Five of the six Rich Creek Town Council members have resigned, including the mayor appointed earlier this year.
Mayor Anne Chambers said she resigned Aug. 18 because “the work of public service has been consistently undermined by those more focused on personal power than public good.”
“Instead of collaboration and support, we’ve faced obstruction and relentless efforts to unseat or discredit those trying to serve with integrity,” her resignation letter read.
The other four town council members who resigned were Dorsey Bradley, Mark Clemons, Darlene French and Stuart Helm.
The shakeup in the leadership of the Giles County town leaves just one council member, Bill Kantsios, who did not respond to requests for comment. Town attorney Jason Buckland has petitioned the Giles County Circuit Court to appoint temporary replacements until elections can be held.
Bradley’s and Clemons’ town council seats and the mayor’s seat were up for election in November. Giles County Registrar Tyler Perkins said all three have officially withdrawn from their respective races, leaving no candidate for mayor and Christopher Wickline and Mikhail Mann for the council seats. Perkins said that it is too late to add candidates to the ballot and that those who withdrew will not be included.
The resignations are the latest in a string of turnovers in the town of 700 or so residents in Giles County, which has had a history of competitive elections. Chambers was appointed earlier this year to finish Mayor Roger Jones’ term after he resigned last year due to health issues. Bradley was appointed June 5 to finish the term of town council member Joyce Crawford, whose four-year term was set to end in November. Town Manager Richard Cox resigned July 3 and has not been replaced.
Crawford echoed Chambers’ complaints and said that she suffered “major disrespect” from members of a local family who had a “personal agenda” to gain power in town governance.
“I took an oath to support the town,” Crawford said. “I did not take an oath to be cussed to, be made fun of, to be screamed at.”
French has been either a town council member or mayor in Rich Creek on and off for more than 20 years. Her current term would have ended in December 2027. She said that the working environment lately has been “horrible” and that “I never had this grief.”
“I ran for council because I love my town and I want to have a say so in it, but it felt like we weren’t moving forward with anything,” French said.
Helm, who also served as vice mayor, said that he was retiring to spend time with his wife. His term would have ended in December 2027. Bradley, Clemons, Cox and Kantsios did not respond to requests for comment.
Mark Flynn, a consultant for the Virginia Municipal League and an attorney, said he has fielded many calls across the state when personal conflicts interfere with local politics.
“Those have always been there,” he said. “You develop a sixth sense for when one council member was calling me to help him beat up on another council member.”
Though the league’s clients are member municipalities and not individual council members, Flynn said hiring local government experts to orient newly elected officials can help foster cooperation and conflict resolution.
“The [best] habit is spending time together and talking about issues,” he said.
Rich Creek has suffered three floods this summer because of backed-up storm drains that the Virginia Department of Transportation maintains. The mayor had reached out to the state to resolve, but it’s unclear how the resignations will affect progress on the issue.
Crawford said she worries about routine town maintenance since the council no longer has a quorum to vote to advertise jobs. Several residents that Cardinal News spoke to said they were not aware of the recent resignations.
Recent town council meetings have included conflict over members claiming to be misquoted in meeting minutes and an accusation that the mayor violated open meeting laws, according to reports in the Virginian Leader. Chambers denied violating open meeting laws, which require notice of three or more town council members discussing town business.
Buckland, the town attorney, requested that the circuit court schedule a special election for November 2026 for two of the town council seats. Buckland said anyone who wants to fill any of the vacancies until the special election can submit a letter of interest to the Giles County Circuit Court clerk’s office.
See who’s on the ballot in Giles County and where they stand on the Giles County page in our Voter Guide.