A candidate in the Ward 3 election for the Fredericksburg City Council is calling on her opponent to drop out of the race.
In a statement emailed to media outlets on Tuesday night, Susanna Finn charged that Matt Kelly “has turned this race into a partisan contest for his own advantage.”
Finn’s statement marks the latest escalation of a saga in which endorsements from Fredericksburg’s local party committees have jeopardized not only her candidacy, but that of Ward 1 candidate Ken Gantt and Tamara Stuart, who is running for commissioner of the revenue. All three are federal employees bound by the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits certain political activities, including participation in partisan elections.
Last month, the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee (FDC) voted on a series of endorsements during a heated meeting at the downtown branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
A few days after the vote, Fredericksburg Republican Committee Chairman Scott Vezina informed his Democratic counterpart, Ken Lecky, of an advisory legal opinion from the Office of Special Counsel that defines partisan elections as any in which any candidate receives an endorsement from a political party. The FDC ultimately rescinded two of its endorsements, which had gone to Finn and Stuart.
“Forcing candidates off the ballot isn’t good for either of us,” Vezina wrote in a text message to Lecky that was shared with the Free Press. “I love our city too much for that.”
In an interview, Vezina said that his party “has gotten a lot of pressure this year from local Fredericksburg folks just saying, ‘Hey, you know, the Dems are doing it [endorsing candidates] and, you know, we, you should do it too.’ And I’m like, that’s not what we’re about. So we’re, we’re not planning on doing any of that.”
That changed on Monday, however, when the Republican committee announced that it had reversed its stance and endorsed four candidates, including Kelly.
In a statement posted to the Fredericksburg GOP Chair Facebook account, Vezina wrote: “When one party abandons a fair playing field, the other must adapt to ensure the voices of all citizens — especially those who do not align with the Democratic Party line — are heard and respected.”
The endorsement thrusts Finn into a similar situation to Gantt, whose status in Ward 1 has been threatened by the FDC’s endorsement of Matt Rowe, who is not a federal employee. The Republican committee’s other endorsements went to Travis Bird for commonwealth’s attorney, Keith Rodgers for sheriff and Sarah Stelmok for the Ward 3 school board seat.
In her statement, Finn claimed that Kelly lobbied for the endorsement twice in recent days: in an Aug. 7 radio interview with B101.5’s Ted Schubel, and later, in a post for Inform Fredericksburg, a group that focuses on transparency in city government.
Kelly, wrote Finn, “explicitly stated that his goal was to disqualify me from the ballot. He knew that an endorsement would force my withdrawal and guarantee his election. Just days later, the Republican Committee announced its endorsement of Mr. Kelly.
“This was not politics as usual. It was a deliberate act designed to sabotage the democratic process in Ward 3, forcing me into an impossible choice: either forfeit my family-supporting career or withdraw my candidacy and commitment to serve. This action strips voters of a fair election and leaves only one candidate — Mr. Kelly — on the ballot.”
Kelly vehemently denied that accusation, noting that he wasn’t involved in the Republican committee’s decision to endorse, didn’t attend its meeting and only learned that he’d received an endorsement when he was presented a courtesy copy of the Fredericksburg GOP committee statement.
“I have done everything I can to avoid getting dragged into this little issue with the endorsements,” Kelly told the Free Press. “I have not posted anything or said anything, beyond the one interview [with Schubel].”
In the radio interview, Kelly called members of the current city council who participated in the FDC’s endorsement process “a group of hypocrites who are disenfranchising an individual [Gantt] from participating in public office.”
The Inform Fredericksburg Facebook post referenced by Finn calls upon the local Republican committee “to play hardball,” endorsing in the Ward 3 race and also for commissioner of the revenue.
“That, of course, would force Finn and Stuart to either resign from their races or resign from their jobs,” the post reads.
Kelly said that the post was written by Rick Pullen, who also appeared with Kelly during the radio interview. No byline is included, but the post features an “editor’s note” acknowledging that “Matt Kelly, a contributor to Inform Fredericksburg, is a candidate in the Ward 3 City Council race.”
And he intends to remain one.
“We’re at a tipping point in the city about what we’re going to be in the future,” Kelly said. “That seems to be the real crux of this election, so, no, I’m not dropping out.”
