Va. speaker calls for ethics investigation of Republican delegate
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
August 25, 2009
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The speaker of Virginia's House on Monday called for an ethics investigation into whether Del. Phil Hamilton broke the law by seeking a job at an Old Dominion University teaching center before helping secure state funds for the center's creation.
Hamilton, a powerful Newport News Republican who often acts as the voice of his caucus on budgetary matters, severed his ties with the university after e-mails pointing to the apparent conflict of interest surfaced last week in Hampton Roads newspapers.
The five-member ethics panel would probe whether Hamilton's conduct was "legal and in keeping with expected standards of conduct for lawmakers," said House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford.
"Virginia has a reputation for good government, and I want to keep it that way," Howell said.
E-mails obtained by the (Newport News) Daily Press and the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot through the Freedom of Information Act show the Republican delegate negotiating with university officials for a $40,000-a-year consultant job at the school's Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership. Months after, he helped secure $500,000 in state funds for the new center.
Hamilton sits on the House Appropriations Committee and is one of a handful of House budget conferees responsible for hammering out the state's two-year spending plan with Virginia Senate.
The three Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general called for Hamilton to step down as delegate.
"His conduct deserves far more than simple disappointment," said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds. "It deserves our outrage. We cannot turn the other check on this type of behavior."
Hamilton told The Examiner on Monday he had no plans to resign and said the Democratic candidates "were all trying to grab headlines at my expense."
"I've accepted responsibility for my involvement in this situation, and while there was nothing intentional, I've accepted responsibility for that," Hamilton said. "It is interesting that the people that seem to be clamoring the loudest are those who are way behind in their own elections."
