I don't usually get involved but Gerlach is a good person and has always looked out for our city! I truly appreciate him stepping up.
Sue you were at the May 13th meeting and it's pretty clear to see after a 5-minute search that,
Resolution 25-33, Approved, Adopting an Amendment to the 2015
Comprehensive Plan to Adopt a New Small Area Plan for Planning Area 5
(D25-220 thru D25-221). After staff presentation Councilor Finn thanked staff for
their work on the Area 5 plan. She reminded everyone that it had been two years since
they started this project. She also thanked the College Heights Neighborhood
Association for their feedback. Ms. Finn asked that the following changes be made to
the resolution: strike the implementation step to consider the overlay district and
amend the commercial outlook line on College Avenue on 2-5-2 to say “opportunities
for neighborhood serving commercial uses exist and should be focused on adaptive
reuse particularly within the village transition area”
Councilor Finn moved to approve Resolution 25-33, adopting an amendment to
the 2015 Comprehensive Plan to adopt a New Small Area Plan for Planning Area 5 with
suggested changes to the resolution; motion was seconded by Councilor Gerlach and
passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Devine, Frye,
Finn, Gerlach, Graham, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0).
Additionally, another search and it's clear to see,
The City Council's role in this project was approving a Technology Overlay District to enable data center construction, NOT appointing a representative from the company to the EDA. However, Kevin Hughes, the Treasurer of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority (EDA), is also the Vice President of Public Affairs for Stack Infrastructure. Community members have publicly voiced concerns about the potential conflict, but official complaints filed by other EDA members have NOT been reported in public meeting minutes or local news.
And lastly, because this is fun,
Meredith Schatz is the Chair of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority (EDA). She was unanimously appointed to the EDA by the Fredericksburg City Council on June 25, 2024, and later became Chair in July 2024. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was January 10, 2025.
April, Speaking as a College Heights resident, I don't believe any city business until I see it in writing in minutes or docs, e.g., If it' not in writing, it didn't happen'.
The text language remained in the Small Area 5 plan for some time after this meeting until the document was amended.
In my comment, I wrote about the length of time it takes to get timely minutes to make the point on 'timeliness'. You have the luxury of looking back on what happened and doing the Monday morning quarterbacking.
It's a good service to have the transcript generated with the Regional Web TV, but the official record is timely minutes and amendments to the document.
That is what CH residents wanted to see to believe the changes actually went through.
This debacle didn't have to happen. Susanna Finn decided on 10-24-24 that 'she' would like the College Ave corner lot houses to have a Neighborhood Commercial Overlay District/NCOD applied to them. That's the problem right there.
We have enough encroachment in College Heights and don't need another player coming in, who decides on her own what CH 'needs'.
The basic premise of good communication is 'nothing about us, without us'. As a Planning Commissioner, Susanna Finn used a paternalistic 'Father Knows Best' approach to applying an NCOD to College Heights because it was too hard for her to walk up the hill from the Farmer's Market.
The neighbors in the College Heights Civic Association who attended the Spring 2025 Membership meeting responded appropriately to the info we had at that time on NCOD.
They expressed their frustration to Council-appointee Susanna Finn that they didn't want an NCOD in College Heights.
The non-transparent way Susanna Finn was appointed to the Ward 3 vacancy also contributed to College Heights residents' robust defense of College Heights against another perceived 'onion peel' encroachment attempt.
Falsehood #5 in Jon Gerlach's ~National Enquirer gossip article. So much so that inquiring minds want to know? Is Jon Gerlach's 'ghostwriter' the one actually spinning this hokum? Sounds right up their alley.
'People trying to vote early were confronted by accusations from a campaigner for Ms. Little, claiming that Ms. Crump – who is Ms. Little’s opponent in Ward 2 – neglects historic buildings and exploits her renters.'
ANNE LITTLE knows all her 'campaigners', including anyone at the Early Vote. Not one person said this. Where is the ghostwriter getting this dirt? other than making it up and putting a spin on it.
TRUST. TRANSPARENCY. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP candidates have enough to concentrate on with getting info to their constituents and listening to them at their doors. But they will be responding to these false accusations.
Voters are noticing. They are seeing the differences in the QUALITY of candidates. The ones who have The Time in their lives to serve responsibly with Transparency. Also providing a sorely-needed BALANCE on this 7-0 Council.
Here is what a quick and simple ChatGPT says about what happened in Fredericksburg as a result of the divisive Democratic endorsed ballot that has the party bosses telling us at LOCAL level who we have to vote for, even if the candidate is not properly vetted for 'skeletons in the closet'.
and voters are pushing back with saying 'cities in Virginia are non-partisan, independent'. (Note on ChatGPT: It's becoming more reliable that your dermatologist has been cleared to use it to write reports.)
A unanimous 7–0 vote from a City Council can be viewed with DISTRUST for several reasons. While it may appear to signal total consensus, the lack of dissent can suggest groupthink, a suppressed opposition, or a lack of thorough public debate.
