.C. Code Ann. § 5-15-90(A) provides that Town Council must

appoint members of the Municipal Election Commission to staggered six-year terms.

57. As for the authority to remove such officials where their term of appointment is

fixed by statute, this Court has previously stated,

The rule, supported by authorities too numerous to cite, is that the power of
removal is not incident to the power of appointment where the extent of the tenure
of office is fixed by the statute. In the absence of any provision for summary
removal, expressed in terms as being at will or words of similar import,
appointments for a fixed term of years cannot be terminated except for
cause. It is the fixity of the term that destroys the power of removal at
pleasure.

State ex rel. Williamson v. Wannamaker, 213 S.C. 1, 10–11, 48 S.E.2d 601, 605 (1948)

(emphasis added).

58. In Williamson, which dealt with the same type of situation as is present here, this

Court confirmed that no public official may be removed for “cause” before being offered a

“reasonable opportunity to be heard.” 213 S.C. at 13, 48 S.E.2d at 606.

59. Here, none of the removed members of the now purportedly “dissolved”

Municipal Election Commission of Atlantic Beach were confronted with the basis for their

removal or permitted any form of due process.

3
See Exh. 1 & n. 1, supra.
11
 60. Instead, on information and belief, like most of the rest of the Town's residents,

the members of the Municipal Election Commission had no idea that the Town Council called a

purported “emergency” meeting on Friday, November 10, 2023.

61. If the Town Council capriciously and summarily “dissolved” the Municipal

Election Commission, that was an action without legal basis because if, as here, the

responsibilities of this Commission have not been transferred to the county, then there must be a

municipal election commission.

62. If alternatively, Town Council removed members of the Commission, such action

bypassed these members’ due process rights to respond to the “censure and condemnation” of

removal from their positions—a removal that “may seriously affect [their] good name, standing

and reputation” in the community. Williamson, 213 S.C. at 13, 48 S.E.2d at 606. This fact alone

is an injustice that the law does not permit.

63. In either event, the true motivation of Defendants Jake Evans, Josephine Isom,

and Jacqueline Gore in calling an “emergency” meeting of the Town Council was to

disenfranchise the lawful voters of Atlantic Beach because they were disappointed with and

disapproved of the results of the November 7, 2023, municipal election.

64. By hiding their actions behind a pretextual “emergency” meeting (in violation of

practically every public notice law on the books), these Town of Atlantic Beach Town Council

members were further motivated by their desire to protect their financial and other interests in

continuing their positions of authority on Town Council.

65. First, by voting to putatively “dissolve” the Municipal Election Commission on

pretextual grounds without adequate notice in the middle of an election certification proceeding,

Defendants Evans, Josephine Isom, and Jacqueline Gore made it impossible for the Town of

12
Atlantic Beach and its Municipal Election Commission to carry out their lawful duties under

§ 15-15-130—despite S.C. Code Ann. § 15-15-130’s plain admonition that “Neither the mayor

nor any member of council shall be eligible to pass on the issues arising in any contest in

which he is a party.”

66. As noted above, Defendants Josephine Isom and Jacqueline Gore were both

candidates for Mayor and Town Council, respectively, in the November 7, 2023, municipal

election. Defendant Isom and Gore’s efforts to disband the Municipal Election Commission was

a veiled, but still direct attempt to meddle in and “pass on the issues” arising from the November

7, 2023, in which they were candidates.

67. Additionally, the Mayor of Atlantic Beach receives an annual salary of $6,000.00

per year, and each member of Town Council receives a yearly salary of $4,800.00 annually. See

Atlantic Beach Ordinance 5-2019, October 7, 2019.

68. Moreover, Atlantic Beach Ordinance 1-7-6(b) (as amended March 6, 2023)

provides that “[i]f the results of an election are contested, the incumbent who fill [sic] that

contested office shall hold over until the contest is finally determined.”

69. In other words, by causing disruption and delay to the electoral process,

Defendants Jake Evans, Josephine Isom, and Jacqueline Gore could assure, for some of them, a

renewed or a different office on the Town Council, and for all of them, a longer period in office

and the money and control over the Town of Atlantic Beach that comes with it.

70. Despite the South Carolina Rules of Conduct governing public officials,

Defendants Jake Evans, Jacqueline Gore, and Josephine Isom actively participated in the

surreptitious and ultra vires “emergency” Town Council meeting on Friday, November 10, 2023.

13
These actions have already begun to have their intended effect of delaying the certification of

this election and helping contribute to their extended time in office.

71. Defendant Josephine Isom’s protest contesting the results of the November 7,

2023, municipal election, referenced above, appears to have been filed “[w]ithin forty-eight

hours after the closing of the polls,” as S.C. Code Ann. §5-15-130 requires.

72. S.C. Code Ann. § 5-15-130 also provides, though, that “within forty-eight hours

after the filing” of a protest contesting the results of an election, “the Municipal Election

Commission shall, after due notice to the parties concerned, conduct a hearing on the contest,

decide the issues raised, file its report” and take additional steps to notify the public and parties

to the election of its findings. Clearly, the actions of the Town Council have already prevented

this statutory requirement.

73. Like § 15-15-130’s prohibitions on officials interfering with the administration of

municipal elections in which they are running, S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700 et seq. also sets forth

“Rules of Conduct” for public officials.

74. For instance, S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) provides that: “No public official . . .

may knowingly use his official office, membership, or employment to gain an economic interest

for himself, a family member, an individual with whom he is associated, or a business with

which he is associated.”

75. Likewise, S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(B) provides that:

No public official, public member, or public employee may make, participate in

making, or in any way attempt to use his office, membership, or employment to
influence a governmental decision in which he, a family member, an individual
with whom he is associated, or a business with which he is associated has an
economic interest.

14
 76. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(B), if a public official is “required” to make

such a decision as part of the “discharge of his official responsibilities,” he must first “prepare a

written statement describing the matter requiring action or decisions and the nature of his

potential conflict of interest with respect to the action or decision.” S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-

700(B)(1). Moreover, such disclosure must be provided to the,

. . . presiding officer of the governing body [of the] municipality . . . who shall
cause the statement to be printed in the minutes and require that the member be
excused from any votes, deliberations, and other actions on the matter on which
the potential conflict of interest exists and shall cause the disqualification and the
reasons for it to be noted in the minutes.

S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(B)(5).

77. Here, as noted above, by endeavoring to “dissolve” the Municipal Election

Commission, Defendants Jake Evans, Jacqueline Gore, and Josephine Isom sought to gain an

“economic interest,” i.e., a renewed or different position on Town Council or an indefinite delay

to the certification of the election, which would allow them to stay in office indefinitely.

78. Defendant Josephine Isom’s actions were also motivated by her desire to create a

situation where a newly composed Municipal Election Commission—that she helped appoint

through her incumbent position on Town Council with her political allies—would be more

favorable to her and her son’s interest.

79. Because the latest tally of the votes in the November 7, 2023, showed her losing

the mayoral race to Plaintiff John David by only a single vote (65-64), it would not take but one

or two successful challenges decided by a newly composed Municipal Election Commission to

secure her enough votes to win this very close election.

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 80. While Defendant Mayor Evans has explained in public reporting that Town

Council is waiting to receive advice from its legal counsel, on information and belief, the Town

Council presently has no lawyer or law firm representing it in election law matters.

81. The Pope Flynn law firm often represents the Town of Atlantic Beach. Still, it has

recently confirmed in writing it does not represent the Town “in any matters having to do with

their elections or [the Town of Atlantic Beach’s] Municipal Election Commission.”

82. Similarly, the Burr Forman firm served as counsel to the Municipal Election

Commission in its proceedings last week. It also represents the Municipal Election Commission

in proceedings pending before this Court in the aforementioned case: Michael Isom, Appellant, v.

Town of Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission, Respondent, Case No. 2023-000888.

83. As such, it appears that the Municipal Election Commission and its members are,

at least for purposes of the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 407, SCACR,

adverse in interest to the Town of Atlantic Beach and the members of its Town Council.

84. Accordingly, despite the Burr Forman firm’s continued representation of the Town

of Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission before the Court in Case No. 2023-000888,

that firm’s ability to ethically represent the Town Council (or its members) appears impossible—

to say nothing of what Burr Forman can do confronted with the putative “dissol[ution]” of its

existing client—the Municipal Election Commission of Atlantic Beach.

85. Compounding Josephine Isom’s conflict of interest in voting to effectively

“dissolve” the Municipal Election Commission is that the “Michael Isom” in Michael Isom v.

Town of Atlantic Beach Municipal Election Commission, is none other than Defendant Josephine

Isom’s son.

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 86. As noted above, in Michael Isom v. Town of Atlantic Beach Municipal Election

Commission, Michael Isom appealed the certification of a vote made by the Municipal Election

Commission declaring Plaintiff John David as the winner of the special election to fill the

vacancy caused by the October 2022 death of departed councilmember Jim Dewitt.

87. Michael Isom’s “Notice of Appeal” in that case asserts that the Municipal Election

“Commission erred in finding that John David was a resident of the Town of Atlantic Beach” and

sought a court order “declar[ing] Michael Isom the winner based upon the lack of qualifications

of John David” and “[r]emand” of the “case” to the “[Town of Atlantic Beach Municipal

Election] Commission for a new hearing.” See Michael Isom v. Town of Atlantic Beach

Municipal Election Commission, Case No. 2023-000888, ROA. 024-25.

