Madam Mayor presided over the Bristol City Council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, where the council reappointed the presiding mayor, appointed Megan Irwin as city clerk, selected Randall Leeds as city manager and approved a slate of board and commission appointments following a closed session on personnel matters.

The vote to adopt the meeting agenda was unanimous. Council member Anthony Farnham moved to appoint Megan Irwin as city clerk; the roll call recorded Farnham, Council member Jake Holmes, Council member Neil Osborne, Council member Michael Pollard and Council member Becky Nave voting yes.

Later the council voted to reelect the presiding mayor by nomination and to renominate Jake Holmes as vice mayor; both motions passed on roll-call votes with all members recorded as voting in favor.

The council appointed Randall Leeds as city manager on a roll-call vote in which four members voted yes and one voted no; Council member Michael Pollard cast the lone recorded no vote. The council also voted to appoint Randell Yates as city attorney; roll-call results recorded a majority in favor and one recorded no vote.

Before approving a list of board and commission appointments, the council convened a closed session pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) of the Code of Virginia (1950, as amended) for discussion of prospective candidates for appointment and other personnel matters. After the closed session, City Manager Leeds read the proposed board assignments and the council voted to approve them.

The board and commission appointments approved by the council included (as read into the record): Becky Nave to represent the city on the Chamber of Commerce and on the local Finance Committee; Anthony Farnham to the Planning Commission and Transportation Safety Commission; Jake Holmes to the Finance Committee, New River Mount Rogers Workforce Development Area Consortium Board and Highlands Community Services; Neil Osborne to the District 3 Government Cooperation seat, Explore Bristol and the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority; Michael Pollard to the Bristol Public Library and the Train Station Foundation; and other assignments to bodies including the BBU Board, Rhythm & Roots, Birthplace of Country Music, Mount Rogers Planning District, People Incorporated, Appalachian Juvenile Commission and the Bristol, Tennessee Metropolitan Planning Organization. The council indicated it will do additional research before filling one Highlands Community Policy & Management Team seat.

Votes at a glance

- Adopt agenda: Passed, roll-call unanimous (Farnham: yes; Holmes: yes; Osborne: yes; Pollard: yes; Nave: yes).
- Appoint Megan Irwin as city clerk: Passed, roll-call unanimous (Farnham: yes; Holmes: yes; Osborne: yes; Pollard: yes; Nave: yes).
- Reelect presiding mayor (nominated by council): Passed, roll-call unanimous (individual names recorded by roll call as yes).
- Nominate Jake Holmes as vice mayor: Passed, roll-call unanimous.
- Appoint Randall Leeds as city manager: Passed, roll-call 4–1 (Farnham: yes; Holmes: yes; Osborne: yes; Pollard: no; Nave: yes).
- Appoint Randell Yates as city attorney: Passed by roll call; at least three members recorded yes and at least one recorded no (detailed roll-call entries in the official minutes).
- Enter closed session under Va. Code §2.2-3711(A)(1): Passed, roll-call unanimous.
- Approve board and commission appointments as read by the city manager: Passed, roll-call unanimous.

Why it matters

These votes establish the city’s leadership and staffing for the coming year and assign council representation on local and regional boards that influence planning, workforce development, library governance and intergovernmental cooperation in the Mount Rogers/Southwest Virginia region. The city manager and city attorney appointments are administrative decisions that determine who will oversee daily operations and provide legal counsel to the city government.

What the council said and did

Council members used roll-call votes for each formal action. The meeting record shows one recorded dissent on the appointment of the city manager (Pollard voting no); other motions passed with unanimous or clear majority support. The closed-session motion invoked Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) of the Virginia Code, the statutory exemption permitting closed deliberations on prospective candidates for appointment and other personnel matters.

The council adjourned following passage of the appointments.

Sources and limitations

This account is based on the council’s Jan. 2, 2025 meeting transcript and roll-call entries read into the record. Some roll-call notations were spoken rapidly and reconstructed from the transcript; where full roll-call detail was unclear in the transcript, the article notes the outcome and directs readers to the official minutes for the verbatim roll-call record.