Charleston County Council candidate (R) drops out of race after facing old felony conviction

MOUNT PLEASANT — Real estate professional Paul Lindemann knew anyone Googling his name would learn about his DUIs and a felony conviction years ago, so he planned on telling a story of redemption as he ran for Charleston County Council.

“Isn’t just about every story in the Bible about redemption?” said Lindemann, a 46-year-old Republican who served on York County Council previously. “I mean, President Trump’s a felon, and he’s the president.”

But the federal government has different rules than South Carolina.

In this state, not enough years had passed since Lindemann’s felony sentence to make him eligible to run for a county office. He and a co-defendant pleaded guilty to making false statements to get a mortgage, which was later foreclosed upon during the Great Recession, and he was sentenced at the end of 2011 to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $314,750 in restitution.



https://www.postandcourier.com/news/charleston-county-council-election-candidate-felony-gop/article_fd574d6a-73e7-4667-a989-b8c964ffd936.html