Edgar Maroney withdrew his candidacy for the James City County interim administrator job a day after rumors swirled he had been offered the job without a vote from the county’s supervisors.
Maroney, who spent 21 years as the city manager for Newport News before retiring six years ago, had been in the running for the job to temporarily fill the role of county administrator following Bob Middaugh’s termination in November. Supervisor John McGlennon (Roberts) said Supervisor Mary Jones (Berkeley) called Monday to inform him Maroney had not only been offered the job, but already accepted. He said he believed Jones, Supervisor Michael Hipple (Powhatan) and then Supervisor-elect Kevin Onizuk — who begins his term today — approved the offer.
McGlennon said the appointment was made “outside the law,” believing a vote from the county board of supervisors would be required to name a person to the position. County Attorney Leo Rogers confirmed a vote would be necessary.
In an email to WYDaily, Jones said no interim county administrator had been named. She also acknowledged a vote from the board would have to be conducted for an appointment to be made. Kevin Onizuk said he had no part in extending an offer and that Maroney was only one of several people on his personal list of potential candidates. Hipple did not respond to a request for comment.
Maroney also said an offer had not been extended, denying both McGlennon’s claim and the Virginia Gazette’s report Maroney admitted to the offer.
On Wednesday morning, Maroney sent an email to the James City County Board of Supervisors reiterating he never received a formal offer and withdrawing his candidacy for the position.
“It is sad that something so innocent has been blown out of proportion to the detriment of those who really care. My goal was simple, if I was selected, I would maintain quality public services and assist the Board of Supervisors in finding the best qualified person to be your next County Administrator,” Maroney wrote. “As supervisors, you are fortunate to serve one of the premier counties of our country. I can only recommend that, collectively, you do your very best to find the right person to perpetuate and improve the quality of life for James City County.”
Onizuk said he is hopeful the supervisors and county citizens can move past the confusion of the past few days.
“Those of us who ‘really care’ are trying to do the right thing to move James City County forward and I am confident our citizens will see through the misinformation being disseminated,” Onizuk said, quoting Maroney’s withdrawal email.
On Wednesday evening, McGlennon again pushed for a public discussion on the search process for the county administrator position in an email to WYDaily. He said the process “should have begun in November with a board discussion.”
“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Maroney wound up in the middle of controversy, but he told me directly that he had been offered the job, and Mary Jones told me that the other members of the Board had selected him,” he wrote. “It is hard to know what to believe as stories suddenly change, but there needs to be a full public discussion of the process.”
