Bristol City Council Member Michael Pollard apologized on Monday in a post to Facebook for “publicly criticizing” and “lying” about employees of the city, including City Manager Randy Eads.
He said he also broke the code of ethics for the council “despite numerous warnings given in closed sessions with the entire Council” and that he shared information shared with him privately.
Pollard was elected to office in November 2022. He did not elaborate on what he lied about, or what caused the apology. The post was made shortly after the 8:15 am Monday closed-door meeting of the city council.
The only item on the agenda concerned discussing, considering or interviewing prospective candidates for employment or appointment of public officers or appointees, or to determine their performance.
Pollard said in his statement that he had sent a Facebook message on Saturday to a citizen about Eads, which “contained many falsehoods regarding Mr. Eads, that I knew were false at the moment I wrote the message.” This was a violation, he added.
Pollard, when contacted by phone on Monday afternoon declined to provide any further comment about the job posting. When asked if he would resign from his council seat, Pollard said no. However, he added that he was in talks with an attorney.
The apology was issued just four days following the annual council reorganization meeting at which the mayor, vice mayor, city manager, city lawyer and city clerk were all appointed. Eads was reappointed as city manager and attorney by a vote of 4-1, with Pollard voting against.
Pollard sent a Virginia Freedom of Information Request that Eads had sent him late on Saturday to a number of members of the media. Eads claimed that he wanted information about Pollard’s voting at the Thursday meeting. The request was for any emails, texts, social media posts, documents, audio or video recordings, or notes that mentioned Eads, or his performance in office, since January 2023 when Pollard assumed office.
In a statement released on Monday, Pollard said that Eads was entitled to request the documents under FOIA.
When you speak with a city official, your communication may be subjected to FOIA. “If I was in his shoes, I’d have likely filed a FOIA to find out what my boss might have said about me which was not true and not based in fact,” Pollard stated in the statement.
According to him, Eads won’t require him to answer the FOIA Request “based on what I have said and admitted today.”
Eads said only that Pollard’s words “speak for themselves” and he looked forward to working alongside Michael Pollard in the future. Eads served as city attorney from January 2017 to July 2018 and as city manager.
The other four council members including Mayor Becky Nave did not immediately respond to phone calls or email requests for comment on Monday.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Pollard is an Advanced Systems Analyst for Universal Fibers. He served previously on the city planning commission. In 2018, his first run for the city council was unsuccessful.
All members of the current council have signed the code of ethics in May 2023. The document states that public officials are held to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct.
The code outlines a procedure to be followed if a member of the council is accused of not meeting standards. The accused member is informed about the complaint, given time to respond and then all council members can meet with the city attorney/manager to discuss and decide the outcome of the case. The code doesn’t specify what happens after that.
According to the city code any council member can be removed, however, only for misconduct or neglect of duty. The grounds for removal must be communicated to the member and a public hearing held. Code states that the council’s decision will be final.
In October 2018, it appeared that the council was going to use this power to remove Councilman Doug Fleenor. However, Fleenor quit just hours before the scheduled hearing. The city claimed Fleenor had asked Kevin Wingard, then Vice Mayor, to buy property during a recorded telephone call. In return, Fleenor was expected to resign and leave Bristol.
Fleenor denied all charges and announced his resignation because he did not expect to get a fair trial.
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