This situation is not a new one for the Suffolk City Council and Administration. The culture of this organization is even worse than described in the Virginian-Pilot Editorial and comments I have read on the various BLOGS.

Our present Mayor, Linda Johnson was appointed by her fellow council members in 2006 after a contentious election that changed the make-up of council. She made a clear statement during the appointment ceremony that she was “a woman on a mission” and “would demand that the business of Suffolk be OPEN AND TRANSPARENT!” Since Mayor Johnson has taken over, it has been anything by OPEN and TRANSPARENT!

The Suffolk City Council meets in CLOSED SESSION more often than any other city council and for more time. An example of how bad it has gotten is how the Mayor and Council handled our recent decision on the new Health and Human Services Building. This issue had been talked about for some time, then went quiet. Unbeknown to the populace of Suffolk the Mayor and City Council was meeting in five closed session to decide to build the new HHS building just down form some property owned by the Mayors family members and another councilman. After these five closed meeting and without public comment the HHS building was announced to be put into a property owned by the city near a large residential neighborhood.

Needless to say there was a huge uproar, not only about where it was, but how it was decided. This public outcry lead to the Mayor and Council backing up and putting it into a stalled development area where more people could accept it. This episode is only one of many examples of how secretive and closed the Suffolk Administration has become under our Mayor, new City Manager and all the new senior staffers. Keep watching us in Suffolk, you are undoubtedly going to see a real show…

Roger A. Leonard, MPAgeneric propecia

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website