As the school board turns: The political drama heats up on a cold, snowy, weekend

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent

Grigg.

Calm seas only last but so long in the dramatic ocean of politics.

In the ongoing soap opera of the Cleveland County Board of Education, a new plot twist reared its head Friday, the day after the calm and professional school board candidate forum debate – call it a smear campaign, hit piece, attack, or just the truth – the focus was recently shifted onto current school board member, and candidate for the CCS Board of Education, Ronnie Grigg.

Grigg, who has served on the school board since December 2022, and is running for his second term on the board, was the target of an anonymous political smear campaign in the on-going Cleveland County Board of Education Republican Civil War, this past Friday.

Grigg, a republican, who serves on the school board with eight other republicans, is one of three incumbents on the board up for reelection and eleven total candidates. His history on the school board has been one to vote independently minded, sometimes clashing with a majority of the other elected members on such items as the school calendar and the (now postponed) sale of the old Marion School property that was originally to be sold to On More, One Less, a nonprofit organization, which would be sold through a conservancy to the nonprofit for $140,000. The sale was tabled during the Dec. 8, 2025, Board of Education public meeting when, in an unexpected move, a motion was made to remove Marion from the agenda; citing more discussion was needed before a decision could be made.

During the school calendar decision, Grigg was one of the few who voted against breaking the school calendar law, but did support a calendar version that ended before Christmas but started at a date that did not line up with the community college, which, ultimately the calendar that supported CCC's school schedule passed in a heavily contested 5-4 vote, back in November.

This past Friday, Jan. 30, an email was sent out and distributed to an unknown number of people, which included a Facebook photo of Grigg without his shirt on, posted on Facebook several years ago. The post mentioned how many likes it could get, and didn't look serious. However, Grigg was unable to be reached by The Shelby Independent when an attempt was made to contact him for comment.

In the photo, there is a cardboard sign next to Grigg, who was smiling, holding a canning jar cup in his hand, read: “YOUNG OLD MAN LOOKING FOR REAL LOVE, WILL WORK FOR SEX. NEED 1000 LIKES.” Grigg is smiling or laughing in the photo. The photo was intended to embarrass Grigg with something he posted himself in 2019. It is up to the reader to decide if this was playful banter and a comical photo or to decide if this is to be taken seriously at face value, which is clearly posted on his Facebook account and not hidden in some obscure location, leaves the voters to decide for themselves.

(Grigg continued below)

The email, released on Friday, also contained arrests mugshots of Grigg with the caption: “How many mugshots are enough to vote no!?” An apparent attempt to state Grigg was unqualified to serve on the school board, to sway voters away from Grigg as a consideration on March 3, during primary voting due to his arrest record.

Grigg, in the photo in question, that was distributed via email on Friday. Ronnie Grigg's Facebook page

The email, which began “Who is courageous enough to report on these facts???” hid behind anonymity, using a non-identifying email, keeping their own identity secret while instigating courage from others to spread the political smear attack.

The main body of the email seemed to focus on being very pro four specific candidates, as much as it attacked Grigg. Noting four individuals running for office that people should vote for these four and not vote for Grigg. Three other republican candidates, and the two democrat candidates, were not even mentioned in the email.

Grigg responded to the email attack, taking to social media on Sunday to post a rebuttal and explanation against the political-motivated email attack; a post that had garnered well over 100 ‘likes’ 46 comments and 18 shares, at the time of writing this article. Grigg later re-shared the social media post again, adding a comment at the top that said, “I’m reposting this again because I can. I received an email today that told me to take this down…” which received an additional 33 ‘likes’, 28 comments and a few more shares (since the writing of this article Monday evening). None of the comments were negative, all showing support for Grigg in his re-election campaign.