Reasons for public distrust of a unanimous council vote:
Lack of transparency and genuine debate
Routine issues: Unanimous consent is often used for routine, non-controversial matters to expedite the process. When it's used for major or complex issues, it can suggest that the decision was made without proper deliberation or public input.
"Unanimous consent" vs. "unanimous vote": A measure passed by unanimous consent does not necessarily mean every member would have voted "yes" if a roll call vote were taken. It only requires that no member present objects. A claim that a measure passed "unanimously" under this process can be misleading.
Suppressed dissent: Public distrust can arise if there's a perception that dissent was discouraged, ignored, or made to seem futile, causing council members who would have voted against a measure to acquiesce silently.
Groupthink and lack of diverse perspectives
Compromised decision-making: When council members prioritize group cohesion over critical evaluation, they may fail to consider opposing viewpoints or overlooked flaws in a proposal.
Loss of accountability:
Healthy debate and dissent are foundational to democratic governance. A lack of diverse perspectives can SIGNAL A DYSFUNCTION where one viewpoint dominates, and alternative ideas are not given a fair hearing.
Political pressure and motivations
Concerns about corruption or backroom deals: On high-profile or controversial issues, a unanimous vote can lead to speculation about special interests, political favors, or agreements made behind closed doors.
Appearing as a "team player": A council member may fear being the lone dissenter or being seen as difficult. This pressure can influence them to vote "yes," even if they have reservations, to maintain political standing or avoid conflict.
Historical context
Previous decisions: The council's history with similar projects or issues plays a large role. If the same group previously ignored community input or similarly made unpopular decisions, the public is more likely to be suspicious of a new unanimous vote.
Erosion of public trust: Broad public distrust in governmental institutions can magnify skepticism towards unanimous decisions at the local level.
Since I have had varying levels of discussion with most of you, I wanted to provide an update and ask for assistance. It looks like 6:30 pm on October 24th works best for the majority of folks. I am actually out of town that evening, so am copying in Todd Gillingham to represent the FRA.
The purpose of this is to host a Building Construction Trades Council meeting in Fredericksburg to begin socializing the benefits of potential data center development in the City of Fredericksburg. Don Slaiman with IBEW Local 26 will be coordinating with the other Unions. Can you also propose an agenda Don?
Joel(Brittany), could we utilize the event space connected with Castiglia’s at a reduced charge? Could you have someone reach out to Don about food, which the FRA is willing to contribute towards? Kevin, would Stack be willing to contribute as well?
Joel and Kevin, we have Jon Gerlach and Chuck Frye attending from City Council for this one. Are you the two best to participate from the EDA? If it is more than two people from either body it would make it a public meeting.
We would also like to invite some potentially allied groups who might be interested in learning about the significant job creation and tax benefits to the City. Two groups mentioned were representatives of the City teachers organization and the NAACP. Jon, can you and Chuck help with the NAACP? Kevin, can you speak with Jannan about who we should invite from the teachers association? The one time I spoke with her she suggested the PTA as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions and where you can help. Todd and I will keep everyone posted.
Thanks
Curry
Curry Roberts
President
Fredericksburg Regional Alliance at the University of Mary Washington
10-6-25 (8:00 PM): Another Jon Gerlach falsehood: 'To quote someone who ran the gauntlet of attacks when he early-voted on Friday after tossing a misleading sample ballot in the trash'.
Falsehood #1: There was no gauntlet.
Falsehood #2: There were no attacks.
Falsehood #3: There was no 'misleading' sample ballot.
Falsehood #4: There was no sample ballot distributed at all.
It's a sham for Jon Gerlach to write this.
What we have going on here is that the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee/FDC has been infected by back-door players who moved into 22401.
They started causing this division, spewing falsehoods. They have been reported to the Democratic Party of Virginia and other party leaders.
Members want their honest, transparent party back. The time before these deceitful 'come-heres' moved into the city.
These power players were the ones who pushed for the divisive ENDORSED Democratic ballot.
Not even the Fredericksburg Democratic Executive Committee (Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary (me) knew this item was going to be on the July 2023 agenda. To further fake out the membership, they said that a 'sample' ballot was the same as an ENDORSED ballot.
They were immediately called out by former FDC Chairs and a few members. There IS a difference:
There is a 'SAMPLE' ballot upstairs as you exit the elevator on the 5th floor of the FXBG City/Visitor Center, 601 Caroline St., listing ALL the candidates.
An 'ENDORSED' ballot has the names of the candidates preferred by the party 'bubbled' in. The circle by their name is filled in.
Finally, the 'theme', if you will, of this LOCAL election is that the candidates that we support are for 'sensible, common sense growth'. That protects the tree canopy, the green space, and the Rappahannock River. And the people.
Some of us moved here to get away from the rat race of high-priced housing in Alexandria, with traffic congestion, $20./day parking garages, and tall buildings that cast shadows on their once sunlit sidewalks. We don't want to be 'a mirror of Alexandria'.
We don't want Fredericksburg 'FAIRFAXED'.
In high school, the Sisters of the Holy Cross told us to look about and watch whose homes were being razed in Alexandria to build commercial, peeling off layers of once intact neighborhoods.
It was 'the poor' and those on fixed incomes.
The replacements coming in for the newly built places were called yuppies, 'young, urban, professionals'. like some of the grandstander 'virtue-signalers' on this current Council.
They can comment that their clone candidates won't do any of this but look who's running for the 4 spots on Council. A preppy dude who wants us to take a political journey with an otter and stop for a snack of crawfish along the way, a very busy woman who has too many responsibilities to handle and voters are being truthful in stating has no time to do this, another yuppie, and a fatigued UPS driver.
One voter came to the LOCAL VOTE table today and said, 'this city is ripe for a developer to come in with a casino on that riverfront'. and looked incredulously at the naivete of two inept amateurs at their table trying to explain away his realistic assessment with 'oh no, that will never happen'.
More than 16,000 residents were systemically removed from Alexandria to build housing for the yuppies. We're not going to let that happen in Fredericksburg
More voters are expressing their displeasure at the LOCAL vote table with the Fredericksburg Democrats for the political division within the city caused by the FDC ENDORSED ballot.
What a distortion of truth by Jon Gerlach. If he even wrote this article.
One of the players behind the division in this city is his wife Mitzi Brown, working behind the scenes, in manipulating her players into position, e.g., on the Economic Development Authority, physically placing her hands on Abigail Spanberger's sister's shoulders, Meredith Schatz to move her into position up front for the ribbon-cutting for the 601 Caroline St FXBG City/Visitor Center (on promo video).
Mystery applicant for the Ward 3 controversial Council appointment who removed her name from the Ward 3 Council applicant pool after strong Tier 1 applicant, Guy Gormley, questioned on Facebook, the night before, 'Don't bother applying. Abigail Spanberger's sister is going to get the appointment'.
Info embedded in a $200. FOIA Freedom of Info Act that residents paid for that has the time stamps of when the application was removed. and Susanna Finn then put her application in.
[Guy later filed a lawsuit against the City Attorney for not releasing the applications and resumes for the vacant Ward 3 Council position, like we used to have happen in the OPEN GOVERNMENT of former Fredericksburg Councils, e.g. interviews held in public in Council Chambers, as in the Brad Ellis appointment.
Not so with this NONTRANSPARENT Council. They set up a 'closed door' meeting to move the interviews behind 'closed doors' at the Fred Police Dept, of all places. Hiding the info from the public until 28 minutes before the start of Susanna Finn's swearing-in.
When Judge Willis heard the city's testimony under questioning, not by Guy's very skilled attorney, but by the struggling attorney for Kelly Lackey, city attorney, he stopped the proceeding abruptly when the city admitted that not all required paperwork was turned over to Guy and said, 'all of you, meet me in the back'. Guy settled. The city made a major mistake in withholding this info]
Mitzi Brown, as EDA Chair was allowed through its bylaws to submit the name of an appointee to EDA directly to Council so the DATA CENTER developer, Stack Infrastructure, got on EDA. He did not recuse himself as a 'conflict of interest' in the vote to send $200,000 of city to EDA dollars to Dominion for a transmission line study on DATA CENTERS in Fredericksburg.
Since then the EDA bylaws have been extensively re-written to take away that EDA Chair's power so it is in alignment with other city boards and commissions. The only duty as EDA Chair is to notify Clerk of Council that there is a vacancy on EDA. Not a specific name.
Jon Gerlach's article about Truth? His rep precedes him. Look at how he manipulates the 'timing' in his false accusation against the integrity, well-grounded, honest MATT KELLY.
We're working our bottoms off to get those HONEST flyers out to residents. Thousands of them. Voters notice this significant effort. and express gratitude that we're working to bring back TRANSPARENCY in local government in Fredericksburg.
As the Virginia Coalition for OPEN GOVERNMENT said to us when we asked for help in being denied access to the Council appointment resumes: 'What has HAPPENED to Fredericksburg??!!! It never used to be this way'.
Watch how the Truth is manipulated by Jon Gerlach (or a ghostwriter?). A common practice since the two of them moved into 22401.
Ward 3 controversial Councilor-appointee Susanna Finn engage with residents about their concerns on the commercial overlay district applied to our corner lot 1920s houses on College Ave?
Let's get the facts straight.
as our next legit elected Councilor MATT KELLY does and will do.
It was Susanna Finn's bright idea in the first place to apply this Commercial Overlay to our houses!
