Public commenter demands answers on county insurance used in campaign lawsuit
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Summary
A Rockingham County public speaker asked commissioners to disclose whether county insurance has been used to defend elected officials in defamation suits arising from campaign speech, calling for records about the claim, who authorized it, and amounts paid or reserved.
Jim Fink, a county resident, used the public-comment period on Feb. 3 to demand that Rockingham County officials explain apparent use of county insurance to defend some commissioners in litigation tied to the 2024 primary. Fink said he obtained a Travelers Insurance letter that references a claim and file number connected to a defamation lawsuit and asked why a county policy would be invoked for conduct he described as campaign-related and personal.
Fink asked the board to disclose who submitted the claim to Travelers, the legal basis for coverage, whether Travelers communicated with the law firm Dowling PLLC on the matter and how much county funds have been paid or reserved for the defense. He said he would submit the questions as a public-records request and asked for a formal accounting through the county manager's office.
Commissioner Clyde Burger responded during the meeting, saying that the insurance company had determined the matter involved professional or official conduct and noting a judge—s order had dismissed aspects of the underlying suit; he encouraged constituents to read the order. No formal action or vote followed from the public comment itself.
The county manager and other officials did not resolve Fink—s specific records requests on the spot. Fink said he had legal counsel observing the meeting and reiterated that taxpayers deserve an accounting if public insurance was used for personal-capacity campaign disputes.
The board did not announce an immediate plan to produce the documents Fink requested. Members present were asked to refer further questions to the county manager's office for a response and to process any formal public-records requests.