In this years Special Election to fill Eric Sickinger’s seat, who had to step down from Irmo Town Council, three people filed to run. One of them was George Frazier who I have done multiple articles about him filing to run in a previous election in Irmo using an address of a home that he had moved out of and not lived in for two years. He in fact at the time of filing lived at an address outside of the Town of Irmo. Since he filed to run again, I decided to write this letter below to inform the citizens of Irmo that this was in fact the same George that had lied about his address on the previous candidate filing form and, in my opinion, did that purposely and deceitfully.

On May 20, 2025

Yes, that is the same George…

Who lied about living in town and at the address he listed as his home address when he filed in October 23 to run for Irmo Town Council. He was removed from running in that election for not updating his address after he filed. But, let’s also be reminded when he filed that paperwork, he used an address of a home he had sold over a year ago and at the time was living outside of the Town of Irmo. And then he moved back into Town at a different address. None of those addresses he updated, but that’s actually beside the point of using a false address in the first place, but I guess lying and deceiving the public is OK with some voters, but hopefully not you.

There are Two other candidates running. One you may recall his name, has ran before for school district 5 and against me for mayor back in 2019, didn’t support that then, can’t support him now.

Plus, both Frazier and this candidate waited till the last day to file to run for town council. Why is that? Were they waiting to see who else might jump in, Barry, Brent, me? Were they trying to calculate their odds of winning, not sure. I never thought waiting to file had any meaningful purpose, not if you truly wanted to serve the people or run for office, didn’t care who else was running, you were going to run anyway. Weren’t waiting on someone’s blessing or approval, just decided and filed.

We need more decisive people running for office, not people who can’t decide where they stand or what to do.

Just for the record, Ed Greco did file the first day, which means he had already thought about it, prayed about it, spoke to whomever, and was there signing up, First. No fanfare, no photo op coming out of building, no prepared speech by himself or someone else, just going for it.

That is what I like about this candidate, which is why he has my vote and ask  everyone else to please vote for Ed Greco.

And as far as community involvement, he has served on the Irmo Zoning Board of Appeals prior to his current service to the Town on the Irmo Planning Commission, which in my opinion is the most important of all town committees and commissions, providing more real world experience relating to what council members deal with on a regular basis.

Hardy King 

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This is the 2^nd Letter to the Editor I did in regards to the Special Election and in regards to as the letter states, Integrity in Elections.

On May 27, 2025 

Does integrity matter in elections anymore

To me, yes, and to many others as well, it does. But to some voters who do not know what integrity, doing the right thing, having morals even means, then how can that be part of the factors in determining who they vote for? It isn’t. Those voters will decide based on color of skin, gender,  sex, etc.. Worse yet even based on color of hair, eyes, age, weight, height , last name, or even the Eeny Meeny Miny Moe method.

In Congress and state capitals with multiple elected officials meeting to serve us, the likelihood that some of  those  elected officials having those attributes is greater. But what about small towns, cities or school boards with five, seven, or nine serving, especially non partisan? Then it does become more important amid the apparent consequences of the lack of those attributes. 

That is why voter turnout is so important, especially among those who have integrity, morals, and know the meaning of doing the right thing. If you are in this group and believe elections do matter, then you can look back and see the affect of electing the right candidate or the wrong candidate.

Irmo has an election coming up next Tuesday with three candidates running. Many voters do not,  in my opinion, even know this. It has been one of the quietest elections in quite some time, so I do expect a low voter turnout, which is not good for Irmo residents.

But how do you know who is the best candidate, if they are not really getting the word out or only campaigning to certain individuals and not to all Irmo voters.

 Process of elimination. That is how most informed people make good decisions. Eliminate those who have been dishonest with you the voter, lied about living in town, false addresses, promises to fix the roads, etc. things that you and I know requires other elected officials decisions, limited tax dollars from other agencies and promises that they will work with those other officials, as if that has never been thought of or tried in the past. That’s called bunco bunco. Then look at who is left, what they say, how they have served you as a resident in the past.

One should start resonating better and as they say, “the cream rises to the top”. 

Integrity does matter.

Hardy King

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This is the letter to the editor Barry Walker did in response to my above 2 letters to the editor. By the way, the election was over at this time and George Frazier did not get elected.

On June 5, 2025 

Rebuttal to Hardy King’s misleading claims

First and foremost, congratulations to Councilman-elect Mike Ward. Your election is a reflection of the trust Irmo residents are placing in you. Now, more than ever, your community is depending on your leadership, integrity, and commitment.

Unfortunately, not everyone has chosen to accept the results of progress with grace.

