Latest news with #RulesofOrder
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Decline to opine: Virginia attorney general will not weigh in on Hopewell firings issue
Virginia's attorney general will not intervene in the question of whether a Hopewell city councilor's vote to fire the city manager earlier this month represented a conflict-of-interest because he is a city employee. Hopewell Commonwealth's Attorney Rick Newman confirmed last week that Attorney General Jason Miyares would not offer an opinion on the vote by Ward 4 Councilor Ronnie Ellis. Newman had asked council to delay any action on the future of Dr. Concetta Manker until Miyares could opine on Ellis' ability to vote. A spokesperson for Miyares neither confirmed nor denied there was any action on Newman's request. 'We receive many requests for opinions, and there are numerous grounds upon which we will decline to issue a formal opinion in response,' Shaun Kenney said in an email last week to The Progress-Index. 'We do not comment on specific requests.' According to Virginia law, local prosecutors are one of several Virginia officials permitted to ask for opinions from the attorney general. More: Hopewell commonwealth's attorney finds legal fault with council's firing of city manager Newman had said he thought Ellis – a battalion chief with the Hopewell Fire Department – would be in conflict because of his day job. As the department's second-in-command, Ellis could be called upon at any time to step in for the fire chief who is traditionally appointed by the city manager. Because of that possibility, he still could be considered as a direct report to the city manager. Ellis did not take part in the first effort last February to oust Manker, which failed on a 3-3 vote. However, on May 1, Ellis made the motion to reconsider the termination, which appears to violate Rule 36 of Robert's Rules of Order that only persons who voted on the prevailing side (or any side in the matter of a tie vote) could make the motion. Ellis made the motion May 1 to reconsider the termination and also joined three others on council in the 4-3 vote that let not only Manker go but also fired Brittani Williams as city clerk without cause. Rule 36 also says that any vote reconsideration can happen 'only on the day the vote to be reconsidered was taken, or on the next succeeding day, a legal holiday or a recess not being counted as a day.' Two-and-a-half months passed between the first vote and the reconsideration. The move has generated a great deal of blowback from citizens and some councilors for what they say are an underlying racist tone of the vote – Manker and Williams are Black; Ellis, Mayor Johnny Partin Jr., Vice Mayor Rita Joyner and Ward 5 Councilor Susan Daye are White. More: Tempers, tensions, racism, lawsuits dot Hopewell City Council agenda. How it played out Manker and Williams are expected to file lawsuits over the firings. Ward 7 Councilor Dominic Holloway has also vowed to bring court action. Two protests over the decision were held last week in front of the Municipal Building in downtown Hopewell. One of the groups who protested – the Virginia Party for Socialism & Liberation, whose presence startled many in this somewhat conservative city – is planning another rally May 27 to coincide with the next Hopewell City Council meeting. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia attorney general stays out of Hopewell firing decision
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma bill would curtail state superintendent's control over school board meetings
The House Education Oversight Committee meets Wednesday at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. The committee advanced a bill that would give members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education authority over the topics discussed in the board's meetings. (Photos by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Following complaints from the Oklahoma State Board of Education, lawmakers introduced legislation to limit the state superintendent's control over the board's operations. Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, repurposed House Bill 1491 with new language that would allow board members, not only the state superintendent, to place items on their meeting agendas. Leaders of the House and Senate, as well as Gov. Kevin Stitt, endorsed the measure. 'No one member should unilaterally control a board, especially one that directly impacts the outcomes of our students,' Stitt said Wednesday. State Superintendent Ryan Walters' office didn't immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning. Three members whom Stitt appointed last month complained that they had no control over the topics they're able to discuss during meetings. One of the members, Chris Vandenhende, said he wanted to schedule a meeting and vote to 'suspend all activity related to immigration.' The board in January had agreed to submit rules to the state Legislature that would have schools report students' immigration status. The governor, who pledged to block the immigration rule, appoints all members of the state Board of Education except for the state superintendent, who is elected and acts as chairperson of the board. The board oversees the state's public education system and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The House Education Oversight Committee unanimously approved Johns' amended bill on Wednesday, advancing it to a potential vote by the full House. Originally, the bill focused on teacher certification penalties before Johns replaced the language. The bill would allow any two state Board of Education members to place an item on a meeting agenda if they submit the request in writing. Currently, the state superintendent decides the meeting agendas as the chairperson of the board. Oklahoma administrative codes require the board to follow Roberts' Rules of Order, which advises that a board's chairperson should set meeting agendas. Johns said the state board has followed this procedure for decades. State law largely forbids a public board from taking up any matters not posted on its agenda. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said board members should have a say, and it's a 'longstanding issue that needs to be fixed.' Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said the new legislation would reinforce transparency and accountability in the education system by giving all board members a voice on the matters they meet to discuss. 'With the current structure, the board is neutralized and has no say in shaping policy,' Paxton said in a statement. 'Allowing this will provide a fair and more effective structure.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pepper wants large police presence at council meetings or will use 'Second Amendment rights'
Feb. 8—Councilman Hunter Pepper wants more police security and is threatening to exercise his "Second Amendment rights" if he doesn't get it at future Decatur City Council meetings. Pepper made the request Thursday in an email to Council President Jacob Ladner, Police Chief Todd Pinion, Mayor Tab Bowling and City Attorney Herman Marks. "Chief, I'm requesting a large police presence at EVERY meeting," Pepper wrote. "If these requests can't be met, I will exercise my Second Amendment right openly and willfully. If you can't handle it, don't think I won't." The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. Pepper has been out of town on a temporary job assignment as an emergency medical technician since September. He returned for the Jan. 6 meeting and created an uproar when he voiced his support for police chases. Pepper had a conversation with Reginald McKenzie, the grandfather of Jaiden DeJarnett, a 16-year-old who was chased by law enforcement at high speeds and across two counties until he crashed and died on Sept. 4, 2023. Pepper wrote in Thursday's email, "After that conversation, some became agitated and began to threaten myself with physical violence. This continued in the parking lot of City Hall." About a half dozen people surrounded Pepper's vehicle, cursing at him and attempting to block him from leaving. He said the following day that a threat to call police dispatch made the people move so he could leave. "This behavior is unacceptable and, with zero police presence after the meeting, I feel it's time to protect myself and ask you all to do the same," he wrote. Pepper then mentions two people by name "and any other who is threatening violence against myself or any others, should not and will not be tolerated." "Mr. Ladner, it's time to step up and stop allowing this atrocious behavior," Pepper wrote. Pepper told The Decatur Daily on Friday that he plans to return to Decatur soon, but then he has to leave again to complete his temporary assignment. He expects to be back full time this spring. In response to Pepper's email, Pinion and Bowling said the issue falls under Ladner as council president. "This is absolutely a Jacob Ladner question," Pinion said. "This is his meeting. I don't know why (Ladner) doesn't follow Robert's Rules of Order. He's made it pretty clear this is how he's going to run the meetings." Pinion said Pepper didn't call 911 during the post-meeting conflict with protesters. Bowling said in response to Pepper's threat, "It would be a bad idea to bring a gun here to City Hall." The public is prohibited from carrying weapons on city property or into City Hall. Visitors go through metal detectors run by security guards when entering the building. Ladner said most of Pepper's Jan. 6 complaint occurred in the parking lot. "I don't have any jurisdiction over that area," Ladner said Friday. "Whenever he gets to the parking lot, he will have to deal with whoever controls that area." Pepper said the threats occurred both in the meeting and afterward outside of City Hall. Ladner said he has been to most of the council meetings in his four and a half years on the council, and he's "never felt not secure," even during the often contentious meetings of the last 16 months following the fatal Decatur police shooting of Steve Perkins. Meanwhile, Ladner pointed out that Pepper has been to two meetings since Oct. 28. "I know he wants some things done but he doesn't even attend the meetings," Ladner said. "When he does attend, he's the one who turns up the rhetoric and causes that reaction." Bowling and Pinion said they will meet about safety issues before Pepper returns. — or 256-340-2432