I went to the public comment mic to ask: 'WHOSE bright idea was this NCOD?' and shortly after had residents contacting me to say, 'Watch the 10-24-24 Planning Commission. She brings it up as her idea. Former Planning Commission Adam Lynch questions her (to elaborate on HER idea).
After watching the 10-24-24 Regional Web TV Planning Commission meeting to document what she was saying in a transcript of HER words, residents asked for an appointment to talk with Planning Director Mike Craig.
Mike and Bailey Thompson patiently took the time to explain what a NCOD was in a PowerPoint in the Planning Dept conference room of their office floor at 601 Caroline St.
We had concerns when a photo of a possible upholstery shop on College Ave was used as an example, as in 'who even does that anymore? This younger generation won't even take the memories of holiday gatherings in the grandparents' home by accepting their furniture hand-me-downs.
They buy landfill-bound IKEA for their furniture.
We talked about the unknown status of the water/sewer pipes on College Ave.
How would the family living on the upstairs floor of these 1920s homes was going to run their restaurant on the bottom floor, with customers using the bathrooms. Would they need an industrial-size sink to run their restaurant. How was that going to work with those old pipes under College Ave?
Parking? Answer: On the side street and in the home's backyards!
We asked, 'Couldn't Susanna's idea just be moved to the McDonald's, vet area, closer to Rt 1 commercial transect area? Or keep 'commercial-use' to the religious-use buildings on College Avenue?
College Heights residents knew that the Jewish Student Center, when built, had the outline of the walk-up window for a kosher deli. Why not instead just use those institutional-looking buildings?
Plan now is to do a soft open with a bagel/cream cheese morning breakfast walk-up this Fall. Unlike Susanna, the rabbi talked to us about the plans.
The College Heights Civic Association held its Spring membership meeting and the Neighborhood COMMERCIAL Overlay District was the main topic on the agenda.
A copy of Susanna Finn's words from the 10-24-24 Planning Commission meeting was sent out to membership to prepare for this meeting and then discuss the next course of action, which was to meet with her to see why she did this to College Heights without even asking us if we wanted our 1920s homes on College Ave, our first line of defense against developer 'encroachment' to 'onion peel' and change the character of our neighborhood, which is eligible to be listed in the National Historic Registry (2019 study by UMW historic preservation).
Susanna Finn was NOT invited to this meeting. We knew how the residents felt about this contentious issue and we wanted a softer tone when meeting with her.
But here she came, walking right into the hornets' nest with 'I heard this is the place to be this afternoon'.
In the middle of a discussion with residents, Susanna stood up. and admitted, 'It's my idea. I used to live in College Heights. I was at the Farmer's Market. I had to walk up the hill with my two daughters and it was hard. So I thought, why not have 'commercial' on College Avenue?
The whole block of Buckner St residents went after her like shark bait, telling her that the neighborhood didn't want that. and a few other choice words.
She looked 'puzzled'. Didn't help one bit as she tried to explain herself. She just didn't get it.
That was exactly what we were trying to prevent: An uproar and taking her down quickly.
She met with the board later that week.
The board presented 8x10 color photos of once beautiful homes in Culpeper and Harrisonburg VA that had converted to 'commercial use'.
Orange, red paint on them to attract business, like the restaurant in the former General Store on College Ave. but these photos had pea gravel and picnic tables in the front yard, large wooden ramps in shoddy shape to comply with ADA/Americans with Disabilities Act for the customers.
Once intact neighborhoods were destroyed on their first layer with commercial use in their once stately houses.
Susanna took the photos, said she'd work with Councilors to convince them to take out the wording on 'commercial use on corner lot houses'.
Shortly before the Council meeting, she called me, said there were a few Councilors who weren't on board with complete removal. but what she could do is get the language for the implementation stage out of the Small Area 5 plan.
The small area5 plan still had the info in it. likely because the website wasn't yet updated. It is now.
Afterall, It took Ward 4 residents Raymond Herlong and Bea Paolucci advocating for months at the public comment mic to the city to publish the Council meetings, to record the Council and Planning Commission's work sessions, in which most of the business for the actual Council/PC meeting is discussed.
Minutes were more than a year old. and still not published on the city website.
Citizens spoke up. Made change. and got 'responsive government'.
Jon Gerlach article? Evidence of his NONTRANSPARENCY in telling his NONTRANSPARENT version of what he wants to spin.
That's why there is a strong, organized effort to get a majority of Councilors elected who refuse to accept a political party endorsement and not have a conflict of interest in accepting DATA CENTER money.
I don't usually get involved but Gerlach is a good person and has always looked out for our city! I truly appreciate him stepping up.
