Let’s Restrain Partisan Activities
The Fredericksburg independent city council races, especially in Ward 1, have become a target of political parties. This is of great concern as it will prevent federal employees from participating in local elections. Fredericksburg will lose talent.
Mr. Rowe wrote an op-ed (August 18 Fredericksburg Advance) in which he defended and protested his endorsement by the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee. It is odd he accepted and encouraged the local committee to endorse his candidacy when he registered as an independent candidate. As a leader in the Democratic party (7th District Democratic chair) in the Washington DC metro area, the Hatch Act should be at the forefront of his mind. When local candidates regardless of party affiliation are endorsed by local or national political groups, they should boldly state that local elections in Fredericksburg are INDEPENDENT and will not be a part of any political endorsement or committee.
Kenn Gantt, a federal employee, is on the Ward 1 ballot as one of Mr. Rowe’s opponents. Mr. Gantt filed for a legal review from the US Office of Special Council which opined that the explicit endorsement by a political party made the city council race a partisan election. Participation of a federal employee in a partisan election is a violation of the Hatch Act violations of which end in termination of employment. The willingness to serve a community should not require a person to quit a job and livelihood. Locally, Mr. Gantt is qualified to run in the Ward 1 city council race and desires to serve the residents in the ward.
Yes, Matt, we all know you are a member of the Democratic party. The nature of running an independent race is not to take out candidates’ viewpoints and predilections as to national policies; it is to emphasize that our city council members, sheriff, treasurer, commissioner of the revenue and school board work for every single resident of the city regardless of political party. We are Fredericksburg, an independent city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many of those running for council know this. Perhaps Mr. Rowe will choose to restrain his partisan activities, understand the value of elections open to any qualified candidate, and truly run as an independent allowing all voices and political choice.
Amanda McGrady lives in Fredericksburg.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to break the story of Stafford Board of Supervisors dismissing a citizen library board member for “misconduct,” without informing the citizen or explaining what the person allegedly did wrong.
First to explain falling water levels in the Rappahannock Canal.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Our media group also offers the most-extensive election coverage in the region and regular columnists like:
And our newsroom is led by the most-experienced and most-awarded journalists in the region — Adele Uphaus (Managing Editor and multiple VPA award-winner) and Martin Davis (Editor-in-Chief, 2022 Opinion Writer of the Year in Virginia and more than 25 years reporting from around the country and the world).
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”