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Franklin County board votes to censure Supervisor Dan Quinn over disclosure of closed‑meeting discussion
Summary
The board read and approved a motion censuring Supervisor Dan Quinn for allegedly disclosing closed-meeting interview details on Facebook; the motion cites Va. Code §2.2‑3711(a) and notes the incident followed a closed interview on 09/16/2025. Multiple supervisors voted to censure; the record shows Quinn did not vote 'yes' and the chairman was absent.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 16 read and approved a motion censuring Supervisor Dan Quinn for disclosing matters discussed in a closed meeting and for making statements the board found "disorderly." The motion cites the Virginia Freedom of Information Act exemption Va. Code §2.2-3711(a) and notes the board's authority to punish disorderly conduct under Va. Code §15.2-1400.
The read-in motion says that the board entered a closed meeting under the personnel exemption on Sept. 16, 2025, to interview internal candidates for county administrator and that the interviewees were not aware their identities would be disclosed. The motion alleges Supervisor Quinn posted on Facebook less than 24 hours after the interviews, naming the interviewees and thereby disclosing closed-meeting business.
"Now therefore the Board of Supervisors hereby censures supervisor Dan Quinn for his disclosures of close meeting business and making uninformed statements regarding the conduct of the Board," the read motion states.
The censure motion was seconded and taken to a roll-call vote. The roll-call responses recorded in the meeting show Supervisors Smith, Tatum, Carter, Jamieson and Mitchell answering "yes." Chairman Thompson was absent. Supervisor Quinn spoke during the roll call with remarks indicating he would not "go down this" and an exchange referenced the option to recuse; the record does not show Quinn voting "yes." The presiding officer closed discussion and the board moved on to other business.
The motion therefore passed among members who recorded "yes" votes in the audio record. The meeting record does not include a detailed penalty beyond the formal censure language read into the record.
Next steps: the board took no additional public disciplinary action at this meeting; the motion itself constitutes the formal censure recorded in the minutes.
