Daily Press

A six-month petition drive to have Sheriff Press Williams removed from office for sexually assaulting an employee ended with a flourish a few minutes before noon Friday.

Surrounded by a phalanx of reporters and cameramen, and following a press conference held outside, Mary Sinclair and Montgoussaint Jons strolled into the York County courthouse and handed Circuit Court Clerk Nancy Kane a thick sheath of papers containing more than 1,700 signatures.

"If Mr. Williams can't make the decision to remove himself from office, we're asking the court to make that decision for him," Sinclair said. "And if the court makes that decision for him and he decides to appeal, we are asking the court to suspend him pending appeal."

Williams' term expires Dec. 31, and he has announced he won't run again. Some people might feel the issue is about to take care of itself. But not soon enough, Sinclair feels.

"Why should we allow him to remain in office? He shouldn't serve one more day," she said. "What kind of message does that send to our youth? That if you are a person in power, you can manipulate it and stay in office?"

Williams could not be reached Friday for comment.

Sinclair, a former member of the county Board of Supervisors, and Jons, a former member of the county Planning Commission who is now running for a supervisor's seat, started the petition drive in December, after Williams was convicted of sexually assaulting an employee on several occasions while she was at work.

He appealed, but dropped the appeal and pleaded guilty to reduced charges of assault and battery - although he continued to maintain his innocence.

The petition drive was a grass-roots effort that involved the time and energy of more than a hundred people, Sinclair said. For every group of 10 signatures, she said, someone had to sign that he or she had witnessed each one; then the sheet of names had to be notarized.

For the past couple of weeks, the registrars in York and Poquoson have been checking all the petitions, making sure there were no duplicated names and verifying that everyone who signed is a registered voter, Sinclair said.

The petitions turned into court were accompanied by letters from the two registrars verifying 1,746 valid signatures, 17 more than needed, Sinclair said.

"Government isn't a spectator sport," she said. "If citizens don't get involved, they get what they allow to happen to them. So we're stepping forward to say we won't allow this to happen in York County."

Williams' removal from office is by no means a sure thing. But citizens have done all they can, and now the issue goes to a judge to decide.

Williams wasn't automatically required to give up his office because he was convicted of misdemeanors, not felonies. However, the law does spell out a process for removing an elected official.

The first step involves presenting a petition to the court with signatures from the number of registered voters equal to 10 percent of all those who cast ballots in the last election for the office.

Williams will be served with notice of the action, and a hearing is supposed to be held within 10 days. The law says it should "take precedence over all other cases on the docket" in scheduling. However, the hearing can be postponed to a later date if a judge feels there is "good cause."

A Chesterfield County assistant commonwealth's attorney has been appointed to represent the petitioners. Williams also is entitled to be represented by a lawyer.

Kane said her office will contact the Virginia Supreme Court to get a substitute judge because the local judges have recused themselves to avoid any appearance of conflict or bias.

A judge can remove Williams for "neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence." He must also find that the failure has had "a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office."


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