(UPDATED) Appomattox Town Council censures member at Monday's meeting

UPDATE: March 15, 11 a.m.

Appomattox Town Council is holding a special meeting on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. at the Appomattox Municipal Building, 210 Linden Street, to discuss the March 11 censure of council member Nathan Simpson. According to the announcement, the purpose of the meeting will include mayor's comment, public comment, discussion of the censure, a resolution to appeal and issue a formal apology for censuring Simpson, and council comment.

The meeting was requested by council members Nathan Simpson and Jane Allen in accordance with VA Section Code 15.2-1418.

After returning from a closed session during the March 11 meeting, council voted to censure Simpson.

Town Manager Terry McGhee, who does not vote on council matters, explained that it was not a roll call vote, and that members voiced "yay" or "nay" collectively when requested by the mayor. There were no "nay" votes for the censure, thereby making it unanimous.

McGhee also clarified to the Times Virginian that a censure is "a formal disapproval of an individual's conduct by a governing body. This particular one includes a forfeiture of one month of pay."

Council members Claudia Puckette and Mary Lou Spiggle made the first and second motions, respectively, to vote for the censure, claiming that Simpson had approached them in an angry manner in the Appomattox Municipal Building parking lot following a prior meeting.

“Me and Mary Lou went out together and we were accosted," Puckette said. "This is unacceptable behavior and I don’t care who you are or where you are. People should not have this level of anger and hatred for their fellow people.”

“I was there and I was — I’m not gonna call myself a victim — I was frightened, I was scared, I didn’t know what to expect," Spiggle said. "Claudia and I walked out, we were on the ramp. Granted, we were up on top, but Nathan spotted us and came at us with his fists balled up, running towards the steps. And I looked at the door and I thought to myself, ‘I need to go back inside ‘cause I’m scared,’ and I didn’t know what to expect.”

“One of the most hurtful things he said to us, ‘The two of you are not fit to serve the citizens of this town.’ Based on what?," Spiggle added.

Spiggle told fellow council members that Simpson was angry because his wife had not been selected to serve on the town's Economic Development Authority (EDA) at the Feb. 12 Town Council meeting. Simpson and Spiggle had engaged in a disagreement at that meeting over the topic, with Simpson claiming Spiggle had not voiced a prior objection to him about his wife being a potential candidate but then told his wife during the meeting that her appointment may be perceived by the public as a potential conflict of interest.

"Since that time I've had time to think about it, that's all," Spiggle replied when questioned by Simpson during the EDA appointments discussion.

At the March 11 meeting, Allen stated that she had witnessed the parking lot incident but wasn't sure what occurred beforehand to spark the conflict. She then explained that she heard a statement indicating that Simpson's wife was first approached in the parking lot prior to the incident, which upset Simpson.

“What I heard Nathan say in the parking lot was like, you had approached his wife after the meeting," Allen said. "So, it’s not like Nathan goes home, decides to turn around and yell. There was a motivation for this to happen.”

Puckette responded to Allen's comment, saying, "Fearing that Nathan’s wife felt bad, I stepped over to her and I told her not to take it personally. It wasn’t meant to be personal, it looks like nepotism and that’s not a good thing. That’s all I said, hopefully to make her feel better. I wasn’t trying to antagonize her or hurt her in any way. If she took it that way, I don’t know, because I certainly didn’t mean it that way."

Simpson was not present at the March 11 meeting but other Town Council members and Mayor Richard Conner agreed that all members need to act with professionalism.

"Do I think he needs to be reprimanded? I think this is a lesson we all need to learn, to keep our personal opinions outside of the meetings — if it’s not necessary, let’s not say it,” Allen said.

"We must act professionally in all our endeavors to run the business of the town to serve our citizens in a professional manner and with a good degree of decorum," Conner said.

“I think it’s absolutely incumbent that we have to hold ourself to a higher standard," said council member James Boyce, Sr. "I mean, the town voted us in to take care of this business, and when we let these little distractions get in here and we let them grow, we don’t take care of the business of taking care of business. This is undoubtedly a harsh step to take but I think the precedent needs to be made to send the message this council is gonna operate professionally, giving respect to one another, caring for one another, and whatever goes outside of that bounds, we’ve got to stop it — whatever way we need to do it, we’ve got to stop it.”

Appomattox Town Council meetings may be viewed on YouTube at the Town Appomattox channel www.youtube.com/@TownAppomattox.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: March 12, 1:40 p.m.

At Monday night's meeting of the Appomattox Town Council, council member Nathan Simpson was censured for what council described in its resolution as "disorderly behavior and misconduct." The disciplinary measure is pursuant to Section 15.2-1400(D) of the Code of Virginia.

The resolution goes on to state that while performing his duties as Councilman, Simpson "has bullied, yelled, and in a threatening and intimidating manner, harassed other members of the Town Council" and has "lacked decorum and decency while engaging fellow members of the Council."

Appomattox Town Council has imposed the censure of admonishment for the aforementioned behaviors in accordance with Virginia law, which in Section 15.2-1400(D) states, "A governing body may punish or fine a member of the governing body for disorderly behavior."

The resolution calls for a fine that equates to one month of pay for a member of Town Council with a due date of April 30.

Simpson has been placed on notice, according to the resolution, and is advised to change his course of behavior or face further potential reprimands.

The Times Virginian has reached out to Simpson for comment, which is forthcoming. The Times Virginian has also reached out to a staff member at the Appomattox Town Office for more details and is awaiting a reply.

Find out more in the upcoming March 20 issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Pick up a copy or subscribe at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to view the full article in the e-edition version.