7/24/2019 Letter From Coucilman Meeks

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From: Danny W. Meeks, 4065 Estates Lane, Portsmouth, Virginia 23703

To: The Honorable Kenneth Wright; The Honorable Paige Cherry; The Honorable Curtis Edmonds;

and The Honorable Mark Whitaker

Dear Mayor Wright and my fellow councilmembers:

Your letter of February 23, 2016, indicates you have voted to fine me $1500 for breaching Council Rules

of Order and Procedure Section XXIII. Your letter states I made public communication of information

relayed during a closed session of the City Council that was not otherwise publicly known.

You have failed to identify in your letter when and how I made such a communication or to identify the

alleged confidential information. Without these particulars, you have made it difficult for me, or

anyone, to fairly respond. However, based upon the timing of your letter, I believe it is based upon a

story in the Virginian-Pilot (VP) regarding the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA). The article

was published Monday, February 12, 2016.

I assure you the information shared by me with a reporter for the VP was provided to me outside closed

session of our council, and was previously known to me. Further, I did not share with the reporter our

deliberations in closed session. I do not agree to the fine. Further, if you choose to proceed with

requiring me to present a defense, I request you provide the specific information you allege I made

public which was not otherwise publicly known.

I cannot be required to defend myself against your claims without knowing the specifics. Your letter

does not set forth sufficient notice to support a fine. Therefore, I submit this letter without prejudice

since I have not been properly informed of the nature of the information. However, as a councilman, I

want to resolve the matter without delay or further distraction from our business. That is why I am

responding so quickly.

Based upon this letter alone, I ask you to withdraw the action you have taken. I have not violated

Section XXIII of the Council Rules of Order and Procedure.

Finally, there have been recent assertions the fine and/or the process recently used against Councilman

Moody was not legal. I have hired legal counsel to look into this question. By asserting my defense by

letter to you, I do not waive my right to challenge the legality of the fine or the process itself.

Respectfully,

Councilman Danny W. Meeks

Cc: City Attorney

The Honorable William Moody

The Honorable Elizabeth Psimas