Former Mayor Hardy King, who was removed from Irmo Town Council in 2019 for good reason, continues to stir division. His past is marked by a well-documented pattern of racially insensitive and divisive behavior that brought shame and unnecessary tension to our town. Voters made their voices heard when they fired him from public office. Now, years later, he’s back to the same tactics—dragging up old issues and launching personal attacks to distract from the positive momentum Irmo is building.

Recently on the New Irmo News, Mr. King had attempted to smear candidate George Frazier over a paperwork oversight that occurred three years ago. The facts are clear: Mr. Frazier lives in Irmo and serves as chairman of the Irmo Events Committee. He is actively involved in the community and committed to its betterment. To dredge up a minor clerical error from years ago is not only disingenuous—it’s petty.

Mr. King also took it upon himself to cast doubt on candidates who filed to run on the final day of the deadline. Let’s be honest: filing on deadline day is perfectly legal and widely practiced. It reflects nothing more than a candidate’s right to carefully consider their decision amid family, work, and community obligations. To suggest that timing equates to lack of commitment or weak character is simply a baseless distraction.

Ed Greco, George Frazier, and Mike Ward are all thoughtful, qualified individuals who stepped forward to serve. Filing early doesn’t make one more prepared or more dedicated. Voters know better than to buy into that empty rhetoric. They recognize substance over sound bites.

Let’s also set the record straight: the voters rejected Hardy King in 2019, and they did so decisively. He was beaten—fair and square—and no amount of bitterness will change that fact. It’s time to move on.

Irmo’s newly elected leaders, including our new Mayor and Council members, have proven themselves through years of genuine service. They’ve volunteered, listened, learned, and grown with our community. And they’ve done it with integrity—not through racially charged language or by nursing old grudges.

This election was never about Hardy King’s feelings. It was about truth, transparency, and trust. It was about choosing leaders who show up for Irmo consistently, not just when it’s convenient or politically advantageous.

So let’s move forward. Let’s support leaders who respect the democratic process, who uplift rather than divide, and who put the needs of the people above personal vendettas.

Irmo deserves nothing less.

Former Mayor Barry A. Walker

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My rebuttal to Barry’s Letter to the Editor. Yes, it got wordy, I call it my Irmo News dissertation. Hopefully, you will give it a passing grade, but there was so much bunco, bunco in Barry Walker’s letter to the editor that I had to respond to and I still get way too much enjoyment out of it every time I read it. I hope you do as well.

On June 10, 2025

You decide what is misleading…

Yes, congratulations to Mike Ward for winning this election to Irmo Town Council. And as I have said in the past elections, and in this campaign, integrity is always of upmost importance, to me, and I believe most voters.

Unfortunately, I do not believe integrity matters to some candidates, some voters, nor some elected officials, current or past. But I will agree based on the 2024 presidential election not everyone has accepted the results of that progress with Grace either.

First, let me say I was not removed from office in 2019, I lost that election after serving eight years as Mayor and 6 as a council member, to councilman Walker. Who four years later was removed, as he calls it, and I will add for good reasons as well.

Not sure if Mr. Walker has the position to talk about stirring division since that is what he pretty much did the entire time I served on Irmo Town Council with him. His past as well is marked by many racially insensitive statements made, including during the discussion regarding the purchase of the land for the community park. He made a comment during the council meeting that he thought he should be the one talking to the seller of the property because he could do a better job of “ jewing the seller down in price“ .  I did hear from constituents living in town that are of Jewish descent how offensive that was. At another meeting discussing the video poker machines that were in convenience stores owned by “Indians” as he stated,  when asked by  another council member what he was referring to, he pointed to his forehead and said something to the effect of Oh you know, those Indians. Mr. Walker evidently does not know the difference between racially insensitive, politically correctness, and faith based speech, but I am not surprised. Nor should he live in a glass house.

Voters did make their choice for mayor in 2019, and again in 2023 where they voted Mayor Walker out of office after 1 term and voted for Bill Danielson to be the next Mayor of Irmo.

It is not years later. I was actively involved in the last two Irmo elections.  Putting my opinion out there about candidates running and the facts regarding whether those candidates actually lived in town at that time. They were not personal attacks. I provided factual information directly from county records as to where those candidates lived, at the time of filing, to run for Irmo town council. Integrity is never an old issue and just as important as Walker stated above, now, more than ever.

I never attempted to smear George Frazier. My purpose in those letters to the editor was to remind the people of Irmo about Mr. Frazier filing to run for Irmo town council and using an address of a home that he had not lived in for years. At the time of signing the paperwork, that all the information he provided was true, he was living outside of the town of Irmo. Where Mr. Frazier lives today has nothing to do with where he lived years ago when he filed the paperwork to run in that election. The bait and switch by Mr. Walker is a hilarious attempt to deceive, but it wont catch fish here. To call using a previous address as your current address and to sign a document stating everything is true when signing it, a “minor clerical error “ is what is disingenuous, to me, and laughable by many.

