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county for its roads. Askew—not the Rappahannock Supervisors—has the final say on what road gets improved and when. Over years of watching the board at the annual hearings, we’ve yet to see them change one word of any resolution proposed by the resident engineer. On matters pertaining to the Highway Department, the Supervisors are rubberstampers—not decision makers.
We acknowledge that the board is occasionally asked for a resolution to discontinue maintenance on a road in the county system. This happens possibly once every two or three years. Add everything together and we come up with maybe two votes a year by the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors on highway matters. If there was an actual conflict, Atkins could abstain from taking part in these decisions. His non-participation wouldn’t, in all likelihood, change the outcome. We can t remember a single vote on an issue relating to highways that hasn’t been unanimous.
On top of everything else, Atkins isn t the resident engineer, assistant engineer or maintenance supervisor for Rappahannock. He doesn’t even work in this county. How,can his candidacy for supervisor here affect his credibility on the job in Prince William?
Charles Eldred, a recent appointee to the Rappahannock School Board, is also an employee of the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation. The School Board is currently involved in a settlement with the Highway Department arising from school property condemned for the widening of Route 211 outside Washington. No cash settlement has yet been agreed to so Eldred will apparently be involved in negotiations with his employer. If there’s no conflict in Eldred’s case—and we don’t think there is—why is there conflict with Atkins? By ordering Atkins to withdraw as supervisor candidate or lose his job, the Highway Department is tilting with windmills, battling shadows instead of conflict of interest threats.
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