One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Nottoway supervisors appoint as county administrator former colleague who quit amid past scrutiny of his residency

After the Nottoway County Board of Supervisors emerged from a closed session Jan. 2, they announced that a former member of their body who suddenly resigned last year had been hired as the incoming county administrator.

Stephen Wade Bowen stepped down from the board in June 2023 after a 15-year stint of service, reported the Courier-Record. Bowen’s resignation was prompted by the revelation that he lived in Prince Edward County, not Nottoway. State law requires that elected or appointed officials reside within the locality where they will serve. 

Bowen begins his new role Jan. 29, and will serve as acting county administrator until then. His starting salary, $155,000, is more than recent predecessors, the Courier-Record noted, including those who possessed educational credentials that Bowen doesn’t and who were more experienced working in local government. 

Though the board’s motion to hire Bowen passed, the measure’s lone dissenter Daphne Norton said “some questions” prevented her from consenting. The Courier-Record suggested that those questions could involve Bowen’s “abrupt resignation last June after serving on the Board for 15 1/2 years — all while not living in Nottoway as state law requires.” Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office declined to investigate the matter, despite “complaints and a request for a special prosecutor last summer,” the paper reported. 

Hanover judge rules sheriff’s office can shield officer names

A circuit court judge in Hanover County ruled against a law enforcement transparency advocate who sued the local sheriff’s office, which had declined to release the names of its officers in a public records request.

“Hanover Circuit Court Judge Patricia Kelly sided with the sheriff’s office, citing a clause in Virginia state code that allows exemptions for undercover police work,” reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

It is the second such case that Richmond resident Alice Minium has brought against central Virginia law enforcement agencies. Minium – who founded OpenOversightVA, “a public repository of police officers and any alleged misconduct” – appealed a judge’s earlier ruling that allowed Chesterfield County Police Department to shield officers’ information from public view, and is expected to appeal the Hanover ruling, as well. 

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]