State AG says Hopewell does not have power to enact employees-on-council restriction

HOPEWELL – A recent move by Hopewell City Council to restrict city employees from elected office is invalid because there is no evidence, explicit or implicit, giving the city the right to do so, state Attorney General Jason Miyares said Monday.

In a letter to Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield whose House district includes Hopewell, Miyares opined that council’s April 9 vote violates the Dillon Rule, which states that local governments only have powers granted to them by the General Assembly. Virginia is one of 39 states adhering to that rule.

“I find no act of the General Assembly that establishes directly restrictions like those you present,” Miyares wrote in the letter. “I also find neither a statute that generally grants localities authority to adopt such rules nor a provision of the Hopewell City Charter that expressly or impliedly authorizes the Hopewell City Council to adopt them.”

In that April 9 meeting, councilors voted 6-1 to require that municipal employees who run for and win seats on City Council must resign their positions before taking office. Opponents saw that vote as incumbents trying to influence who their future opponents or successors could be.

The issue is of special interest to Hopewell’s Ward 4, where firefighter Ronnie Ellis is running against Halimah Shepherd-Crawford to succeed Vice Mayor Jasmine Gore, who is stepping down after three terms. Gore was one of the councilors who voted in favor of the resolution, which would take effect Jan. 1 and apply to everyone running for seats in wards 4, 5 and 6 in November.

Miyares admitted that charters for other Virginia localities do allow similar restrictions, “the Hopewell City Charter is silent on such issues.” Unless there is pending legislation to amend Hopewell’s charter, “I must conclude that the Hopewell City Council lacks authority to adopt the provisions you describe, and they are ‘ultra vires,’” he wrote.

“Ultra vires” is a Latin phrase describing action taken without legal authority to do so.

“Accordingly, it is my opinion that the city of Hopewell lacks the authority to adopt the specific ordinance provisions presented, Miyares wrote. “The authority to enact such measures, or to authorize the Hopewell City Council to do so, lies with the General Assembly.”

City Council’s next meeting is scheduled for July 23, at which time it could act on Miyares’ opinion.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.