RESEND - OP-ED: Fredericksburg City Council - Again - Keeps Public in Dark
When it came time to pick a replace for Tim Duffy, known for his open, friendly character and willingness to level with the people, City Council went behind closed doors.
By Guy Gormley
GUEST COMMENTATOR
Editor’s Note: Difficulties with a link to Gormley’s article in this morning’s email prevented some readers from accessing his op-ed. We are resending the op-ed, in its entirety, for our subscribers here. We apologize for the problem.
In the interests of full disclosure, I am one of the 14 applicants for the Ward 3 position, and I was not selected for an interview. I don’t think that matters, because the reason I’m writing has more to do with the absence of even the appearance of transparency by Fredericksburg’s City Council.
For over a year, the citizens of Fredericksburg have asked to be heard, and the Council choses to ignore its constituents: the new density ordinance, Marye’s Landing, the Railroad Station Overlay District, Data Centers, and now the selection of the replacement for Tim Duffy as the Ward 3 councilman.
The council seems to have made up its collective mind (Group Think?) well in advance and does the minimal amount of public engagement to satisfy the letter of the law, as opposed to the spirit of the law.
In my training on the honor code at the Virginia Military Institute this was called quibbling and considered a violation. It makes me wonder what Council is afraid of.
The resignation of Ward 3 councilman Tim Duffy is not the first time the City Council has had to fill a vacancy. But unlike the public process followed in finding a replacement for Ward 1 councilman Marvin Dixon in 2015, this City Council has, without explanation, decided to fill it behind closed doors.
This action is another example of the City Council’s disregard for public input and lack of transparency.
In January 2024, city residents’ concerns were met with comments from council members such as, “smile through the BS,” and “Oh yea, this is fun. Or at least it will be after we pass this with no fanfare.” And the lectures to the public about not understanding what the council is doing.
Then in response to residents’ questions about the Marye’s Landing project the council response was—go ask the developer.
Recently the Council has been less-than-transparent about data centers in the city. Telling residents Tt trust that the council will do the right thing.
Most recently, the opinions and thoughts of the residents of Crowfoot Bottom/ Darbytown were studiously ignored as the Railroad Station Overlay District was removed.
And now, when appointing someone to represent the residents of Ward 3, they are telling those residents that the council alone will decide who represents them.
After the mayor announced the names of the 14 individuals (again, one was me) who applied to fill the Ward 3 council vacancy at the January 28th meeting, the City Council later went into closed session per the mayor to reduce the number of applicants to be interviewed, “up to four or five candidates.” As for when interviews would be held the mayor noted that, “we have not scheduled them yet, but we anticipate holding them next Tuesday.”
There was no public discussion by council members on selection criteria. Nothing was reported to the public coming out of the closed meeting.
At that same meeting, Mayor Devine announced that the interviews would be held at the Police Station; an unusual choice.
No public statements were made by the City Council members after the January 28 closed session. Then on Friday January 31, an agenda was posted on the city agenda webpage for a closed meeting to conduct interviews.
There were no accompanying documents, no press release, nor anything posted on the city’s Public Notice page. There was no official public notice placed in the local press. Again, this made the process legal, but not especially open and welcoming to the City voters.
On Monday in response to inquiries about the interviews, the Clerk of Council responded, “The Council has not released the names. I am sorry I cannot give them to you”; and when I asked about my interview the answer was “…the candidates have been notified”. I was not given the courtesy of “Thank you for applying, but you were not selected for an interview.”
Follow-up e-mails were sent to the clerk and City Manager asking for the legal basis for not providing the names of those to be interviewed and for the closed meeting for the interviews. E-mails to the mayor have been sent asking for the reason for withholding the names of those being interviewed and why the council is holding the interviews behind closed doors.
None of the individuals contacted have responded. Instead, the City Attorney has responded citing a state code change from last July giving the council the authority to hold closed interviews and withhold from the public the applications from the prospective candidates. No explanation was provided as to why these actions have been taken.
Whoever is chosen to fill the Ward 3 seat on the City Council is supposed to represent the residents of that ward. The normal process is for candidates to put forward their qualifications and explain their positions on the issues leaving it up to residents to decide.
Even with an appointment by the City Council, it should be expected that the applicants should be given the opportunity to make their case to those they will represent.
Based on this council’s disregard for their constituents and lack of transparency, there are understandable concerns about what criteria the council will use to make its choice. Are they looking for someone to continue in their footsteps?
The members of the City Council owe city residents, especially those of us in Ward 3, an explanation for why they are denying the public not just a voice in this decision but a full explanation of the criteria they are using to limit the interviews and the need to hold them behind closed doors.
The author 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.”
Guy Gormley, a resident of Ward 3 in our city, gives us the facts: He tells us what is happening on Fredericksburg's City Council Ward 3 Appointment: This now 6-0 Council is conducting 'CLOSED' meetings and not releasing the interviewee names. They're required to release the resumes for public review. The COALITION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT says so. They refuse to do so. As the 'Advance' headline states: 'Fredericksburg City Council Again - Keeps PUBLIC in the Dark". What is disturbing is that we don't have REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT anymore. MATT KELLY won the Ward 3/Precinct 301 Councilor position in Nov 2023. 'DO THE RIGHT THING COUNCIL': Appoint MATT KELLY back to Council to be our Ward 3 Councilor. Surely MATT KELLY's WARD 3 APPOINTMENT will have a positive effect on UNITING OUR CITY going forward.
Thanks for sharing this. At the Data Center forum that the environmental groups paid for in order for the community to really have a chance to hear about what building a 90 ft tall building surrounded by three neighborhoods with a constant hum at the decibel level of people talking, Mayor Devine hotly contested the idea that the city council wasn't being open. Despite the VA legislature saying data centers shouldn't be built near neighborhoods and should be only built in industrial area, they continue to put their hands over their ears. All this to say, I'm sure they want a replacement for our wonderful Tim Duffy with another "yes" vote for the data centers so you weren't considered. People need to show up at the Planning Commission meeting this Wednesday!