Lynchburg’s three member Electoral Board is comprised of two Republicans (Steve Troxel and Betty Gibbs) and one Democrat (David Neumeyer). Earlier this year, the Board voted, with the two Republicans mentioned above in favor of and Democrat Carolyn Sherayko against, seeking new applicants for the position of Registrar currently held by Christine Gibbons when her statutory four-year term expires June 30. In March 2023, Sherayko resigned from the Electoral Board in protest of this decision by the Board.
At the Electoral Board’s May 2 meeting, Neumeyer presented a formal motion to suspend and withdraw the Registrar search, and to proceed with renewal of Gibbons’s contract including a statutorily required performance review in July 2023. His motion was defeated by Troxel and Gibbs, and the Board will soon begin to interview applicants. (You can watch the proceedings online with Neumeyer’s motion and legal explanation starting at minute 13.30 and running to minute 18:00. Go to: lynchburgva.gov Electoral Board and Staff, Meeting and Minutes.)
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History may be repeating itself. In 2001, the two Republican members of Lynchburg's Electoral Board were found by the US District Court and US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to have wrongfully dismissed Registrar Linda Arnold and caused the dismissal of two assistant registrars (who are hired and fired by the registrar) for political reasons. Troxel and Gibbs are attempting to do exactly the same thing now: replace the Registrar and current Deputy Registrars Kim Connor and Deborah Jenkins without the due process required by federal and state law and, it would appear, for political reasons.
I am honored to be an Officer of Election, one of the people who operate the polls during elections, and would like to express my strong support for Gibbons, Conner, and Jenkins. I attended training sessions with them and found them to be extremely professional, knowledgeable, and completely non-partisan in my interactions and conversations with them. All three are highly qualified, with a combined 48 years of service in the Lynchburg Registrar’s Office.
What I learned from working with Gibbons, Conner, and Jenkins is elections are extraordinarily complex and serious undertakings, experience and knowledge is of the upmost importance, election security and integrity is the highest priority, and within the Registrar’s Office, political party affiliation is neither discussed nor taken into account in the administration of free and fair elections. We need the knowledge, dedication, and integrity of Gibbons, Conner, and Jenkins to protect and defend the voting process so that all Lynchburg voters can confidently cast their ballots.
Should Troxel and Gibbs have concerns about the performance of the Registrar’s staff, they should follow applicable laws by renewing Gibbon’s contract and then proceed with the statutorily required performance review. It would show these dedicated employees as well as the citizens of Lynchburg the respect they deserve.
Plan to attend the next public meeting of the Lynchburg Election Board on Thursday, June 1 at 4 in the GLTC Conference Room at 800 Kemper Street, and have your voice heard.
ELLEN AGNEW
Lynchburg