In the response, posted on Facebook, Grigg mentioned how hard it is to please everyone in a county of 100,000 people, making the comparison of a large family going out to eat and agreeing on a restaurant. Noting not everyone will be happy. He then dove into the subject at hand, stating, “It’s even more challenging when other board members argue that you're not being a team player or make remarks about the way we present ourselves and make intimidating remarks. That's just bullying. Or when someone in the school system you represent sends threatening letters saying, if you refuse to vote the way they say to vote, they will take you down or blackmail you. It's uncalled for. If you know me, then you know I'm a rough-around-the-edges country boy who shops at Goodwill, spits, and curses occasionally. I might go out and sing karaoke or drink a beer, but that doesn't mean I'm a bad person; I'm just a common person in a world of common people…”

He also touched on the subject of not being perfect – just an ordinary person who sometimes may be a little too authentic for some people, explaining, “Many years ago, I made a few bad choices, like some of us do, and I had to deal with the consequences. Throughout our lifetime, people make mistakes, but it's not the errors we make that determine who we are; it's the ability to overcome the errors, using them as an opportunity for personal growth, for family, friends, and most of all, ourselves. Recently, a certain group that I refused to become a part of has decided to use my past as part of their campaign for political gain. This group includes board members, former board members/candidates, some political leaders, and a realtor who refers to himself as the great OZ. Having my past exploited for their own campaign is disappointing; however, I want to make it clear that my past doesn't define the work I do today, or the values I bring to this community…”

Grigg wrapped up his statement, by adding, “My focus has always been and continues to be on serving with integrity, transparency, and care. I will not allow attempts to weaponize my past to distract me from my goal. I am moving forward and dedicating my energy to the students, the teachers, and the families who rely on me to make the right decision for all. No, I'm not perfect, I believe in God because he has stayed by my side throughout everything however I wear no halo and don't pretend to, I will fight for the education of all Cleveland County children.”

Grigg concluded by asking people for their support on election day, thanking the readers on his Facebook page.

The Shelby Independent could not speak with Grigg, because as a board member, speaking to the news media in certain aspects could result in another punishment, so therefore this was understandable that Grigg could not be reached for comment.

But… as in all good political dramas, that wasn’t the end of it. As the snow fell, the icy cold chill of politics continued to heat up egos in Cleveland County....

(Grigg continued below...)

In another email, separate from the one sent out Friday, forwarded to The Shelby Independent unexpectedly, by several sources, was an email to all of the board of education members, which focused directly on Grigg, demanding he remove his Facebook post and it suggested a court of law would be in Grigg’s future (it did not state whether this court of law would be civil or criminal).

Why this person did not contact Grigg directly, only, and instead chose to include the entire CCS Board of Education is unclear at this time.

To play fair, The Shelby Independent felt that if Grigg was not allowed to speak to the news media, out of concern of a possible second censure, or similar punishment, then the sender of this different email to all board members, regarding only Grigg’s Facebook post, should not have an unfair advantage to comment either, as to keep it fair and balanced between all aspects, as too, the sender of the original political smear email blast, attacking Grigg, could not be reached for comment due to their unknown identity.

This other email, sent out sometime late Sunday, which was only directly addressed to Grigg, but included an audience of the entire CCS school board, said, in part, “I stated publicly at a recent CCGOP Executive Committee meeting that I was not the one sending anonymous letters to anyone. Even after this statement, you have continued to hint and imply that I am sending threatening anonymous letters to you in a way that no one would think it was anyone but me.”

It continues on, stating, “I assume today's post is in response to a series of emails that were sent last Friday. I don't have anything to do with those emails. I don't know the senders, no one has called me for comment, nor do I know who might be coordinating this effort.”

The Shelby Independent is not aware of a ‘series of emails’ from Friday, nor aware why any news media would call this person ‘for comment’ when the email(s) from Friday were about Grigg.

The email then demanded a stop and retraction, “I suggest you "Cease and Desist" blaming me. You are doing what you accuse me of - you are defaming me for your own political gain/campaign… … I've stated publicly that anonymous letter writers are cowards. I hope you find out who's doing it. It's not me. If you continue with comments about me, you will get to prove your case in a court of law. I am not putting up with it any longer.”

However, no identifying names were mentioned in Grigg’s Facebook post (as names have not been mentioned in this article, except for Grigg). As stated earlier, it does not clarify if the intent for court of law was meant as civil or criminal, and it is unclear why the sender thought Grigg’s Facebook post was about him/her/them. Additionally, why the sender included the entire board of education and did not just contact Grigg only, directly, is one of the many questions that have yet to be answered but not to be speculated.

This is a developing story.

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Chuck Thompson is a reporter and columnist for The Shelby Independent. 

The Shelby Independent.