Charlottesville is set to once again have a city attorney after a little more than a year of the office sitting empty — a vacancy that has been shrouded in mystery.
Jacob Stroman, the former city attorney was placed on leave in April of last year after an undisclosed complaint was lodged against him. Although an investigation into the matter cleared him of wrongdoing, Stroman nevertheless decided to retire in September.
Since Stroman was placed on leave, Richmond-based law firm Sands Anderson has served as the city’s legal counsel.
That is set to change with the arrival of John Maddux.
The city announced Wednesday that Maddux had been named managing director of the city attorney’s office.
Maddux comes to Charlottesville from Asheville, North Carolina, where he served as deputy city attorney.
As an interstate transplant, Maddux is required to apply for admission to the Virginia State Bar and be sworn in by the Virginia Supreme Court before he can be officially named city attorney. The city said Maddux’s application to the bar has been approved and he awaits his swearing-in.
The city has lauded Maddux for the broad range of legal experience in both the public and private sectors that he brings to the role. Maddux started working for Asheville City Hall in 2014. Before that, he worked for two years at the New York City law firm of Menaker & Herrmann, which specializes in antitrust, bankruptcy and commercial litigation cases. And before that, he worked in the city attorney’s office in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he focused on environmental law.
“While in Asheville, Maddux provided counsel on a wide array of municipal legal issues, including employment law, land use and zoning, policing, and complex intergovernmental matters,” Charlottesville said in a statement announcing his hiring. “He was part of the legal team that led the City’s response to numerous high-profile crises, including a major police misconduct incident, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, and Hurricane Helene.”
Additionally, Maddux played a key role modernizing Asheville’s personnel systems, Charlottesville said.
“He led reforms to the City’s Civil Service rules to promote fair and merit-based employment practices and was known for his collaborative approach with colleagues across departments,” according to Maddux’s new employer.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in music performance and music industry studies from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, as a well as a juris doctor from Campbell University and a master’s degree in law from New York University.
His wife, Rita, is a special education teacher. They have been married for 19 years. The couple has three children together Asa, Simone and Cal.
Maddux emphasized his dedication to collaboration in his own statement.
“The best legal work in local government happens through strong partnerships with council, staff, and the community,” he said. “I’m looking forward to bringing that approach to Charlottesville.”
Maddux will have to hit the ground running. His predecessor’s departure came at an inopportune time for the city of Charlottesville, now embroiled in a lawsuit filed by homeowners who oppose last year’s rezoning of the city, which was designed to densify the urban core and prime Charlottesville for much-needed housing development. The plaintiffs say the city did not follow the proper procedure to pursue such an “upzoning.”
As for Stroman, no one with the city has been willing to speak publicly on his mysterious exit.
Stroman came to Charlottesville in July of 2023 after he was forced to resign from his position as the city attorney in Chesapeake.
It is unclear what exactly prompted that departure, though multiple rationales have been floated.
Earlier reporting on the matter highlighted a stern warning Stroman issued Chesapeake city councilors in November of 2022 after he determined that the city had wrongfully denied a public records request. Multiple City Hall sources told the Virginian-Pilot at the time that Stroman’s legal interpretations were frustrating Mayor Rick West, and it was decided Stroman would be fired.
Stroman resigned the following January. Chesapeake was later sued and forced to hand over the public records requested.
That wasn’t the only time during his tenure in Chesapeake that Stroman’s relationship with the council there was strained.
The Virginian-Pilot reported that while he was still employed in Chesapeake, Stroman was tasked with assisting the mayor’s step-brother with a personal legal matter. The brother needed help getting a septic tank permit in Georgia, and Stroman agreed to assist, emails from August of 2022 show.
While the latter incident did not break any Chesapeake laws, it was flagged by ethics experts.
Charlottesville city councilors have described the Stroman affair as a “personnel matter,” declining to provide any additional details to the press and holding all discussions regarding the former city attorney in closed-door meetings.
Likewise, Charlottesville officials have refused to provide any information regarding Ryan Franklin, an assistant city attorney who was placed on leave at the same time as Stroman and was fired before the investigation into Stroman concluded.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com