Sue you were at the May 13th meeting and it's pretty clear to see after a 5-minute search that,
Resolution 25-33, Approved, Adopting an Amendment to the 2015
Comprehensive Plan to Adopt a New Small Area Plan for Planning Area 5
(D25-220 thru D25-221). After staff presentation Councilor Finn thanked staff for
their work on the Area 5 plan. She reminded everyone that it had been two years since
they started this project. She also thanked the College Heights Neighborhood
Association for their feedback. Ms. Finn asked that the following changes be made to
the resolution: strike the implementation step to consider the overlay district and
amend the commercial outlook line on College Avenue on 2-5-2 to say “opportunities
for neighborhood serving commercial uses exist and should be focused on adaptive
reuse particularly within the village transition area”
Councilor Finn moved to approve Resolution 25-33, adopting an amendment to
the 2015 Comprehensive Plan to adopt a New Small Area Plan for Planning Area 5 with
suggested changes to the resolution; motion was seconded by Councilor Gerlach and
passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Devine, Frye,
Finn, Gerlach, Graham, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0).
Additionally, another search and it's clear to see,
The City Council's role in this project was approving a Technology Overlay District to enable data center construction, NOT appointing a representative from the company to the EDA. However, Kevin Hughes, the Treasurer of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority (EDA), is also the Vice President of Public Affairs for Stack Infrastructure. Community members have publicly voiced concerns about the potential conflict, but official complaints filed by other EDA members have NOT been reported in public meeting minutes or local news.
And lastly, because this is fun,
Meredith Schatz is the Chair of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority (EDA). She was unanimously appointed to the EDA by the Fredericksburg City Council on June 25, 2024, and later became Chair in July 2024. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was January 10, 2025.
SOURCES: fredericksburgva.gov, fredericksburgva.com, fxbg.com
April, please read the minutes carefully. You have the wrong dates on Meredith Schatz's appointment.
April, Speaking as a College Heights resident, I don't believe any city business until I see it in writing in minutes or docs, e.g., If it' not in writing, it didn't happen'.
The text language remained in the Small Area 5 plan for some time after this meeting until the document was amended.
In my comment, I wrote about the length of time it takes to get timely minutes to make the point on 'timeliness'. You have the luxury of looking back on what happened and doing the Monday morning quarterbacking.
It's a good service to have the transcript generated with the Regional Web TV, but the official record is timely minutes and amendments to the document.
That is what CH residents wanted to see to believe the changes actually went through.
This debacle didn't have to happen. Susanna Finn decided on 10-24-24 that 'she' would like the College Ave corner lot houses to have a Neighborhood Commercial Overlay District/NCOD applied to them. That's the problem right there.
We have enough encroachment in College Heights and don't need another player coming in, who decides on her own what CH 'needs'.
The basic premise of good communication is 'nothing about us, without us'. As a Planning Commissioner, Susanna Finn used a paternalistic 'Father Knows Best' approach to applying an NCOD to College Heights because it was too hard for her to walk up the hill from the Farmer's Market.
The neighbors in the College Heights Civic Association who attended the Spring 2025 Membership meeting responded appropriately to the info we had at that time on NCOD.
They expressed their frustration to Council-appointee Susanna Finn that they didn't want an NCOD in College Heights.
The non-transparent way Susanna Finn was appointed to the Ward 3 vacancy also contributed to College Heights residents' robust defense of College Heights against another perceived 'onion peel' encroachment attempt.
'Cause it's actually sweet
All the time you've spent on me
It's honestly lovely
All the effort you've put in
It's actually romantic
Really got to hand it to you, to you
No man has ever loved me like you do
It's actually romantic
You've just given me so much... attention
It's actually romantic
It's so romantic
Falsehood #5 in Jon Gerlach's ~National Enquirer gossip article. So much so that inquiring minds want to know? Is Jon Gerlach's 'ghostwriter' the one actually spinning this hokum? Sounds right up their alley.
'People trying to vote early were confronted by accusations from a campaigner for Ms. Little, claiming that Ms. Crump – who is Ms. Little’s opponent in Ward 2 – neglects historic buildings and exploits her renters.'
ANNE LITTLE knows all her 'campaigners', including anyone at the Early Vote. Not one person said this. Where is the ghostwriter getting this dirt? other than making it up and putting a spin on it.
TRUST. TRANSPARENCY. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP candidates have enough to concentrate on with getting info to their constituents and listening to them at their doors. But they will be responding to these false accusations.
Voters are noticing. They are seeing the differences in the QUALITY of candidates. The ones who have The Time in their lives to serve responsibly with Transparency. Also providing a sorely-needed BALANCE on this 7-0 Council.
Here is what a quick and simple ChatGPT says about what happened in Fredericksburg as a result of the divisive Democratic endorsed ballot that has the party bosses telling us at LOCAL level who we have to vote for, even if the candidate is not properly vetted for 'skeletons in the closet'.
and voters are pushing back with saying 'cities in Virginia are non-partisan, independent'. (Note on ChatGPT: It's becoming more reliable that your dermatologist has been cleared to use it to write reports.)
A unanimous 7–0 vote from a City Council can be viewed with DISTRUST for several reasons. While it may appear to signal total consensus, the lack of dissent can suggest groupthink, a suppressed opposition, or a lack of thorough public debate.
