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Letter to the Editor:
On Wednesday, September 9, 2006, the date of the most recent Colonial Beach School Board meeting, the Chairman of the School Board, Tim Trivett initiated an action in Executive Session, the purpose of which was to vote one member of the School Board, me, Anne Congdon, off. The School Board Chair asserts that I must be removed from the School Board because of my current residential status. However, according to the State Board of Elections Website, www.sbe.gov, there is a policy in place that covers a situation such as mine, for example when your home burns down, is rendered uninhabitable and you are in the process of rebuilding. These are new regulations that were proposed and approved by the Board of Elections on August 29, 2009.
To be exact, their website says, “pursuant to the requirement of 24.2-404(D), the following shall apply only in determining a person’s residence under Article II, Sec. 1 of the Constitution of Virginia and Title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia:” and it goes on to say under “Required Intent” – “A person whose home is destroyed or rendered uninhabitable does not lose residence at that home if he intends to return to the home when it is reconstructed or made habitable, unless he has either established a new domicile or has changed his voter registration.”
My voter registration has not changed from the Town of Colonial Beach and the plans for the rebuilding of 200 Monroe Street are on file at the Colonial Beach Zoning Office.
This action that was undertaken by the Colonial Beach School Board, in addition to being a violation of my civil rights, is a violation of the Code of Virginia, in particular Section 24.2-235, which describes in detail the process for removing an elected official from their position. This part of the Code states very clearly, “A petition for the removal of an officer shall state with reasonable accuracy and detail the grounds or reasons for removal and shall be signed by the person or persons making it under penalties of perjury. The circuit court shall not dismiss the petition solely because of an error or omission in the form of the petition relating to its statement of the grounds or reasons for removal provides a reasonable basis under 24.2-233 to consider the removal of the officer.
As soon as the petition is filed with the court, the court shall issue a rule requiring the officer to show cause why he should not be removed from office, the rule alleging in general terms the cause or causes for such removal. The rule shall be returnable in not less than five nor more than ten days and shall be served upon the officer with a copy of the petition. Upon return of the rule duly executed, unless good cause is shown for a continuance or postponement to a later day in the term, the case shall be tried on the day named in the rule and take precedence over all other cases on the docket. If upon trial it is determined that the officer is subject to removal under the provisions of 24.2-233, he shall be removed from office.”
In other words, the only guy who can remove an elected official, even a School Board member, from office, is the guy in the black robe. In this case the Westmoreland County Circuit Court Judge.
The actions of my fellow School Board members, also raises a question of intent. This surreptitious plan was put into play, according to the Chair, based upon the advice of Pat Lacey; School Board Attorney, Dean Atkins; Attorney for the Commonwealth and the State Board of Elections. Yet, none of their advice or counsel was heard by any other board member; none of the information credited to those three entities was relayed in writing. If in fact, the members of the School Board were interested in having a valid discussion regarding whether or not I should retain my seat on the Board and then making an informed decision which adhered to the laws of Virginia, then some advance notice of their concerns would have been an appropriate measure. If business had been conducted in that kind of above board fashion then the information contained in this letter would have been presented that evening to the Board, rather than in this week’s newspapers, but apparently that was not the objective.
The question that must be asked is whether or not the Colonial Beach School Board is going to be allowed to turn into a Machiavellian institution where the end results justify the means and where civil liberties are thrown out the window.
I would hope not.
Sincerely,
Anne Congdon
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