Opinion
Letter to the Editor: Protest Board of Supervisors’ attempts to silence Egger
All law-abiding citizens of Front Royal are strongly encouraged to attend a public hearing in the County Government Building, 220 N. Commerce Ave. across the street from the post office, on Tuesday, January 22nd at 7 p.m. — and protest the disgraceful actions of three members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors to silence Mark Egger a courageous member of our community.
The three board members — Tony Carter, Dan Murray, and Linda Glavis — are shamefully trying to force a change to Warren County Code 56-3 that has been on the books since 1975 — a total of 44 years. The current law allows a private citizen to appear before the Board Supervisors and talk at length on an item of public interest that two members of the board consider important enough to be heard.
The change to Code 56-3 that Carter, Murray, and Glavis want to implement would:
Eliminate the ability of two supervisors — a minority on the board — to demand a citizen of Front Royal be allowed to speak at length on a subject that the two members deem important.
Limit a speaker to no more than three minutes at any one meeting.
Limit the number of meetings at which a speaker can talk on the same subject to no more than three in a twelve-month period.
The reason Carter, Murray, and Glavis are pushing this change is that Mark Egger had the audacity and courage to stand before the Board of Supervisors at meetings in February, May, and November 2018 and talk for a total of about 37 minutes in detail about the hanky-panky — dirty-trick shenanigans — of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) board appointed by the Warren County Board of Supervisors.
Carter, Murray, and Glavis did not like what Mark said.
In his testimony, Mark presented clear and convincing evidence that:
- The EDA board awarded thirty acres of EDA property to a shell company.
- Two fake crimes appeared to have been committed.
- The EDA board held closed meetings under questionable premises — and the Warren County Board of Supervisors did nothing.
- The EDA board told the Front Royal Police Department to stop investigating a crime — and the Warren County Board of Supervisors did nothing.
- Members of the EDA board refused to answer legitimate questions from the Warren County Board of Supervisors that appointed them — and the Board of Supervisors did nothing.
- $140,000 of taxpayers’ money is now being spent to investigate clear financial irregularities of the EDA board — money that could have been saved if the Board of Supervisors had taken prompt action a year ago when Mark brought evidence of irregularities to their attention.
- The entire EDA board should be fired and a new one appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
The citizens of Front Royal must not allow Code 56-3 to be changed. The law must remain on the books exactly as written.
If Carter, Murray, and Glavis do pass this change by a 3-2 vote, they must be told at Tuesday’s public hearing — in no uncertain terms — that a rising groundswell of opposition to the corruption of the EDA board will spare no effort to vote them out of office at the first opportunity — and Change 56-3 back to what it was!
Pass the word to family and friends to come to the public hearing and sign up to speak on Mark’s behalf. Get there early to sign up. Speakers talk in the order in which they sign up. Each speaker will be given three minutes to talk.
There are four public hearings on the 22nd. Make sure you sign up for the correct one.
Let’s pack the meeting room at the County Government Building at 7 p.m. on the 22nd with Mark Egger supporters!
P.S. For those of you who want to see and hear Mark speak before the Board of Supervisors in February, May, and November 2018, here are videos of all three appearances:
John Lundberg is a citizen of Warren County.