Reasons for public distrust of a unanimous council vote:
Lack of transparency and genuine debate
Routine issues: Unanimous consent is often used for routine, non-controversial matters to expedite the process. When it's used for major or complex issues, it can suggest that the decision was made without proper deliberation or public input.
"Unanimous consent" vs. "unanimous vote": A measure passed by unanimous consent does not necessarily mean every member would have voted "yes" if a roll call vote were taken. It only requires that no member present objects. A claim that a measure passed "unanimously" under this process can be misleading.
Suppressed dissent: Public distrust can arise if there's a perception that dissent was discouraged, ignored, or made to seem futile, causing council members who would have voted against a measure to acquiesce silently.
Groupthink and lack of diverse perspectives
Compromised decision-making: When council members prioritize group cohesion over critical evaluation, they may fail to consider opposing viewpoints or overlooked flaws in a proposal.
Loss of accountability:
Healthy debate and dissent are foundational to democratic governance. A lack of diverse perspectives can SIGNAL A DYSFUNCTION where one viewpoint dominates, and alternative ideas are not given a fair hearing.
Political pressure and motivations
Concerns about corruption or backroom deals: On high-profile or controversial issues, a unanimous vote can lead to speculation about special interests, political favors, or agreements made behind closed doors.
Appearing as a "team player": A council member may fear being the lone dissenter or being seen as difficult. This pressure can influence them to vote "yes," even if they have reservations, to maintain political standing or avoid conflict.
Historical context
Previous decisions: The council's history with similar projects or issues plays a large role. If the same group previously ignored community input or similarly made unpopular decisions, the public is more likely to be suspicious of a new unanimous vote.
Erosion of public trust: Broad public distrust in governmental institutions can magnify skepticism towards unanimous decisions at the local level.
On Oct 1, 2024, at 1:42 PM, croberts@fredregion.com wrote:
Good Afternoon All,
Since I have had varying levels of discussion with most of you, I wanted to provide an update and ask for assistance. It looks like 6:30 pm on October 24th works best for the majority of folks. I am actually out of town that evening, so am copying in Todd Gillingham to represent the FRA.
The purpose of this is to host a Building Construction Trades Council meeting in Fredericksburg to begin socializing the benefits of potential data center development in the City of Fredericksburg. Don Slaiman with IBEW Local 26 will be coordinating with the other Unions. Can you also propose an agenda Don?
Joel(Brittany), could we utilize the event space connected with Castiglia’s at a reduced charge? Could you have someone reach out to Don about food, which the FRA is willing to contribute towards? Kevin, would Stack be willing to contribute as well?
Joel and Kevin, we have Jon Gerlach and Chuck Frye attending from City Council for this one. Are you the two best to participate from the EDA? If it is more than two people from either body it would make it a public meeting.
We would also like to invite some potentially allied groups who might be interested in learning about the significant job creation and tax benefits to the City. Two groups mentioned were representatives of the City teachers organization and the NAACP. Jon, can you and Chuck help with the NAACP? Kevin, can you speak with Jannan about who we should invite from the teachers association? The one time I spoke with her she suggested the PTA as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions and where you can help. Todd and I will keep everyone posted.
Thanks
Curry
Curry Roberts
President
Fredericksburg Regional Alliance at the University of Mary Washington
1125 Emancipation Highway, Suite 240
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
(540) 361-7373 Office
(804) 539-3247 Mobile
croberts@fredregion.com
10-6-25 (8:00 PM): Another Jon Gerlach falsehood: 'To quote someone who ran the gauntlet of attacks when he early-voted on Friday after tossing a misleading sample ballot in the trash'.
Falsehood #1: There was no gauntlet.
Falsehood #2: There were no attacks.
Falsehood #3: There was no 'misleading' sample ballot.
Falsehood #4: There was no sample ballot distributed at all.
It's a sham for Jon Gerlach to write this.
What we have going on here is that the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee/FDC has been infected by back-door players who moved into 22401.
They started causing this division, spewing falsehoods. They have been reported to the Democratic Party of Virginia and other party leaders.
Members want their honest, transparent party back. The time before these deceitful 'come-heres' moved into the city.
These power players were the ones who pushed for the divisive ENDORSED Democratic ballot.
Not even the Fredericksburg Democratic Executive Committee (Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary (me) knew this item was going to be on the July 2023 agenda. To further fake out the membership, they said that a 'sample' ballot was the same as an ENDORSED ballot.
They were immediately called out by former FDC Chairs and a few members. There IS a difference:
There is a 'SAMPLE' ballot upstairs as you exit the elevator on the 5th floor of the FXBG City/Visitor Center, 601 Caroline St., listing ALL the candidates.
An 'ENDORSED' ballot has the names of the candidates preferred by the party 'bubbled' in. The circle by their name is filled in.
