Chris Sullivan smiles at his son, Christopher Jr., during an August event at which he announced his candidacy for Columbia City Council.
With Election Day about a week away, the race for the District 1 seat on Columbia City Council has been, from the outside, a quiet affair.
But behind the scenes there’s been poisonous campaign whispering and acrimonious feelings between the camps of longtime District 1 Councilman Sam Davis and his challenger, public relations firm owner Chris Sullivan.
Now some of that vitriol is beginning to boil over into the public, as Davis is criticizing Sullivan’s position as a spokesman for an organization that reportedly attempts to broker peace between rival gangs. Sullivan is defending his work with the organization, a role he’s never kept secret.
Sullivan is the spokesman for a group called Building Communities and Families. That acronym — BCF — also informally stands for Bloods, Crips and Folk Nation, referencing three infamous gangs, or “street-level organizations” as Sullivan refers to them.
Sullivan, a politically connected 27-year-old who is running for public office for the second time (he unsuccessfully ran for state House in District 77 in 2012), says Building Communities and Families is an organization that attempts to mend discord between rival gangs.
“We’ve brought together community leaders, teachers and pretty much the three major street-level organizations down to the same table to improve communications among each other,” Sullivan tells Free Times. “So, if they might have an issue, as opposed to going and shooting up a house, they can call and talk out the issue.”
Sullivan also pointed out a number of alleged good works that have flowed through BCF in the last several years, including holiday toy drives and back to school events to get school supplies to children. He even provided Free Times a photo that showed a banner for a back to school event featuring the BCF logo draped over a Columbia Police Department patrol car.
But Davis says Sullivan’s proximity to gang members is bad news.
“We’re not talking about misguided kids here,” Davis said in an email to Free Times. “In fact, BCF’s founder is in federal prison right now in connection to crimes including racketeering and sex trafficking.”
Davis was referring to David Andrea Jenkins, aka “Arma G.” According to various reports, including a 2016 issue of a magazine called GeeChee One, Jenkins founded BCF in 2006. That article said the goal of BCF was for street gangs to “identify the problems in their communities and work with different street-level organizations to devise a solution.”
However, Jenkins was later one of dozens of Bloods arrested in a sweeping 134-count federal indictment that detailed extensive criminal activity. Federal records show Jenkins is incarcerated at a facility in Colorado.
“I wonder how many members of Sullivan’s organization are wanted by law enforcement right now,” Davis said in his statement to Free Times.
It was a blistering rumination by Davis and the first public statement by Council’s longest-serving member in regard to Sullivan’s spokesman work with BCF. However, for some time now, Davis’ supporters and operatives have been chirping about the association behind the scenes. Free Times even received an anonymous 29-page dossier about Sullivan’s work with the organization.
The intrigue on the part of Davis’ camp is notable, at least in part, because Sullivan has made no secret whatsoever about being a spokesman for BCF. A simple Google search of “Chris Sullivan” and “BCF” turns up a number of stories — from outlets including The State, The Washington Times, WLTX and WACH — in which Sullivan is listed or quoted as the group’s spokesman. On voter information site votesmart.org, Sullivan’s work with BCF is listed in his civic activities right alongside his membership in the Knights of Columbus and his membership in the Columbia Chamber.
Sullivan insists to Free Times that the relationships brokered among rival gangs via BCF is “the only reason the city is not in chaos right now” and that the organization will “always have [his] support.”
The 27-year-old also says he thinks Davis and members of his camp are playing politics with the BCF item.
“These are Quinn-like tactics they are using to try to influence this race,” Sullivan says. “Quinn ran [Mayor Steve] Benjamin’s [2010] campaign. Sam Davis’ consultants are trying to use the same trickery.”
By “Quinn-like tactics” Sullivan was referring to the Richard Quinn & Associates consulting empire that is known for its aggressive campaigning. That firm also has been in the crosshairs of special prosecutor David Pascoe’s long-running State House probe. The Quinn firm is not advising Davis on his campaign.
