HANAHAN, S.C. – A councilmember will face an ethics hearing next month after Hanahan Mayor Christie Rainwater filed a complaint with the South Carolina Ethics Commission earlier this year.
The commission has scheduled a formal hearing for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at its hearing room at 201 Executive Center Drive in Columbia.
Rainwater filed the complaint in late February, accusing councilwoman Amanda Colvin-Shea of several forms of misconduct, including disclosing information discussed during closed city council meetings and failing to accurately report campaign activity.
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Rainwater filed the complaint in February, accusing Colvin-Shea of several forms of misconduct, including disclosing information discussed during closed city council meetings and failing to accurately report campaign activity.
But the allegations set for the August hearing are narrower than the mayor’s original complaint. They focus on Colvin-Shea’s campaign filings, financial disclosures and recordkeeping connected to her successful 2024 city council campaign.
The first allegation claims Colvin-Shea failed to file a Statement of Economic Interests after being sworn into office on Dec. 10, 2024. The complaint also alleges she did not report income earned by her spouse from a government entity on her 2024 statement.
Several other counts center on campaign contributions and expenses.
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Colvin-Shea is also accused of failing to maintain records documenting the use of a $200 cash contribution from a donor. The ethics complaint also alleges she did not file an initial campaign disclosure report after her campaign received or spent at least $500 by Aug. 30, 2024.
Another count alleges she failed to file a required pre-election disclosure report at least 15 days before the Nov. 5 election.
The ethics complaint also alleges that Colvin-Shea did not properly disclose contributions from additional donors, and failed to report seven campaign expenditures made to the State Election Commission, Paige Turner.
The final two counts allege that Colvin-Shea did not open and use a campaign bank account and improperly accepted the $200 contribution in cash, exceeding the amount state law permits candidates to receive in that form.
Rainwater’s original complaint contained additional accusations, including allegations that Colvin-Shea recorded or shared information from executive sessions, sent harassing communications and disparaged city employees and elected officials. Those claims are not among the nine counts listed in the hearing notice.
The case against Colvin-Shea comes as Rainwater faced a separate ethics proceeding of her own on June 18, 2026. The State Ethics Commission previously found probable cause to move forward with two allegations against the mayor involving her participation in a 2022 city land transaction while affiliated with a real estate company that had a financial interest in the deal. The South Carolina Ethics Commission has not yet issued a ruling.
Read Hanahan Mayor Christie Rainwater’s ethics complaint against councilwoman Amanda Colvin-Shea here:
