Despite a flurry of phone calls by Loudoun Supervisor Suzanne Volpe to alter the outcome, Loudoun county republicans voted last night in support of a resolution to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors in support of Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio. The vote was not close, two to one in support of Delgaudio. The final roll call vote was 68 for the resolution and 33 against. The resolution reads as follows:
“WHEREAS, the Loudoun County Republican Committee stands for the highest standards of ethical conduct in government service, and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors has taken action against Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio based on a grand jury report alleging improper use of government resources and other violations of County policy, and
WHEREAS, grand jury proceedings are not trials with an opportunity for the defense to rebut charges, and
WHEREAS, concerns have been raised that Supervisor Delgaudio did not have appropriate opportunity to address the charges raised by the grand jury, and
WHEREAS, the citizens of the Sterling District are entitled to effective constituent services and to equal representation of their issues and concerns before the Board of Supervisors,
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
We the Loudoun County Republican Committee respectfully request the Board of Supervisors to reconsider removing the Sterling District staff, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:
We respectfully request the Board of Supervisors to appoint a committee to engage in a separate investigation of the allegations against Supervisor Delgaudio, in which he has full opportunity to present his case in the presence of and with the assistance of counsel, and to submit a full public report of the committee’s findings, and to act in accordance with those findings.”
Prior to the roll call vote on the resolution, there was a motion to delay action on the resolution until after the November elections. That motion also failed by a large margin. Roll call votes were used because of the large number of non committee members in the room. Both votes were contentious. Suzanne Volpe lead the group opposing Eugene and the resolution. She and Supervisor Ralph Buona were clearly unhappy with the outcome of the vote.
Loudoun County republicans have sent a strong message to the Board of Supervisors that they erred when they condemned Supervisor Delgaudio without even hearing his side of what happened and without any charges from the Grand Jury. Eugene and his lawyer should have been permitted to speak prior to the Board of Supervisors vote to censure Delgaudio and remove his staff. Denying him his staff and office punishes not only Delgaudio, but all the citizens of Sterling who have been denied the same representation that citizens in the other districts enjoy. That’s just wrong. Last night the Loudoun County Republican Committee sent a loud and clear message to the Board of Supervisors. Let’s hope they receive the message and very quickly repair their mistakes so Republicans in Loudoun can move on to the important work of electing our state ticket and local delegates in November. It’s in their court now.