As for casting doubt on candidates filing to run on the last day of filing , it is as I stated in my previous post. Yes it is perfectly legal to file on the last date prior to the deadline, never said it wasn’t, and that wasn’t the point, nor do I believe it is widely practice, that is very subjective.  I will also state there have been individuals considering running for office, made up their mind to run based on their desire, prayer and consideration with whom ever that may be, then go file as soon as they can. In my opinion, anyone who waits till the last day, it’s because of some strategy, good or bad, to see who else may be running, can’t decide based on communication with another possible candidate,  in deciding which of the two will file, or some strategy such as that. They may not want to run based on who else jumps in the race or waiting on someone else’s approval. All those reasons have nothing to do with sincerity of that candidate wanting to run because they want to run. I never suggested in my article May 20th, 2025 “ that timing equates to lack of commitment or weak character“. I did suggest that it had to do with indecisiveness and multiple other reasons, some mentioned above. Weak character would be what Mr. Walker is exercising here when he attempts to falsify statements in order to meet his distractions from the truth of this matter. Filing early does in my opinion mean one is more decisive and a better decision maker. Not dependent upon others whims. I have been involved in many elections for myself and in discussions with many others over the years about running for office. And when people tell me they want to run, I tell them what I know, what I think they should do and not do and when they come to that decision, go file and run. Anyone who has ever told me they were gonna wait, that decision was always based on waiting to see who else was going to run, etc. My advice has always been the same, make up your mind and go do it. You want to run, don’t let anyone talk you out of it or into it, they have a motive and it isn’t about you.

To set the record straight I ran for office 2003 and lost, Kathy Condom won that year and Harvey Hoots was reelected. I ran again in a special election in April 2004. I lost that election as well. Barry Walker won that year and that was his fourth campaign. I ran again in 2005 Barry won reelection and I was elected that year. I ran again in 2009 came in first and Barry came in second, we were both reelected. Barry ran against Mayor Gibbons in 2007 and lost. I ran for Mayor in 2011 against Kathy and Barry and I won. Barry came in third. In  2015 I ran again for mayor and won my second term. I ran again in 2019 for mayor after speaking with others about running for mayor instead of me and couldn’t convince others, because of Mr. Strife Maker, so I ran again when I had really had enough of serving with him.  I really did not believe that he needed to be mayor or a council member for that matter , so I ran again. My heart was not in it and the idea of serving four more years with councilman Walker, being who he is, was not something I looked forward to. I had multiple people tell me that he had told them during the campaign that he wanted to be mayor before he died. Guess it worked for that election.

And to be “honest here”, God told me it didn’t matter if I was mayor or Barry was mayor, God is still in control and to trust in him, so I did and I backed off the campaigning as hard as I had in the past. Plus, all the other political BS that was going on at the time in regards to the senior apartments and parking in the yard issues, and multiple other factors, used by others to get Barry elected and me unelected was a major battle that time and energy to overcome was not what I wanted to do. They used Barry to unelect me and then they unelected him four years later. Yes, I was beat in 2019 after 8 years as Mayor -fair and square, as he stated and so was, he in 2023 after only 4 years. I have no bitterness and in fact was very relieved when I found out I was losing and expressed that to my wife in a conversation on the phone going from polling place to polling place. And expressed that relief and joy that night with my wife as I went to bed. And still happy today.

I do believe Mr. Walker may be guilty of nursing old grudges. I have none towards him and in fact, do pray for him weekly for his salvation and his medical condition. 

Yes, this last election was never about my feelings, not even sure what that means or what he is referencing. As far as it being about truth, transparency, and trust, it is very hard to determine what truth he is referring to since he has not been truthful with his article about me, nor has he or Mr. Frazier been truthful or transparent about the fact that Mr. Frazier did not live in the home that he used as his address when he filed his paperwork. Not sure how Mr. Walker, or Mr. Frazier in those last elections being deceitful to the people of Irmo is how you build trust with people.

And just to keep the record straight, when Mr. Walker was sworn in 2023, in his speech he gave that night as his vision for Irmo, was plagiarized from three or four different sources. That was, “let’s be honest”, not truthful, that was not transparent, that brought shame to Irmo, but as they said, that’s just Barry.

So yes, let’s move forward. In the future, let’s support candidates who are honest, about where they live, transparent about answering those tough questions, because they will be asked and we deserve to know those answers. Nor listening to others making excuses or condoning that behavior as a “minor clerical error “.  Let’s support those that put the needs of the people of Irmo above their personal desires and egos.

Hardy King

Since Truth Matter