You might think that a lawsuit on a simple matter such as whether or not the term of a Planning Commissioner in Virginia is, or is not, four years would be a simple matter to determine. After all, the law saws, and I quote, “Subsequent appointments shall be for terms of four years each.” (§15.2-2212)

But, alas, nothing is so simple. In our most recent court appearance, Judge Tyler wanted to know why we, as taxpaying citizens, had the right to appear in his court and bring such an action. Never mind that we had been in his court before and he hadn’t asked the question. Never mind that Tommy Dix, representing the County, hadn’t asked the question. Never mind that, in all previous briefs filed with the court, nobody had asked the question.

So, we filed a brief in December, telling Judge Tyler why we thought we had such a right. Mr. Dix responded by saying that we really did not have the right because we had not been injured or damaged. Last week, we filed the final brief (on this matter, anyway) saying that damage or injury was NOT a requirement in compelling Government to act on behalf of the Citizens to uphold its own laws.

The County has wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars by fighting this lawsuit when it was County Officials who alerted us to the matter in the first place in November 2006. A simple act of correction during the time of the December-January appointments would have made the whole thing go away over a year ago, but, for some unknown reason, the County threw down the glove and basically said “so sue us.” They went on to make appointments while conducting an active discussion about the fact that they all knew terms were to be four years.

Be this as it may, we are resolved to see this through because we believe we are right and we believe we have the right to be governed in accordance with the law. The ball is now back in Judge Tyler’s court and we are awaiting his decision. Stay tuned…

George Parker
Craddockville