88. In other words, the same members of the Municipal Election Commission that

Josephine Isom voted to, one way or the other, kick out of their appointed offices before their

statutory terms concluded are the same individuals who tallied a vote (i.) finding that Josephine

Isom lost the recent municipal election for Mayor to Plaintiff John David by a vote of 65-64; and

(ii.) the same individuals who voted to certify her son’s loss of the Town Council election to

Plaintiff John David around approximately eleven months ago.

89. Because the individual Defendants failed to put any conflicts of interest “on the

record” as S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(B)(1) and § 8-13-700(B)(5) require, the voters of Atlantic

Beach and the public at large have been denied the opportunity to learn about what other

potential conflicts of interest may exist affecting the judgment of these members of Town

Council.

90. One potential conflict of interest will be if Defendants Jake Evans, Jacqueline

Gore, Josephine Isom, or their family members have any “economic interest” in a proposed

17
“Condo-Tel” along the beachfront in Atlantic Beach. The Washington Post and Sun News have

reported that this proposed project on 30th Ave S would cost “$80 million to $100 million.”

Mayor Defendant Jake Evans has described it as a significant job opportunity for those in

Atlantic Beach.

91. Many in the Town of Atlantic Beach oppose the approval of the erection of a 21-

story high-rise “Condo-Tel” along the pristine and largely undeveloped beachfront. See, e.g.,

Supporters for Tysons Ancestral Restrictions on the Deeds et al. v. Town of Atlantic Beach, South

Carolina, et al, Civil Action No. 2023-CP-26-05973 (Horry County Court of Common Pleas).

92. In public hearings and public reports, Defendants Jake Evans, Jacqueline Gore,

and Josephine Isom have generally approved the proposed “Condo-Tel” project—while Plaintiff

John David, in similar forums, has lodged his opposition to the proposal.

93. By unlawfully maintaining their hold on official power in Atlantic Beach,

Defendants Jake Evans, Jacqueline Gore, and Josephine Isom, are, at a minimum, denying the

voice of the people through their elected officials on this matter of undoubted and immense

importance to the future of Atlantic Beach and its residents.

94. Defendants Jake Evans, Josephine Isom, and Jacqueline Gore conspired together

and undertook the actions described above not for any lawful or legitimate purpose but because

they disagreed with the findings of the Municipal Election Commission and the votes of the

people of Atlantic Beach.

95. Because they do not want to lose their positions or have their political influence

degraded, these Defendants have conspired together and taken unlawful actions to remain in

power. Such behavior is contrary to the most fundamental and foundational tenets of our State

and Nation and warrants a swift response from this Court.

18
 FOR A CAUSE OF ACTION
DECLARATORY JUDGMENT
(Against all Defendants)

96. The foregoing paragraphs are incorporated here by reference.

97. Plaintiff John David is a candidate for Mayor in the municipal elections of

November 7, 2023, in Atlantic Beach. He is also a candidate for Town Council in the January

2023, special municipal election.

98. As such, Plaintiff John David is interested in, and his interests are affected by

Town Council’s actions in removing the members of the Atlantic Beach Municipal Election

Commission or the outright “dissol[ution]” of this Municipal Election Commission before both

elections have been finally decided.

99. The actions of the Town Council have denied, or at least indefinitely delayed,

Plaintiff John David’s Constitutional and statutory right to pursue public office and have his vote

counted.

100. In the alternative, Plaintiff John David has standing to bring this claim under the

“public importance” doctrine because he is an interested citizen and the matters raised in this

action are “significant public importance to ensure accountability and the concomitant integrity

of government action,” S.C. Pub. Int. Found. v. S.C. Dep’t of Transportation, 421 S.C. 110, 118,

804 S.E.2d 854, 858 (2017) (cleaned up), in the Town of Atlantic Beach and across the State.

101. On Friday, November 10, 2023, the Town Council of Atlantic Beach convened, in

abrogation of state public notice, public access, and freedom of information laws, an ultra vires

“executive session” and “emergency hearing.”

102. On Friday, November 10, 2023, the Town Council of Atlantic Beach voted to

“dissolve” the Municipal Election Commission or remove each of its members.

19
 103. If Town Council’s voted to “dissolve” the Municipal Election Commission, that

decision was illegal. Under state law, unless a municipality transfers all the responsibilities of a

municipal election to the county, there must be a duly constituted Municipal Election

Commission.

104. If Town Council voted to remove the members of the Municipal Election

Commission, such vote was conducted without due process being offered to the removed

members and without any meaningful notice to or input from the public in violation of South

Carolina law.

105. Any such decision to remove these members also lacked “cause” required under

the law, and any putative “cause” suggested by the members of Town Council was pretextual and

otherwise lacked legal or factual support meriting deference.