Finally, the 'theme', if you will, of this LOCAL election is that the candidates that we support are for 'sensible, common sense growth'. That protects the tree canopy, the green space, and the Rappahannock River. And the people.
Some of us moved here to get away from the rat race of high-priced housing in Alexandria, with traffic congestion, $20./day parking garages, and tall buildings that cast shadows on their once sunlit sidewalks. We don't want to be 'a mirror of Alexandria'.
We don't want Fredericksburg 'FAIRFAXED'.
In high school, the Sisters of the Holy Cross told us to look about and watch whose homes were being razed in Alexandria to build commercial, peeling off layers of once intact neighborhoods.
It was 'the poor' and those on fixed incomes.
The replacements coming in for the newly built places were called yuppies, 'young, urban, professionals'. like some of the grandstander 'virtue-signalers' on this current Council.
They can comment that their clone candidates won't do any of this but look who's running for the 4 spots on Council. A preppy dude who wants us to take a political journey with an otter and stop for a snack of crawfish along the way, a very busy woman who has too many responsibilities to handle and voters are being truthful in stating has no time to do this, another yuppie, and a fatigued UPS driver.
One voter came to the LOCAL VOTE table today and said, 'this city is ripe for a developer to come in with a casino on that riverfront'. and looked incredulously at the naivete of two inept amateurs at their table trying to explain away his realistic assessment with 'oh no, that will never happen'.
More than 16,000 residents were systemically removed from Alexandria to build housing for the yuppies. We're not going to let that happen in Fredericksburg
More voters are expressing their displeasure at the LOCAL vote table with the Fredericksburg Democrats for the political division within the city caused by the FDC ENDORSED ballot.
What a distortion of truth by Jon Gerlach. If he even wrote this article.
One of the players behind the division in this city is his wife Mitzi Brown, working behind the scenes, in manipulating her players into position, e.g., on the Economic Development Authority, physically placing her hands on Abigail Spanberger's sister's shoulders, Meredith Schatz to move her into position up front for the ribbon-cutting for the 601 Caroline St FXBG City/Visitor Center (on promo video).
Mystery applicant for the Ward 3 controversial Council appointment who removed her name from the Ward 3 Council applicant pool after strong Tier 1 applicant, Guy Gormley, questioned on Facebook, the night before, 'Don't bother applying. Abigail Spanberger's sister is going to get the appointment'.
Info embedded in a $200. FOIA Freedom of Info Act that residents paid for that has the time stamps of when the application was removed. and Susanna Finn then put her application in.
[Guy later filed a lawsuit against the City Attorney for not releasing the applications and resumes for the vacant Ward 3 Council position, like we used to have happen in the OPEN GOVERNMENT of former Fredericksburg Councils, e.g. interviews held in public in Council Chambers, as in the Brad Ellis appointment.
Not so with this NONTRANSPARENT Council. They set up a 'closed door' meeting to move the interviews behind 'closed doors' at the Fred Police Dept, of all places. Hiding the info from the public until 28 minutes before the start of Susanna Finn's swearing-in.
When Judge Willis heard the city's testimony under questioning, not by Guy's very skilled attorney, but by the struggling attorney for Kelly Lackey, city attorney, he stopped the proceeding abruptly when the city admitted that not all required paperwork was turned over to Guy and said, 'all of you, meet me in the back'. Guy settled. The city made a major mistake in withholding this info]
Mitzi Brown, as EDA Chair was allowed through its bylaws to submit the name of an appointee to EDA directly to Council so the DATA CENTER developer, Stack Infrastructure, got on EDA. He did not recuse himself as a 'conflict of interest' in the vote to send $200,000 of city to EDA dollars to Dominion for a transmission line study on DATA CENTERS in Fredericksburg.
Since then the EDA bylaws have been extensively re-written to take away that EDA Chair's power so it is in alignment with other city boards and commissions. The only duty as EDA Chair is to notify Clerk of Council that there is a vacancy on EDA. Not a specific name.
Jon Gerlach's article about Truth? His rep precedes him. Look at how he manipulates the 'timing' in his false accusation against the integrity, well-grounded, honest MATT KELLY.
We're working our bottoms off to get those HONEST flyers out to residents. Thousands of them. Voters notice this significant effort. and express gratitude that we're working to bring back TRANSPARENCY in local government in Fredericksburg.
As the Virginia Coalition for OPEN GOVERNMENT said to us when we asked for help in being denied access to the Council appointment resumes: 'What has HAPPENED to Fredericksburg??!!! It never used to be this way'.
Watch how the Truth is manipulated by Jon Gerlach (or a ghostwriter?). A common practice since the two of them moved into 22401.
Ward 3 controversial Councilor-appointee Susanna Finn engage with residents about their concerns on the commercial overlay district applied to our corner lot 1920s houses on College Ave?
Let's get the facts straight.
as our next legit elected Councilor MATT KELLY does and will do.
