Cam Waters Did Not Disclose Affair With Cherokee County Teacher
Open Records Request reveals ongoing drama with a school district employee that already has attorneys involved.
I began this newsletter with a lengthy piece about Dr. Ray Lynch, and it was my intention at the time to write similar articles about all the "4 Can Do More" candidates for our local school board. But the truth is none of these people are particularly interesting as public figures and their positions are essentially the same. They push for banning books, removing gay-straight alliance clubs, and rooting out Critical Race Theory hidden within programs such as SEL and DEI.
In order to write a detailed piece I would have to get into their personal lives and share the opinions of current and former associates—things I specifically avoid. Because I'm completely independent I don't have the reputation of a publication or the backing of an editor, so instead I rely on heavily-sourced, public information that I cite and link with each article. I am open about my opinions and biases, but I make it easy for you to check my work. If I'm factually wrong I'm willing to post a retraction or a correction, and I update articles when new relevant information becomes available.
I don't want to write about the personal character of Cam Waters nor discuss his marriage or family. Broadly speaking I don't think those personal relationships are my business and our time is better spent focusing on issues and policy matters directly related to the Cherokee County school district. Unfortunately for us all Mr. Waters conducted his private life in a way that made it become our business. In my opinion the situation described below makes it unethical for him to run for a board position in our district at all. It's an ugly story and I have procrastinated on sharing it with the community—longer than I should have being as how the election is tomorrow and thousands of early votes have already been cast. But here's why I decided the public deserves to know this information despite its highly personal nature:
It is not a rumor or an accusation, but confirmed in writing.
This situation involves an employee of our school district. Cam Waters is running for a board position that could potentially create a human resources issue. As you'll see below this isn't simply a past relationship but an ongoing source of trouble and drama.
The information is publicly available, obtained by an Open Records Request.
The situation has already cost our district (and taxpayers) money, as our attorney had to get involved.
You can read the full document chain here. Let's get into it.
Cam Waters is running against incumbent John Harmon in the Republican Primary for the District 3 seat on the Cherokee County board of education. Harmon joined the board in 2014 at the end of some intense drama involving a renegade member. On February 16th, 2022 Harmon received an email asking about his intentions for re-election, signed only "Cherokee Teacher."
There was a follow up email the next day declaring "Cam Waters is absolutely NOT what he plays himself to be." Harmon assured the sender that he was running again and he agreed with the opinion. The details finally arrived on the first day of March:
On March 3rd John Harmon sent a message to the official Cam Waters campaign email:
I wanted to reach out to you as a professional and personal courtesy. I have received numerous emails claiming that they have information about alleged extramarital affairs. This is not something that I plan to use during a School Board campaign but wanted to share with you. I thought you would appreciate knowing that I had received these. As you likely know, my School Board email is subject to the Open Records Act and must be produced upon request. Sometimes during campaigns in the past, there have been requests for our emails both sent and received.
An icy reply arrived the next day from Jessica Waters, confirming the relationship between her husband and the teacher and hinting (threatening?) that Harmon wasn't the only one with dirt to dish:
Harmon was not deterred by the scare tactics: “I welcome you or anyone else to pull any and all records. What you heard is false.”
On Sunday the same week Harmon received an email from Jeff Dickerson of The Dickerson Firm, who advertise first and foremost as "DUI and Drug Defense Attorneys,” and self-describes himself as a “dabbler in poker, sports handicapping, and stock and cryptocurrency trading.” Dickerson accuses Harmon of weaponizing the Freedom of Information Act to allow someone (like me) to report the now publicly accessible emails. I can only assume the attorney was not thrilled that Mrs. Waters had confirmed the allegations in writing to a school district email account.
In addition to John Harmon, Dickerson copied board of education chair Kyla Cromer, school superintendent Brian Hightower, and weirdly an Atlanta attorney named Preston Haliburton—who I only know as a lawyer who attempted to overturn the results of our last election and hilariously has a blog that labels him "The Attorney. The Athlete. The Person."
Involving the superintendent's office and school board triggered the next lawyer-letter dated March 9th, this time from Tom Roach, counsel representing the Cherokee County school district. Roach copied the entire board of education and chided Dickerson for a "blatant breach of one of the most basic rules of professional conduct" by communicating a threat of legal action without directing it to the school district's attorney.
In the blistering letter Roach reminds that the initial communication was unsolicited and anonymous—and that Harmon took the unusual step of reaching out quietly to give his opponent a heads-up. He could have just as easily shared the information with the press or members of the community but instead showed some integrity. In response Mr. and Mrs. Waters decided to get lawyers involved.
The March 9th letter is where the documents I have on-hand end. I currently do not know what further action or correspondence has been taken by the parties involved.
If Cam Waters’ personal conduct has already caused drama and attorney involvement before he's elected, imagine the problems in store once he holds public office. Less than a decade ago a single board member wrote one letter that cost our district over $10,000 in legal fees and her subsequent antics made our residents look like we belong on the Jerry Springer show. Let's dodge trouble we can clearly see ahead of us. If you live in District 3, I urge you to vote against Cam Waters in tomorrow's primary.
Update (5/23/2022 3:45 PM): It’s been pointed out that the candidate’s conduct may be in violation of the Code of Ethics for members of our school board. Mr. Waters signed an affidavit in March that he understands and agrees these rules for his conduct.
