Welcome to The Maysville Voice, the newsletter for those who reside and vote in the Maysville District in Buckingham County. I am pleased to bring you much information, links, and resources to inform and engage with you as your County Supervisor.
Update on Lawsuit Involving Electoral Board and Voter Registration Office
On this past Friday at 9 AM, acting in my role as a private citizen, NOT in my role as a County Supervisor, I appeared alongside my legal counsel before a Circuit Court Judge regarding my suit against the Electoral Board and Interim Registrar pertaining to two Open Government/Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that were sent to the Electoral Board and previous Registrar (who was fired last Tuesday).
This lawsuit has put the Electoral Board on notice that this community is fed up with meetings of one person without a quorum where the former Registrar was hired and where the sole member of the Electoral Board made themselves the Chairman, past questionable hiring practices, former staff treating the public with utter disrespect, the office not swiftly certifying candidates for office, and the Electoral Board struggling to govern for all the people of our county. All of the preceding examples are signs of bad governance, and it is my hope that my lawsuit will change that for the better. Another example bad governance is what happened most recently: allowing a citizen to sign up another citizen — who was not in attendance at the Electoral Board meeting and happens to be the leader of this radical faction — to speak before the Board. This is against their Public Comment Policy, which has changed at least three times since January.
My ultimate hope is that the Electoral Board and their staff will work diligently to regain the trust of the public, notably the poll workers they need to help oversee fair and open elections in Buckingham County—which we have had for many, many years. Do not let these fairy tale claims of fraudulent elections, which have been peddled by the former Interim Registrar and Chairman of the Republican Party, go unchecked.
The two FOIA requests were for documents that should exist and should be easy to fulfill. The first request was for meeting minutes, meeting notices, and other clerical documents that pertain to meetings, emails, correspondence, etc. The second requested information pertaining to, what the Chairman of the local Republican Party was widely distributing, that a questionable outside group stated that 21 percent of all mail-in ballots in the November 2022 election came from voters who reside outside of Buckingham County. Though an independent investigation found that this was more “fake news” that this small faction has been peddling for months, I sought to actually examine the documents that could debunk this fraudulent claim.
Though an extension was granted to the ex-Registrar, my requests went ignored and decried and were not met, and I was threatened with a “convenience fee” charge of $200, which is illegal, and the total bill for the requests totaled more than $700—again, while not providing the requested documents which should exist.
This was the reason behind my lawsuit to seek those documents since the Registrar’s Office was unable to fulfill my requests. In tandem, with the termination of the former Interim Registrar, a new, experienced, and “apolitical” Interim Registrar has been named, and parties to the lawsuit have agreed that before our next court date, which is 10 AM on June 6, the new Interim Registrar would work to fulfill the requests. I welcome this as good news and believe the new Interim Registrar is working in good faith.
During the Friday Emergency Electoral Board meeting, the Board agreed that the position of the permanent Registrar will be advertised on a wide platform, including The Farmville Herald, the County Website, a statewide Electoral Board website and on a platform which is visible to all Registrars and Assistant Registrars across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Here are some links to the news coverage this issue that a small faction started last winter:
Endorsing Supervisor Gilliam for Election
Since he has been in office, District Two Supervisor Cameron D. Gilliam, who I am proud to call a friend, has stood up for public education—which is near and dear to me—both in recognition and in funding. He also has supported public safety, public infrastructure (serving with me on the Water and Sewer Committee), investing in youth recreational opportunities, our rescue squads, fire departments, and supporting small businesses. He’s also on the Anti-Litter Task Force, which I am proud to serve on. Having owned and operated a small business, he understands and can read a ledger, and, most importantly, understands the local government budget process and how to fund core services for our constituents and how to negotiate in business and budgetary affairs. Supervisor Gilliam, who I have been proud to work with on many projects, and I have not always seen eye to eye on issues, but we have been able to agree to disagree — and not be disagreeable, which is needed now more than ever in halls of government. Representing District Two, he now represents parts of the Old Maysville District, thanks to redistricting, including the Route 60 East corridor, Rosney and Red Roads, Camden Street, and many other areas. For those of you who live in these areas and in his district, I am asking that you put the same trust into Supervisor Gilliam as I have. He has my full endorsement and my support as we slowly approach this November Election.
Spring 2023 Litter Clean Up Celebration Held Saturday
During Historic Buckingham Inc.’s annual Mayfest celebration, the Anti-Littler Task Force held its Spring Clean Up Celebration, honoring the top three groups who picked up litter along Buckingham’s roadways. During this campaign, we saw 268 bags of litter picked up off our roadways, only eight bags shy of the Fall 2022 campaign. To date, the campaigns, since Spring of 2021 when this effort was restarted, have seen more than 1,220 bags of litter picked up, all thanks to our wonderful volunteers!
Congratulations to St. Thomas Aquinas as the first place winner with 25 brothers picking up 110 bags of trash and many tires! Their efforts helped to beautify parts of Route 20, Ranson Road, and St. Andrews, Howardsville, Glenmore and Goughtown Roads. Second place goes to Buckingham County Democratic Committee. Eight people on this team picked up 38 bags of trash along sections of Howardsville, Logan, and Mountain View roads. Third place goes to Fork Union Baptist Church where 14 members picked up 34 bags of trash along Dixie Hill Road.
Shawn Miller, Buckingham Branch Rail Road, Team 602, The Buckingham Lions Club (of which I am a member), Cindy Cooke, Liz Jones, Kent and Mary Bauman, Boxley Corporation, and Mulberry Grove Baptist Church also participated, including District Two Supervisor Gilliam. Many thanks and congratulations to all on helping beautify Buckingham County!
Other Updates:
- I had the honor of introducing the 2023 Miss Buckingham Court, along with the 2023 and inaugural Virginia Miss Agritourisim, Jenna Oliver, during the Mayfest Celebration on Saturday. It was a pleasure to meeting them, I am proud of these young people and young adults who bring great pride to our county!
- I continue to actively monitor the work being performed by BrightSpeed/CenturyLink along the Route 60 Corridor and I continue to seek specific information as to this work which has led to several questions by my constituents, buy myself as well. I will keep you updated on this matter.
- I continue to receive VDOT road issues from my constituents. Please do not hesitate to call, email, or text me if you see an issue with a road in the Maysville District. As of this writing, today, VDOT has been very responsive to our request for repairs and service.
- The Economic Development Committee continues to meet regularly. We held a meeting on last Wednesday, where we discussed more options for potential uses of the Industrial Park Property, how to better market the property, and uses of the property that would be congruent to the wishes and needs of the community. The Board of Supervisors has tasked this committee, which I proudly Co-Chair alongside Supervisor Don Matthews, to seek out ways of marketing the property for business, industrial, and other uses.
Contact Me!
Should you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or opinions about this newsletter, county government, services, opportunities, etc., please never hesitate to contact me. You can reach me at 434-390-7023 via text or phone, email me at jmiles@buckinghamcounty.virginia.gov, or write me at PO Box 188, Buckingham, Virginia 23921.
Jordan
Thomas Jordan Miles III
Member, Buckingham County Board of Supervisors
District Four Supervisor (Maysville)
434-390-7023
13170 West James Anderson Highway
PO Box 188
Buckingham, Virginia 23921
Maysville District Supervisor Thomas Jordan Miles III 