GREENWOOD, S.C. — Theo Lane gave up the chairmanship of Greenwood County Council on Monday, Oct. 26, about five weeks after comments he made at a Ware Shoals school board meeting angered residents who oppose data center development.
The change took effect at 2 p.m. Monday. Vice Chairman Dayne Pruitt, who represents District 5, moved into the top seat and will lead the seven-member council for the roughly two months left in the current term. Lane keeps his District 7 seat.
At the Sept. 21 meeting of the Ware Shoals School District 51 board, Lane went after people fighting data centers, labeling some of them extremists and suggesting Chinese propaganda was feeding part of the local opposition. He also argued the county had missed out on a possible $4 billion investment once council adopted a 12-month moratorium.
In a statement the county released Monday, Lane conceded that his choice of words did not meet the standard he sets for himself as an elected official, and he said residents who share sincere views deserve appreciation rather than criticism from their leaders. He added that he and his family had put up with six months of harassment, including phone calls to his home in the middle of the night, horns blown in his driveway and death threats, and that his frustration was aimed at those individuals, not at county residents in general.
A council member for a decade, Lane had held the gavel for two years. He said he decided to step aside after prayer and conversations with people he respects, so that his position would not pull attention from the heavy workload in front of the county.
Pruitt, in the same post, credited Lane for his years of work and called the new role a humbling one. He told residents he expects to make mistakes but will give the job his best effort. Council as a body issued its own statement acknowledging residents’ concerns and saying public officials owe the people they serve professionalism and respect.
Greenwood County Residents for Responsible Growth, a group that has opposed the data center proposals, answered the announcement online by calling on Lane to give up his council seat as well.
Council plans to choose a new vice chairman on Nov. 3. Both top posts go to a vote again at the first meeting of 2027, set for Jan. 5, when members pick leaders for a full two-year term. Greenwood County runs under a council-administrator form of government, with County Manager Toby Chappell overseeing daily operations.
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