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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,710 posts)
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 02:28 PM Jun 2014

Dismissed: Recall effort against Delgaudio tossed out

Last edited Wed Jun 25, 2014, 12:29 PM - Edit history (10)

Dismissed: Recall effort against Delgaudio tossed out

Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2014 by Trevor Baratko

Shortly after noon Tuesday, retired Judge Paul Sheridan dismissed the recall petition against beleaguered Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), potentially silencing more than a year's worth of outcry that Delgaudio abused public assets and misused public funds.

In so doing, Sheridan accepted the recommendation from Democratic Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Theo Stamos, who was prosecuting the case on behalf of the commonwealth. Stamos, who was tapped to handle the matter following the recusal of Loudoun's commonwealth's attorney, reasoned Tuesday in a Leesburg courtroom there was not substantial evidence to take the recall effort to trial.

The petitioners, known in court filings as the Citizens of Sterling, alleged Delgaudio used public employees and Loudoun tax dollars for political fundraising. Moreover, the Citizens of Sterling group claimed the supervisor's inflammatory rhetoric and fervent anti-gay views have caused dysfunction within Loudoun County government.
....

A hard-line social conservative, Delgaudio has been embroiled in controversy for nearly two years. Last year, he was the subject of a Stamos-led special grand jury investigation into allegations he misused public assets, including using county resources to raise funds for his nonprofit organization, Public Advocate of the United States, a conservative organization that consistently speaks out against the LGBT community and has been labeled an "anti-gay hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The claims were first reported in a Washington Post story.


Breaking: Judge Dismisses Recall Case Against Supervisor Delgaudio

Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 12:37 pm | Updated: 1:54 pm, Tue Jun 24, 2014.

The effort to remove Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R) from the Sterling District seat he has held since 1999 died in Loudoun Circuit Court Tuesday.

Judge Paul Sheridan granted the motion by Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos to dismiss the recall case initiated by Sterling District voters. Stamos concluded that there was a lack of clear and convincing evidence—to prove Delgaulido had misused his public office and county resources as outlined in seven allegations contained in the petition signed by 686 district voters.

While Delgaudio’s attorney Charles King agreed with Stamos’ findings, attorney John Flannery, representing the petitioners, urged Sheridan to allow the case to move forward to trial.

The action effectively ends two years of controversy spurred by allegations made by a fired member of Delgaudio’s county-funded constituent office staff charging he used taxpayer resources to support campaign financings, intermingled county resources with the conservative lobby nonprofit he leads, the Public Advocate of the United States, and was discriminatory in hiring. The allegations gave rise to a special grand jury investigation, which ended without criminal charges in June 2013. Also Delgaudio was formally censured by the all-Republican Board of Supervisors, an action that included the loss of staff aides in January.




Case Dismissed

Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Stering), left, and his attorney Charles King meet with reporters following the June 24 Circuit Court ruling dismissing the recall petition filed against him.

Recall case against Loudoun supervisor Eugene Delgaudio is dismissed

Virginia Politics

By Caitlin Gibson June 25 at 12:10 PM

A drawn-out legal controversy surrounding Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio came to an end in Loudoun County Circuit Court Tuesday, when a recall petition case that aimed to remove the embattled supervisor from office was dismissed.

At a pre-trial hearing, retired Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Paul Sheridan agreed with a motion filed by Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos, who said that the case should be dismissed because it lacked the “clear and convincing evidence” needed to justify proceeding to trial.

The petition against Delgaudio (R-Sterling), which was signed by 686 voters in his district and filed in January, makes numerous allegations against the four-term supervisor — including “neglect of duty,” “misuse of office” and a lack of distinction between the work of his public office and his nonprofit organization, Public Advocate of the United States, which frequently draws media attention for its campaigns against gay rights.

The petition’s allegations stem from evidence that surfaced during a criminal investigation of Delgaudio, launched after one of his former staff aides, Donna Mateer, complained that the supervisor used his public office for his political benefit.


Heeeere's Eugene: video from Fox 5 in DC

More about that here: Delgaudio Celebrates Recall Dismissal, {Says} He Won't Hire Pro-Gay Public Workers

And: exclusive mahatmakanejeeves-cam coverage of the event:

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