The new Republican majority on the Lynchburg Board of Elections has told Councilwoman Christine Gibbons it will not seek re-hiring and plans to vote on a successor Thursday.
The board’s only Democrat said it was a political move and accused Republicans of breaking the law by questioning Gibbons about his mental health.
Letter sent to registrant Christine Gibbions informing her that she would not be reappointed. Courtesy of Gibbons.
Registrar Christine Gibbons confirmed that board secretary Betty Gibbs notified her by letter on May 30 that her contract would not be renewed after June 30, 2023.
According to Code of Virginia 24.2-110, recorders hold office for a term of four years “and every fourth year thereafter and continue in office until a successor is appointed and qualified.”
However, the interpretation of the code has been debated by the board, leading some to question why Gibbons was not rehired.
By law, Virginia’s election boards are made up of three members, two from the governor’s party and one from the party that finished second, meaning that under Glenn Youngkin’s governorship, all state election boards now they have 2-1 Republican majorities.
Former chairwoman Carolyn Sherayko, a Democrat who resigned in March to protest the board’s decision to hire a new registrar, said the law has a “loophole” where it doesn’t specifically address reappointment of a registrar at the end of the mandate.
Sherayko said it appeared to be a “coordinated attack” against Gibbons, who has been the registrar since 2018. Although a registrar’s term ends at the end of June, it is common for the registrar general’s contract to be renewed if his reviews annual have been positive. .
“None of this was done in private,” Gibbons said. “Everything was done in public. Everything I learned that most of the board did was completely in public, with no conversations with me beforehand.
According to Gibbons, her first review was six months after she was hired in 2018 and then annually. The last review was in July 2022, and all of his reviews were positive, according to Board of Elections Chairman David Neumeyer, the Democrat who replaced Sherayko.
“I was not at all in favor of this hiring process,” Neumeyer said. “In his four years, [Gibbons] he’s only gotten positive reviews, and if my fellow Republicans have concerns about how he’s doing his job, the way to respond is to renew his position in June…and go through the evaluation process that Virginia Code requires in the elections meeting to do every July”.
Annual reviews must be completed by August 1st.
Gibbons and three other candidates were interviewed for the position, Neumeyer said. He said the board did not meet earlier to discuss a list of questions for the applicants. When asked by Republican board member Steve “Doc” Troxel if he had prepared a list of questions, Troxel said he had not and had individual questions for each candidate based on their resumes and applications.
Troxel confirmed that he did not prepare questions and said he wanted the interviews to be “conversational.”
Gibbons called his job interview with the board “anything but a normal interview.” He noted that he was asked about his communication style, but he was also asked questions about a 2020 incident in which a sign was placed on his front lawn that said “Christine Gibbons belongs in prison. Shut down -the.”
The sign that appeared in Christine Gibbons’ yard in October 2020. Courtesy of Gibbons.
Back view of the sign. Courtesy of Gibbons.
He reported the signal to the police. Although no charges were filed, Gibbons said he believes the sign was retaliation in response to a complaint by the Lynchburg Republican City Committee that the registrar’s office had processed and scanned ballots absent without a Republican representative present in October 2020. (Under Virginia law, absentee ballots can be scanned before Election Day, but the machines cannot produce vote totals.) Gibbons went state that 244 ballots were scanned that day.
A judge dismissed the suit, ruling that Gibbons had not willfully violated the law.
On the day of the incident, Gibbons said he received an email at 6 a.m. from the Republican representative saying he had an emergency and couldn’t be there for the count. Gibbons said a Republican representative was present the rest of the days.
“In hindsight, I should have gone back and re-read the law,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons was not asked about the incident in his May interview, but was asked about the sign, which he had discussed at an October 2020 meeting where he addressed general concerns about officer safety elections across the country citing the sign that was placed at his private residence. .
“[Troxel said] “You filed this record and he said, ‘You were seeking counseling for PTSD. Are you still in counseling?'” Gibbons said. “Then he asked me if I could do this job for the next four years.”
Neumeyer confirmed that Troxel asked if Gibbons had sought counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the sign incident and said he objected to the question. Gibbons said she also objected and did not answer the question.
“This is not a question you ask yourself in a job interview,” Gibbons told Cardinal News.
Asked by the cardinal if he knew that employers are prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act from asking questions about physical and mental illness, including treatment, Troxel said no. “I stopped that line and went straight to a question about PTSD.”
When asked by the Cardinal if he knew that PTSD is considered a disability and cannot be asked about in a job interview unless accommodations are requested, Troxel said it was never clear to him whether Gibbons had been officially diagnosed with PTSD or if he was “just pretending”. a comment.”
“Basically, I was concerned about Christine as a person,” Troxel said. “The way I was asking, they told me it wasn’t the right way to do it.”
Troxel was also asked how he rephrased the question. He said he “didn’t want to risk saying something over the phone that I don’t particularly remember.”
He also said he couldn’t remember if he asked any of the other candidates a specific question about their mental health because “none of them said anything to that effect.”
“Again, I was concerned for her after she said that and I wanted to follow through on that concern,” he said.
While Troxel and Neumeyer declined to name the chosen applicant ahead of Thursday’s vote, Neumeyer said the person chosen had no prior experience in an elected office or position and that one of the applicant’s references he was the husband of the chairwoman of the Lynchburg Republican Party.
“I think these are partisan reasons for wanting to replace Christine,” Neumeyer said.
Troxel said he believes what the board is doing is in full compliance with the law.
“Our intention is to nominate the best candidate to be the registry for the next four years,” he said. “The vast majority of people just want to come and vote. We will do this with the best equipment available to ensure that everyone who is supposed to vote can vote. This is one vote per citizen. We will do everything we can to advance the registrar’s office and the election process in the state of Virginia.”
Cardinal News also reached out to Betty Gibbs, the other Republican board member, for comment, but did not hear back.
The Electoral Board meets on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in the town hall, Carrer de l’Esglesia, 900.
