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Public commenter raises transparency and partiality concerns about municipal court appointment
Summary
At public forum a Richmond resident questioned the council’s selection process for a recently appointed municipal court judge, saying a resident judge could create an appearance of partiality and that the agenda lacked the appointee’s name; council leadership said applicants were interviewed in executive session and the process followed statutory rules.
A member of the public used the Richmond Town Council’s public forum to criticize the recent appointment of a municipal court judge, saying the town should avoid appointing a resident as judge because it could create an appearance of partiality in a small community. The commenter identified the appointee in his remarks as "Nicholas Turo" (other surnames appear variably in the spoken record), and urged the council to have selected a nonresident or to have provided clearer advance notice on the posted agenda.
"What happens if one of his neighbors or friends comes before him in court? This leads to the appearance of partiality," the commenter said, adding that he did not question the appointee’s integrity but worried about the optics and potential recusals and costs if a replacement had to be paid.
The council president responded during public forum that the council had interviewed four applicants in executive session under the law that governs character and personal matters; he said the process was publicly noticed and that the council had addressed potential recusals with each applicant. "We did meet in executive session to discuss applicants under the allowed law ... and we had four applicants which we interviewed," the president said.
The exchange did not produce a new vote or reversal at the meeting; councilors noted the town follows executive-session procedures for personnel and appointment matters and invited the public to submit written questions or wait for further procedural detail.
The council did not provide further details about the appointed judge at the meeting. The public commenter also asked how many applicants were interviewed and why the name was not listed on the November 18 agenda; the president said the council had followed executive-session procedures and that the process would continue to the next advertised steps.
