Tempers flare during Staunton City Council work session, residents provide input on agenda

STAUNTON — It is not often that Staunton residents step to the podium during public hearings while describing themselves as “shaking” or holding back tears.

Then again, it’s not often that national issues find their way into Staunton City Council chambers.

Staunton City Council held a public hearing during their regular business meeting Thursday night on the city’s legislative agenda, and tempers flared amongst the council during its work session prior to the meeting after it was proposed by councilor Brenda Mead to add two items that deal with national hot-button issues.

Mead’s proposed additions included having the city state its position in defense of women’s reproductive rights, as well as asking the Virginia General Assembly to overturn the state’s constitutional amendment that makes gay marriage illegal. While gay marriage has been legal on a federal level since the 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the state's constitution has an amendment that bans same-sex marriage should the Obergefell decision be rolled back in the Supreme Court.

Mayor Andrea Oakes pushed back on the additions, believing that those topics were not within the jurisdiction of city council. This led to arguing and shouting matches, with councilors talking over one another. Councilor Terry Holmes tried to speak in favor of the additions, drawing on his experiences as a gay man in Staunton, but was drowned out by continued arguments from Oakes, Mead, and councilor Carolyn Dull.

The argument carried into the last part of the work session, with Oakes ending the session abruptly following another argument which included an outburst from Mead yelling, “Goddamn it, let me speak!”

What is a legislative agenda/program?

According to city attorney John Blair, a legislative program is a governing body’s request to the general assembly regarding its actions that it may take during the assembly session.

Per Blair, legislative programs/agendas are not a necessity for local government, as some localities choose not to put together legislative agendas. The focus of the legislative agenda depends on what the governing body decides to include, but can range from narrow and technical amendments or bills to broader stances on larger issues. At its very core, the legislative agenda is a statement of what city council, and by proxy the city, is requesting of their legislature.

“The purpose of the legislative program is for the council, again, if you have one to communicate, the council’s positions on issues related to state legislation,” said Blair.

Blair was asked to state the purpose of a legislative agenda on the request of Dull as part of her pushback against Oakes’ claim that the additions brought by Mead were not within the city’s jurisdiction.

The topics on the legislative agenda cover a wide array of topics, including cannabis regulation, education, and water improvements.

What did Staunton’s citizens ask for during the public hearing?

Many of Staunton’s residents touched on Mead’s proposed additions to the legislative agenda, with every speaker who spoke on the topics of gay marriage and women’s reproductive rights supporting the additions to the agenda. One caller who spoke during the hearing said he was “shaking with anger” that the city would not act on the two additions.

These speakers included prospective city council candidates Michele Edwards and Brad Arrowood. Yvonne Wilson also came out in support of the gay marriage addition, and while she didn’t agree with the idea behind women’s reproductive rights, she understood why many women wanted the addition. Wilson also spoke in favor of Second Amendment rights protection. According to a person in attendance, candidate Erik Curren was also in attendance but did not speak during the public hearing.

“Regulation of Viagra has not been legislated,” said resident Mary Miller, in support of Mead’s addition on women’s reproductive rights.

Resident Cindy Connors also brought up the idea of removing the state’s cap on school support staff funding, as well as asking for the General Assembly to repeal “right to work” laws and to pass laws that would make forming and joining unions safe and accessible. According to Connors, this was a primary way to support working families in the city to help gain better employment quality.

On Oakes’ contention that certain topics shouldn’t be part of the agenda due to being outside the city’s jurisdiction, Connors said, “I passionately believe that the last, the things I just spoke about all directly affect Stauntonian citizens.”

Resident Linda Shallash was emotional at the podium, one of a few speakers who were shaken by the rancor during the work session, and also added that the city needed to focus on handicapped accessibility within the city, highlighting the experience she had just encountered when trying to get to city hall for the public hearing.

Some speakers also spoke on elections and voter suppression during the session, with a few calling for the city to add automatic voter registration back on the legislative agenda. It was removed prior to the meeting due to the state’s new rules on same-day voter registration, but speakers wanted it to be added back in, along with other ideas to make elections more accessible. Miller brought up the idea of making a state holiday for Election Day, while Connors proposed rules that would allow voters to vote at any precinct, which in Staunton would be at any ward in the city.

Residents also brought up public needs for funding when it came to affordable housing, economic development, and education, but a refrain from a few residents involved getting increased support and funding for individuals dealing with mental and substance use disorders, specifically with methamphetamine and opioids.

What is on Staunton’s legislative agenda for 2022?

While the legislative agenda covers a wide array of topics from education to cannabis reform, a few key topics were brought up by city council during their work session.

Blair walked the council through the changes to the city’s legislative agenda, taking into account an accumulation of additions from council and staff, actions taken by the General Assembly over the last year, as well as input from regional entities like Middle River Regional Jail and Valley Community Services Board. One change pointed out by Blair was the removal of the section concerning the jail, as the objectives listed in the agenda last year have, in effect, been achieved.

Many requests from the city had to do with funding, and some of those have been taken out due to the General Assembly providing the funds. One example of this was the stormwater project for agriculture. Other items required a specific monetary amount to be requested, but Blair kept some of those items due to the wishes of the council.

Blair also brought up the exclusion of automatic voter registration with same-day registration now being applicable in Virginia, but as stated above, residents spoke to wanting automatic registration to still be included. There was also a removal of an item last year having to do with grocery taxes from the state, which was accomplished in Richmond over the last year.

Blair also added a section having to do with cremation and funeral services being paid for by the city for unclaimed bodies. The state allows for the city to request the courts to gain money from an estate, but not from personal bank accounts. Blair added the request to allow for the city to include transferrable assets upon death to request funds.

The agenda also includes opposition points, one of which includes the city council’s opposition to any potential defunding or consolidation of the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center with another facility. That request came from the juvenile center itself, which was specifically opposed to a proposal from Sen. David Marsden (D - Fairfax) to consolidate the number of juvenile detention facilities in Virginia. Dull requested an occupancy rate for the juvenile center due to her understanding that the local juvenile center wasn’t fully occupied by local incarcerated minors, but the rate was not readily available. Blair proposed removing that item while information is collected and presented to council to separate voting on that amendment.

Councilor Steve Claffey focused on some of the water quality requests that are in the agenda, specifically with the Chesapeake Bay. Claffey wanted that section to be more comprehensively worded to indicate that the funding shouldn’t necessitate city funding, which, according to Claffey, would cost Staunton upward of $7 million.

Along with Mead’s request to include calls for protections for reproductive rights and gay marriage, Oakes wanted to include a request to the General Assembly to refrain from adopting special legislation that voids the results or time restraints of referendums. This stemmed from the Augusta County courthouse situation, where the General Assembly helped set up a second referendum within the time constraints placed on the referendum back in 2016. That addition seemed to garner support from a majority of council.

The legislative agenda is set for a vote on Nov. 10 at city council’s next meeting. You can check out the agenda and the changes down below.

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—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton City Council holds public hearing on 2023 legislative agenda