Martinsville City Council member Aaron Rawls said he will release details about the firing of former Martinsville City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides and a related investigation by city attorneys as early as next month.
In a Thursday afternoon press conference, Rawls said recent media coverage, including Cardinal News’ publication of an almost entirely redacted report about the investigation, has contributed to rumors and confusion.
“I had innumerable phone calls from folks asking about various things going on in the city,” Rawls said at the press conference. “‘When are we going to get answers? Can you give us an interview? Can you respond to these allegations?’”
He said he plans to release investigation details sometime in late January or early February. In August, a split council declined to make the report public, citing attorney-client privilege. While Rawls voted to release it, he has declined Cardinal News’ requests to provide a less-redacted version of the report, which was prepared by the law firm Sands Anderson, acting as the city’s attorney.
Rawls said in a phone call Thursday evening with Cardinal News that he plans to release much of the information contained within the report, but not the report itself.
“These are statements by employees, written records by employees, stuff like that,” Rawls said, explaining why he won’t release the full report. “The reason the report is such a tricky subject is they wove legal advice and analysis throughout it, deliberately, to protect the contents of the report, which is a smart thing for … an attorney to do for their client. I don’t feel like it’s appropriate for a public government. It should all be public but I understand why they did what they did.”
Rawls said he is timing the release to an investigation by special prosecutor Wes Nance. Nance is the commonwealth’s attorney for Bedford County and was appointed to the special prosecutor role at the suggestion of Martinsville’s commonwealth’s attorney, Andy Hall. Virginia State Police are helping with the investigation, Nance has said.
Rawls said that the January-February timeline is based on when he believes there will be developments in the special prosecutor’s investigation. He said that the timeline gives officials ample time to move forward with possible charges or indictments.
“If there aren’t charges or indictments, I’m just going to go ahead anyway,” Rawls said, later adding, “I’m ready to move, I’m tired of this.”
A forensic audit of the city’s finances and spending is also underway. Rawls said at the press conference that the audit has not been completed.
Rawls is the plaintiff in a civil rights suit against Ferrell-Benavides stemming from a March incident in which a deputy removed Rawls from a public meeting.
Ferrell-Benavides’ legal counsel has expressed their intent to pursue legal action against the city over the city manager’s firing; among the allegations is a claim that her termination was retaliation for an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing Ferrell-Benavides made in July.
The city council has not publicly disclosed its reasons for firing Ferrell-Benavides.
“I think that’s absolutely fair that she was terminated. We had a job to do,” Rawls said during the press conference Thursday. “I think it’s unfair that the public has not been aware.”
Rawls said he is confident that information from Sands Anderson’s report and the investigation by Nance will give residents a broader and more accurate scope of what’s happening in the city.
He said the reports and investigations won’t simply go away if given enough time.
Keeping things quiet was how the city traditionally handled things, he said.
“Look, I get that,” Rawls said. “I understand that line of thinking that if we just keep it calm … we won’t mess up the things that are coming down the road. Here’s the problem: Things fester and grow and become worse than ever.
“I don’t want to look back at my legacy and see that I was in a spot where I could have done something and sat by like … a coward.”
