Pierce smiled and waved to a group of her supporters as she walked down the aisle and took a seat on the front row.
An uneventful meeting Monday night in Atlantic Beach was coming to a close without much mention of suspended Mayor Retha Pierce.
Then the back door opened, and in walked a beaming Retha Pierce in a white dress suit.
Governor Mark Sanford suspended Pierce Friday after a grand jury indicted her on a hit-and-run charge.
She paused for a question from the media just long enough to say she was doing fine.
She smiled and waved to a group of her supporters as she walked down the aisle and took a seat on the front row. About half of those in attendance stood to their feet and erupted with claps and cheers until the meeting chairman, Councilman Jake Evans, slammed the gavel and called for order.
Pierce took a seat and sat quietly for the remainder of the meeting. When it was over, she got up and walked out with supporters flanking her.
"I'm definitely not upset," Pierce said when asked about the suspension.
As for the standing ovation she received, Pierce said it was special.
"They are my supporters, and I'm very grateful that they have stood by my side," Pierce said as she got into a friend's car.
"Evidently that was their queen, and they support her, so that's what they were clapping about. They were glad to see her," said longtime Atlantic Beach resident and former councilman John Skeeters.
Windy Price said she felt the mayor was "demonstrating strength beyond my understanding."
Others thought the entrance was disruptive and not needed.
"I was disappointed that the crowd would react like that, interrupting a meeting," said Paul Curry a candidate for Atlantic Beach town council.
Current town council member and Mayor Pro Tem Charlene Taylor called the entrance disgusting.
"It was inappropriate for the occasion. We were having a meeting. We were not there for a queen to come through the door," Taylor said.
Councilwoman Josephine Isom rolled her eyes when asked about the crowd's standing ovation for Pierce.
"(The standing ovation) that she got from the crowd? Them children? Those people don't vote here," Isom remarked.
When asked what was next for her, Pierce answered, "what I do daily."
And what is that?
With a smile on her face, she said, "helping mankind."
