Chesapeake Republican officials withdraw support for City Council candidate amid accusations of elder abuse
Six top Republican elected officials in Chesapeake announced they’re withdrawing their support for City Council candidate Amanda Newins after learning she’s being sued and investigated for claims of elder abuse.
In a statement, the officials said they “encourage others who are likeminded and equally disappointed by these revelations to do the same.”
Listed as endorsing it were Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan, Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Hamel, Clerk of the Circuit Court Alan Krasnoff and City Council members Stephen Best, Don Carey, and Robert Ike.
The letter went on to say the group was hoping for a “meaningful response from Ms. Newins and our local party chairman, Nicholas Proffitt, but their silence has been deafening. As elected officials who have spent years working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Chesapeake’s senior citizens, we cannot remain silent in the face of these allegations of persistent elder abuse.”
Newins and her attorney, Alison Zizzo, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Newins, 30, a lawyer and vice president of the Chesapeake Bar Association, was sued this week by a great aunt who claims Newins mistreated her and her late husband, and stole hundreds of thousands in property and cash from them. The claim seeks $540,000 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
A Chesapeake police spokesman confirmed on Wednesday the department received a complaint about the allegations and was investigating them.
Newins is among 13 candidates running for one of five open seats on the City Council.
Alison Zizzo, an attorney who represents Newins, issued a statement earlier this week in which she called the lawsuit “baseless” and questioned the timing of it being filed so close to the election.
In an email to The Virginian-Pilot, Proffitt said the statement was not a surprise to him.
“Steve Best, Don Carey, Matt Hamel, Robert Ike, and Alan Krasnoff have never endorsed either Amanda Newins or the Endorsed Republican Ticket,” Proffitt wrote. “Furthermore, they have been actively supporting one of Ms. Newins and our endorsed ticket’s non-Republican opponents, whose campaign representative is the lead attorney in this lawsuit against Ms. Newins.”
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
