Michael Paul Williams’ column: When petitioners are penalized

Just when Gloucester County taxpayers thought it was safe to petition their elected officials without penalty, it turned out the meter was still running.

Two law firms recently billed the county an additional $42,146 in legal expenses for their defense of four supervisors whom citizens unsuccessfully tried to remove from office last year.

In December, Judge West brook J. Parker ordered the 40 Gloucester residents who led the removal effort to pay $80,000 of the $129,000 in fees run up by the supervisors. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has joined the Gloucester 40 in fighting Parker's ruling.

The Gloucester case so appalled state lawmakers that they passed a bill in this year's General Assembly session barring courts from punishing individuals who exercise their constitutional right to petition for the removal of elected officials.

Petitions can no longer be thrown out of court because of minor technical flaws, and people who sign or circulate petitions cannot be liable for any costs associated with the removal proceedings.

The law went into effect last Wednesday, too late for the Gloucester residents who led the removal drive. But justice would hardly be served if other county taxpayers were stuck with the tab.

You'd think Parker would have thought twice about his heavy-handed ruling after state lawmakers acted to prevent this sort of affront to freedom from ever happening again.

After all, it's not as if the supervisors in question -- Teresa Altemus, Michelle Ressler, Gregory Woodard and Bobby Crewe -- were simon-pure victims. Between the November 2007 election and the first board meeting the following January, they met privately to orchestrate the eventual firing of Gloucester's county administrator and county attorney.

The supervisors were indicted last July by a special grand jury on 14 misdemeanor charges of malfeasance and misuse of office. The Gloucester residents collected 6,000 signatures to unseat them.

The criminal charges were dropped in October, but you can't read the grand jury report without feeling the need to take a shower. The four supervisors pushed state public meeting law near its limits.

Grand jury indictments and 6,000 signatures are not the substance of a frivolous complaint. But Parker, rather than sending a message to elected officials about playing fast and loose with the law, issued an order that chilled criticism of elected officials.

The powerful Troutman Sanders law firm represented two of the supervisors. The firm reduced its fees 20 percent in submitting a bill for $30,750 in recognition of the significant costs already incurred by its clients and county residents. I doubt this gesture has Gloucester residents feeling all warm inside.

Not another dime of taxpayer money should be spent on the dubious enterprise of defending politicians who were pulled through the keyhole of innocence -- but still behaved badly.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or .