It was Susanna Finn's bright idea in the first place to apply this Commercial Overlay to our houses!
I went to the public comment mic to ask: 'WHOSE bright idea was this NCOD?' and shortly after had residents contacting me to say, 'Watch the 10-24-24 Planning Commission. She brings it up as her idea. Former Planning Commission Adam Lynch questions her (to elaborate on HER idea).
After watching the 10-24-24 Regional Web TV Planning Commission meeting to document what she was saying in a transcript of HER words, residents asked for an appointment to talk with Planning Director Mike Craig.
Mike and Bailey Thompson patiently took the time to explain what a NCOD was in a PowerPoint in the Planning Dept conference room of their office floor at 601 Caroline St.
We had concerns when a photo of a possible upholstery shop on College Ave was used as an example, as in 'who even does that anymore? This younger generation won't even take the memories of holiday gatherings in the grandparents' home by accepting their furniture hand-me-downs.
They buy landfill-bound IKEA for their furniture.
We talked about the unknown status of the water/sewer pipes on College Ave.
How would the family living on the upstairs floor of these 1920s homes was going to run their restaurant on the bottom floor, with customers using the bathrooms. Would they need an industrial-size sink to run their restaurant. How was that going to work with those old pipes under College Ave?
Parking? Answer: On the side street and in the home's backyards!
We asked, 'Couldn't Susanna's idea just be moved to the McDonald's, vet area, closer to Rt 1 commercial transect area? Or keep 'commercial-use' to the religious-use buildings on College Avenue?
College Heights residents knew that the Jewish Student Center, when built, had the outline of the walk-up window for a kosher deli. Why not instead just use those institutional-looking buildings?
Plan now is to do a soft open with a bagel/cream cheese morning breakfast walk-up this Fall. Unlike Susanna, the rabbi talked to us about the plans.
The College Heights Civic Association held its Spring membership meeting and the Neighborhood COMMERCIAL Overlay District was the main topic on the agenda.
A copy of Susanna Finn's words from the 10-24-24 Planning Commission meeting was sent out to membership to prepare for this meeting and then discuss the next course of action, which was to meet with her to see why she did this to College Heights without even asking us if we wanted our 1920s homes on College Ave, our first line of defense against developer 'encroachment' to 'onion peel' and change the character of our neighborhood, which is eligible to be listed in the National Historic Registry (2019 study by UMW historic preservation).
Susanna Finn was NOT invited to this meeting. We knew how the residents felt about this contentious issue and we wanted a softer tone when meeting with her.
But here she came, walking right into the hornets' nest with 'I heard this is the place to be this afternoon'.
In the middle of a discussion with residents, Susanna stood up. and admitted, 'It's my idea. I used to live in College Heights. I was at the Farmer's Market. I had to walk up the hill with my two daughters and it was hard. So I thought, why not have 'commercial' on College Avenue?
The whole block of Buckner St residents went after her like shark bait, telling her that the neighborhood didn't want that. and a few other choice words.
She looked 'puzzled'. Didn't help one bit as she tried to explain herself. She just didn't get it.
That was exactly what we were trying to prevent: An uproar and taking her down quickly.
She met with the board later that week.
The board presented 8x10 color photos of once beautiful homes in Culpeper and Harrisonburg VA that had converted to 'commercial use'.
Orange, red paint on them to attract business, like the restaurant in the former General Store on College Ave. but these photos had pea gravel and picnic tables in the front yard, large wooden ramps in shoddy shape to comply with ADA/Americans with Disabilities Act for the customers.
Once intact neighborhoods were destroyed on their first layer with commercial use in their once stately houses.
Susanna took the photos, said she'd work with Councilors to convince them to take out the wording on 'commercial use on corner lot houses'.
Shortly before the Council meeting, she called me, said there were a few Councilors who weren't on board with complete removal. but what she could do is get the language for the implementation stage out of the Small Area 5 plan.
The small area5 plan still had the info in it. likely because the website wasn't yet updated. It is now.
Afterall, It took Ward 4 residents Raymond Herlong and Bea Paolucci advocating for months at the public comment mic to the city to publish the Council meetings, to record the Council and Planning Commission's work sessions, in which most of the business for the actual Council/PC meeting is discussed.
Minutes were more than a year old. and still not published on the city website.
Citizens spoke up. Made change. and got 'responsive government'.
Jon Gerlach article? Evidence of his NONTRANSPARENCY in telling his NONTRANSPARENT version of what he wants to spin.
That's why there is a strong, organized effort to get a majority of Councilors elected who refuse to accept a political party endorsement and not have a conflict of interest in accepting DATA CENTER money.
TRUST. TRANSPARENCY. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP. That's:
Ward 1: KEN GANTT; Ward 2: ANNE LITTLE; Ward 3: MATT KELLY; Ward 4: JESSE DOMINGUEZ.
Time for change.