Jones ends legal battle between council, Wilder

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has ended the legal fight between the City Council and former Mayor L. Douglas Wilder.

With taxpayers having already spent more than $1.1 million in legal fees, Jones said yesterday that he's dropping two appeals that the Virginia Supreme Court had agreed to hear this spring.

The appeals were tests of whether Richmond's new form of government gives the mayor the broad authority that Wilder envisioned, or whether the mayor's power is checked significantly by the council.

Circuit Judge Margaret P. Spencer sided with the council in deciding lawsuits that council and the School Board brought against Wilder.

"I cannot justify the continued spending of taxpayer dollars and continuance of a dispute that should have been resolved with communication," Jones said in a statement.

"It is fiscally prudent to withdraw these appeals and stop this ongoing expenditure. In the future, whenever differences do arise, we will make every effort to resolve them and to work out differences without resorting to lawsuits."

City Council President Kathy C. Graziano applauded the decision.

"I think it's too late to recover the $1.1 million that we have frittered away on this issue," she said, "but Mayor Jones has demonstrated it's never too late to make a good decision, and it's time for us to get on with it and move this government forward together."

Wilder, who left office Dec. 31, filed the appeals in late 2007 and early 2008 in hopes he or his successor would be able to overturn Spencer's rulings in two cases.

One involved Wilder's claim of authority over certain council-appointed employees, and the other related to his efforts attempt to evict the school administration from City Hall in 2007.

Another issue that Wilder had hoped to address is whether the mayor is protected from being sued by the City Council and School Board.

City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler regarded Jones' decision as a mixed blessing.

"I'm glad for the taxpayers, because it cuts off the trough of money that's been wasted on this matter since day one," he said.

But Tyler also wondered whether the move might backfire, because the state Supreme Court won't have established a precedent to guide future disputes over mayoral authority. In that sense, Tyler said, the city may have benefited by allowing the appeals to proceed, particularly if the new costs would be minimal.

"How much more cost is going to be borne by the citizens to get these answers?" Tyler asked. "At this point, we're past the point of no return."

Wilder did not return a call yesterday. Attorney Richard Cullen, who represented Wilder and then Jones once he took office Jan. 1, would not comment.

Jones called his announcement "a new beginning in settling city charter differences in a more constructive and cost-effective manner," with communication and cooperation.

Tammy D. Hawley, Jones' press secretary, said the decision to let Spencer's rulings stand should not be viewed as Jones agreeing totally with them.

"He feels there may be some ambiguities, but he's also looking to the Charter Review Commission to help resolve those," she said.

The nine-member review commission, with members appointed by the council and Wilder, is working to recommend changes to the charter that could be forwarded for approval by the 2010 General Assembly.

Jones had signaled he would drop the appeals shortly after he was elected in November, as he was promising to work with -- not against -- the council.

"My inclination is to end the legal wrangling," he said at the time.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .