Richmond’s elections office to stop hiring family after HR probe found officials broke city rules

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Richmond’s top election administrator says the city’s elections office will stop hiring and awarding contracts to family members after an investigation found he and another key official broke nepotism and ethics policies .

In a release Wednesday , Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer addressed the findings of the city’s human resources investigation into him and his deputy, Jerry Richardson, that found they violated city policies on employing relatives and ethics rules and recommended “an immediate departmental restructuring.”

Balmer said the HR investigation brought “several concerns” over nepotism and ethics policies to light and shared he was taking steps to address issues concerning a lack of a transparent and fair recruitment process.

“Moving forward, we will implement more rigorous hiring practices to ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all employees,” Balmer wrote . “The practice of hiring family members will be discontinued.”

The statement from Balmer, which did not address Richardson, comes as the city’s inspector general looks into claims of improper spending and nepotism by Balmer and Richardson.

Both confirmed family ties within the office, according to the HR investigation’s summary obtained by 8News, including the hiring of Balmer’s brother as an elections specialist and Richardson’s grandson as an elections technician.

Balmer also admitted that he had contracted his wife to do disability training for the office and that she was paid $2,300. When asked about the decision to hire her Balmer said, “he felt his wife was the best person for the job,” per the investigation’s summary.

But Balmer said Wednesday that a widely circulated document tied to the investigation that detailed family connections within Richmond’s elections office “led to the false belief” that he immediately started hiring relatives after being appointed.

The practice of hiring family members at the office, Balmer said, “goes back at least 20 years” and was normalized for him since he first worked there more than a decade ago.

“I noticed it immediately after I was initially hired in 2011 . Working alongside staff who are related was normalized for me, and I never thought anything of it,” Balmer said.

In his Wednesday statement, Balmer touched on awarding a contract to his wife for a training program to help poll workers assist voters with disabilities.

Balmer claimed that a city code provision gives him an exemption to the competitive bid process “for any goods or services that pertain to the conduct of an election” which led him to award the contract to his wife. Richmond’s city attorney did not immediately respond to a request to confirm Balmer’s assertion.

“She did a professional job, and the training has been well-received. However, due to its controversial nature, I will not award any future contracts to my wife, or any other family member for that matter.”

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