Prince Edward County not likely to pull Lynchburg ‘about face’ on Stanley hiring

Former Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley has landed a job in Prince Edward County that is not likely to be withdrawn after a social media onslaught by past critics as his first effort at post-Warren County employment was in the City of Lynchburg.

According to an October 27^th story in “The Farmville Herald”, the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors hired Stanley as County Administrator after a thorough investigation of his professional background, including his involuntary separation from his 20-year position as Warren County Administrator; and subsequent separation from Lynchburg City prior to his scheduled start date as county administrator there due to a past e-mail language controversy believed brought to the Lynchburg board by a past Stanley and Warren County government critic or critics.

Contacted about the report, Stanley confirmed the hire and a start date in mid-November. Stanley also indicated he had fully briefed his new employers on the dynamics of his July 8 separation agreement with Warren County and his aborted employment in Lynchburg.

“I started on November 16^th.  I was up front with the Board about my tenure and exit from Warren. I would say that the Board did their homework and research on their own.”

The writing was on the wall for Doug Stanley, above, at a July 8 Special Meeting called by Board of Supervisors to facilitate an as neutral ‘involuntary separation’ as possible from the county administrator’s perspective. Below, Stanley supporters on staff who were present were warned ‘no cheers or tears (or signs once meeting started)’ or face removal by sheriff’s deputies. Royal Examiner File Photos by Roger Bianchini

Saying he was happy to get back to work after the extended break – his final day here was July 31^st, Stanley added, “I want to thank the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors for selecting me to be the next County Administrator. I am honored that the Board has entrusted me with this responsibility to lead the staff in carrying out the Board’s goals and vision.

“Prince Edward has a rich and culturally diverse history and is a community with tremendous potential. I look forward to working with each of the Board members, staff, the Town of Farmville, Hampden-Sydney College, Longwood University, and other community leaders in the coming years to broaden the local tax base, create employment opportunities, and improve the quality of life for the entire community.”

Following issuance of a press release on Stanley’s hiring, Prince Edward Board Chairman Jerry Townsend told “The Farmville Herald” the October 22 decision to hire Stanley was made after a thorough investigation of his time in Warren County and the allegations regarding his performance there, including during an evolving Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority financial scandal that surfaced in late 2017-early 2018.

“Mr. Stanley was very transparent and discussed with the board, in detail, the charges that had been brought against him and subsequently dismissed. The board has complete confidence that Mr. Stanley had no connection with any of the events that transpired in Warren County,” Townsend told The Farmville Herald.

Stanley, along with County-EDA Attorney Dan Whitten, all the sitting county supervisors and EDA Board of Director members were indicted on “misfeasance” misdemeanor charges by a Special EDA Grand Jury related to the emerging EDA embezzlement investigation. Misfeasance is defined as an unintentional act, in this case a lack of oversight of former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald’s alleged behavior in spearheading a believed misdirection of EDA, Town and County assets.

Those charges brought under the English Common Law basis of Virginia legal codes were later ruled by the court not to be criminal acts by Virginia law and dropped against all the defendants.

It seems Stanley’s track record and 25-year professional history, the past 20 as Warren County administrator outweighed what many staff inside the Warren County Government Center saw as a public scapegoating of the past year or so that appeared to play into a newly elected, post-EDA scandal Warren County Board of Supervisors majority’s decision to seek his termination. It was a termination that appeared unpopular with Stanley’s co-workers inside the WCGC, many including department heads who showed up at the July 8 Special Meeting called to approve his involuntary separation agreement to show their support of the only county administrator most of them, and Warren County, had known this century.

With one of his earliest hires, Planning Director Taryn Logan to his left, Doug Stanley chats with county staff shortly after the July 8 Special Board of Supervisors Meeting to facilitate his removal from his county administrator’s position had adjourned to closed session. Staff, including several department heads, remained silently to observe Stanley’s departure agreed upon after a lengthy closed session.

“The board recognized that Mr. Stanley’s experience and leadership serving for over 20 years as county administrator of Warren County, as well as his accomplishments during that time, made him the standout amidst a field of very qualified candidates. Mr. Stanley has been a public servant his entire career, working in local government for over 25 years. He earned the respect of his employees and the community during his time in Warren County,” Townsend told Farmville Herald reporter Titus Mohler for the October 27^th story.

And now following a recent weekend “Strategic Planning” session the Warren County Board of Supervisors will be considering two December 1 work session agenda goals related to the county administration’s future – “Improve employee morale in order to enable staff stability” and “Need to provide key leaders in order to provide stability and guidance to staff”. Previously such guidance and stability had to a great extent come from the former county administrator, who had been instrumental in the hiring process of the bulk of county department heads over the past 20 years.

In fact, Board Chairman Walt Mabe’s statement on Stanley’s departure in the July 8 press release following approval of the “Involuntary Separation Agreement” didn’t sound all that different from Prince Edward County Board Chair Jerry Townsend’s in welcoming Stanley aboard:

“We appreciate Mr. Stanley’s service to the Warren County community over the past 25 years. He has many wonderful accomplishments that have helped make Warren County a great place to live, work, and visit. We wish him the best as he continues with the next step in his career,” Mabe said on July 8.

After a three-and-a-half month “vacation” it appears that next step has begun.