106. Plaintiff John David is entitled to a judgment declaring that any decision made by

the Town Council on November 10, 2023, to remove the members of the Municipal Election

Commission or “dissolve” it entirely is void and without legal effect.

107. Plaintiff John David is also entitled to a judgment declaring that the members of

the Municipal Election Commission, Defendants John Montgomery, Kenneth McIver, and

Carolyn Gore, remain in their appointed positions with their initially established terms.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

For these reasons, Plaintiff John David requests a judgment,

i. declaring the November 10, 2023, vote of the Town Council of the Town of

Atlantic Beach removing the members of the Municipal Election Commission or dissolving that

body altogether is void and without legal effect; and

20
 ii. declaring the existing members of the Municipal Election Commission of the

Town of Atlantic Beach (John Montgomery, Kenneth McIver, and Carolyn Gore) remain in

office with the appurtenant rights and responsibilities of their offices;

iii. awarding Plaintiff his attorneys’ fees and costs;

iv. sanctioning Defendants Evans, Gore, and Isom; and

v. granting all other relief as is just and proper.

Additionally, to ensure the integrity of the Atlantic Beach municipal election of

November 7, 2023, and confidence in the democratic process, and under the particular

circumstances of this case, this Court should immediately order that the ballots, ballot box,

ballot box keys, and all other similar materials arising from this municipal election be

temporarily secured by the Court, the State Election Commission, the Sherriff of Horry

County, or some similar party pending the outcome of this action.

Respectfully submitted,

CALLISON TIGHE & ROBINSON

s/ Ian T. Duggan
Ian T. Duggan, Bar No. 80074
Demetri K. Koutrakos, Bar No. 11318
CALLISON TIGHE & ROBINSON, LLC
Palmetto Armory Office Building
1812 Lincoln Street, Ste 200
Columbia, SC 29201
Post Office Box 1390
Columbia, SC 29202-1390
Telephone: (803) 404-6900
Facsimile: (803) 404-6902
IanDuggan@CallisonTighe.com
JimKoutrakos@CallisonTighe.com
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF JOHN DAVID

Columbia, South Carolina

November 14, 2023

21
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11/14/23, 3:51 PM Atlantic Beach removes election commission after issues certifying mayoral race results

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64°
Myrtle Beach, SC

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Atlantic Beach removes election commission after issues

certifying mayoral race results

By WMBF News Staff

Published: Nov. 10, 2023 at 1:12 PM EST | Updated: Nov. 10, 2023 at 5:29 PM EST

ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The election for mayor in a small Grand Strand town still hasn’t been decided or certified.

Atlantic Beach Town Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, where they moved to disband its election commission after challenges and
recounts in its mayoral election this week.

“We’re going to have to follow up with information from our lawyers to see how we move forward from this, but as we speak here today, there is no
election committee. It has been dissolved,” said current Atlantic Beach Mayor Jake Evans.

Evans, who did not seek re-election, and the Atlantic Beach Town Council claimed that Election Commissioner Joe Montgomery violated multiple state
laws, including attempting to certify results without a court reporter and attending campaign events.

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Montgomery said the allegations against him are false.

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11/14/23, 3:51 PM Atlantic Beach removes election commission after issues certifying mayoral race results

“All of those accusations are completely false. I’ve never attended a campaign rally other than to pick up food and leave,” Montgomery explained.
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The commission met Thursday and attempted to hear challenges to ballots and certify the election.

Mayor Pro Tem Josephine Isom was declared the unofficial winner of the mayoral race on Tuesday. But after some contested ballots were counted on
Thursday, it appeared as if her challenger, John David, won the mayoral race by one point.

Isom wrote a letter on Thursday afternoon protesting the certification of the election, and claiming that 19 provisional ballots were cast from residents
who do not live in the town.

In her complaint, Isom claims four of those people who voted listed an address that is a building under construction and a certificate of occupancy has
not been issued.

“The inclusion of these ballots improperly changed the outcome of the election,” Isom wrote in her complaint.

Meanwhile, David said something needs to be done to get the town back on track.

“I think this is the kind of politics that have happened in this town for years and people voted because they’re fed up with it. I think that we need help
right now from the state because this kind of railroad justice is unjust to the people of Atlantic Beach,” David said.

Longtime residents said the drama that has come from this election is disheartening.

“To fire a commission in the middle of an election, it doesn’t smell right,” resident Ken McLaurin said.

“This bothers me. We only have four streets here. Why can’t we get along good enough to do that,” resident John Skeeter questioned.

As for what’s next, people on both sides of the issue said they’re not sure what the next steps are in order to certify the elections, but the town council
said Horry County may have to get involved to determine who won the mayoral race.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

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