Simpson Chosen as P.E. Board Chairman

Supervisors Vote to Rotate Chairmanship on Seniority

By Crystal Vandegrift, Staff Writer

FARMVILLE – Following multiple motions, substitute motions and close to 40 minutes of discussion among the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night, member Howard Simpson was chosen as chairman for another term with Robert Jones now serving as Vice Chairman.

The position of Vice Chairman was previously held by Pattie Cooper-Jones.

Before Simpson and Jones were chosen, supervisor Bob Timmons made a motion to amend the bylaws with the purpose of  limiting the position of chairman  to a one-year term and to “eliminate any disunity the board has currently or in the future.”

In a 6-2 vote, the board agreed to rotate the position of chairman and vice chairman on a yearly basis based on seniority. Supervisors Pattie Cooper-Jones and Jim Wilck opposed the motion.

Two years ago in a 4-4 vote members resorted to a coin toss to choose between Simpson and Cooper-Jones for the chairmanship. Simpson won and had served as chairman since that time.

By amending the by-laws and rotating chairmanships by seniority, the coin toss method of choosing a chairman will be avoided. However, the amendment puts Simpson back in the lead chair for yet another year because he is the most senior member.

Supervisor Pattie Cooper-Jones did not agree with the fact that Simpson would remain as chairman. “I think Mr. Simpson has just had two years. I don’t see why he should be in the chair again,” said Cooper-Jones. “If we’re going by district numbers, I would suggest that we go to Bobby Jones and Mr. Simpson move to the bottom of the list. And he’s been on the board longer than anybody else, but he just came off of two years, and I think it’s only fair that someone else gets to serve as the chair, and I have no problem making a motion to that effect.”

Cooper-Jones went on to point out that she was the only certified supervisor on the board. “And I think that says that I made some kind of commitment to be on this board of supervisors, and I don’t think that it’s fair and being overlooked and that we’re just going to use seniority and district numbers … which means that Howard Simpson is going to be it regardless.”