Today is Giving Tuesday. Here at the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, we believe that trust in our public institutions begins with access — access to records, meetings, and the information that allows every Virginian to understand and influence the decisions made in their name. We’re working every day to defend and strengthen the people’s right to know, whether it’s tracking legislation, helping citizens navigate FOIA, or pushing back against efforts to close the doors of government. Your support today (and every day) ensures the sun will shine on Virginia government. Thank you for standing with VCOG and for open government.
Mary Sue Bancroft’s term on King William’s Board of Supervisors will be over at the end of the year. However, Bancroft fears her fellow board members are trying to freeze her out even earlier. The board took the unusual step of denying Bancroft’s participation via Zoom for the last week’s board meeting, saying she had not provided the required notice. Bancroft, who last attended a board meeting in person on Aug. 25, said she had an agreed arrangement with the county because of a medical exemption.
Longtime Nelson County Board of Supervisors North District Supervisor Tommy Harvey penned a farewell letter to residents as he is winding down his 41-year tenure on the board….Harvey apologized in the letter for not being as active as he would like to be recently — he hasn’t attended a board meeting since May 2024 — writing that he has faced “serious health issues that slowed me down, but my heart has never stopped being with this county and its people.”
Rockingham County school board member Matt Cross will no longer have to pay most of the fines he previously owed to the county for turning in late campaign finance reports after he won an appeal with the State Board of Elections. At a Nov. 17 hearing, the Virginia SBE ruled that the Rockingham County Registrar did not properly inform Cross he needed to turn in the reports and that most of the fines were issued outside the statute of limitations. State Board of Elections members voted unanimously to waive most penalties against Cross. This brings the $9,200 Cross owed to the county for late campaign finance reports down to $1,000.
A trial in the recall petition against Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett has been rescheduled for March after attorneys in the case said they need more time to prepare. A three-day trial was originally scheduled to begin Dec. 1 after Special Prosecutor Eric Olsen on Nov. 20 filed a motion for a rule to show cause, which was approved by Judge James P. Fisher. Olsen’s decision to pursue the case followed a recall petition submitted by residents of Purcellville to have Nett and Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Council Member Susan Khalil and Council Member Carol Luke removed from office. … The recall effort, led by Purcellville resident Brian Morgan, was filed in April after residents repeatedly expressed concerns during council meetings that the council majority was having discussions between the four of them without informing the public or the remaining three members of council and violating the Freedom of Information Act.
