Dumfries, Va. –– An elected official was absent from the Dumfries Town Council meeting Tuesday.
Council Lady Kristin Forrester was out of town on business, but confirmed she would no longer attend closed sessions during scheduled council meetings.
Recent reports indicate the council lady is fed up with behaviors that happen behind closed doors, some of which were alluded to during Tuesday’s meeting by Councilman Tom Foreman.
“Where does anyone…on this council get the right to question someone’s education? Where does anyone on this council get the privilege to make fun of, or question someone’s accent? The berating, yelling, and playing of sarcastic air violins has no place in public or in closed sessions,” said Foreman.
He went onto say the closed meetings often drift off topic, are filled with unnecessary gossip about town employees, and that there has been closed-door discussion about impeaching Forrester, or severely limiting her abilities on the council for choosing not to attend closed session meetings –– where the town’s legal matters are often discussed.
Mayor Fred. E. Yohe pointed out it’s illegal for him to discuss what’s said in closed session, but also adds it’s the first time he’s heard of impeaching Forrester.
“What we talk about there is consistent with what we say we are going to talk about, I would vote lets go to the record because when we’re there we always vote on what we said we are going to,” said Yohe.
One of Forrester’s former supporters, and current Dumfries Council Lady Dorthea Barr, says if Forrester doesn’t want to attend closed sessions perhaps she should consider another line of work.
“It’s rare that two people are going to think exactly alike, but these things that are being discussed will affect the town for the next 30 years. Maybe she shouldn’t have run in the first place,” said Barr.
While it’s not imperative that Forrester attend closed session meetings, Barr says the council is made of up seven people so that any tie vote an easily be broken.
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