Transparency News 1/5/16

State and Local Stories

Del. Scott Taylor, R-Virginia Beach, wants to change the law to prevent the governor from keeping secret the application forms of people appointed to boards and commissions. Taylor has introduced a bill to do that stemming from a nasty state Senate race last fall in which Democrat Gary McCollum unsuccessfully challenged Republican Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach. HB220 would amend the FOIA to say nothing in the law would authorize “the withholding of any resumes or applications submitted by persons who are appointed by the governor.”
Virginian-Pilot

A little-noticed tweak to the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act makes it more difficult for prosecutors to charge officials who break the law. The change went into effect Jan. 1 and was written into the act so quietly last year that the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys didn’t see it. It grants immunity from prosecution over alleged conflict violations to local officials who seek and follow legal opinions from their town, city or county attorneys, the same as it had concerning such opinions from prosecutors or the attorney general. La Bravia Jenkins, the Fredericksburg commonwealth’s attorney and president of the prosecutors’ association, told the state’s new ethics council Dec. 10 that prosecutors want that change undone this year. Allowing local government attorneys to write opinions that grant immunity presents a conflict of interest, she said, because they’re employed by the elected officials.
Virginian-Pilot

Virginia’s new offensive coordinator is its highest paid assistant coach. UVa’s new defensive coordinator is Nick Howell. Contract details — salaries, bonuses and titles, included — for Bronco Mendenhall’s staff were revealed to The Daily Progress on Monday evening through a public records request. All nine assistants are signed to two-year deals. Robert Anae, the OC and one of seven coaches to follow Mendenhall from BYU, is the highest paid, inked for a base salary of $550,000. Steve Fairchild, UVa’s offensive coordinator from 2013-15, made $450,000 annually.
Daily Progress

Amid a backdrop of protest, the Charlottesville City Council on Monday elected its two newcomers, Mike Signer and Wes Bellamy, as mayor and vice mayor, respectively. Both nominations were approved unanimously, and were followed by a prepared statement from Signer, an attorney whose campaign raised more than $50,000 last year — approximately half of what he and his two Democratic running mates raised collectively. “I’m sure you all discussed this beforehand,” said local lawyer Jeff Fogel, who participated in a protest before Monday’s meeting that was organized by former council candidate Paul Long. “Was Mr. Signer chosen because he raised the most money? Or has the best connections with businesses in the community? Or has the best connection with the Democratic Party in the state? We don’t know, and we won’t know unless you tell us. But you don’t want to tell us,” Fogel said.
Daily Progress

Ten elected officials from the Tri-Cities spent more $20,000 to attend the National League of Cities convention in Nashville, Tennessee, late last year. The largest contingent for the 2015 convention came from Hopewell, where five Hopewell City Council members attended, followed by Petersburg where four Petersburg City Council members attended the convention from Nov. 4 -7. Only one Colonial Heights City Council member attended the Nashville event.
Progress-Index


Editorials/Columns

Newport News Mayor McKinley Price believes he deserves a raise. Hampton Mayor George Wallace thinks the same. We don't exactly disagree, but we think the issue runs a little deeper than the numbers on a paystub. A push to raise the pay of public officials isn't likely to sit well with many workers on the Peninsula. Most of them go to their jobs each day and give it their all, but some haven't seen an extra dime in their paychecks as a result. It's bad politics to advocate a personal pay increase, and Mayor Price said that an increase should be for his successor rather than himself. Not that the distinction soothed the ire from many on the Peninsula, who took to commenting critically when we published the story. But the prospect of reconsidering the compensation of public officials shouldn't be so quickly discarded. In fact, we believe it deserves a closer look.
Daily Press

Add two more killings to the Chicago police death toll from this weekend in a familiar story. Unarmed people, mostly black men, shot by police. People, mostly black, dying in police custody. Over the past year, the consciousness of the American public has been seared with these stunning facts and shocking images. The deaths, and other instances of police violence that disproportionately target African-American communities, have fueled demands for greater transparency in reporting by police forces nationwide. A major impediment to justice and accountability for police violence is the lack of comprehensive data on law enforcement-involved shootings and use-of-force incidents. Now, however, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has come out against a federal mandate on reporting deaths in police custody. I beg to differ: Police transparency should not be seen as a hindrance to responsible policing. Rather, it is critical for accountability and vital for public trust in our police forces.
Patrice McDermott, USA TODAY