Albemarle Supervisor Chris Dumler has finally resigned from his seat, Lisa Provence writes in The Hook. Over seven months after he was arrested on charges of forcible sodomy, and four months after another accuser came forward and he pleaded guilty to sexual battery, he stepped down. In the interim, just about every elected official and party leader called for him to resign, protesters became fixtures at Board of Supervisors meetings, and Dumler grimly continued to declare that he’d serve out his term. (There was an effort to have a court force him out of office, but it failed, because his crime doesn’t qualify as an impeachable offense.)
Somebody will soon be appointed to fill the seat until November, when the people of the Scottsville district can select a new representative in a special election. Dumler’s resignation leaves Republicans with a majority on the board, making it likely that a conservative will be appointed.
Let’s see if I can follow the path of Dumler’s word.
First he claimed that he’d vigorously defend himself against these “false” (his word) charges. Then he plead guilty to sexual battery, saying he couldn’t afford to pay for a decent defense. Then he somehow found the money to pay for a decent defense of his Board seat. Then he said that “Tea Party Elements” were guilty of wasting County money on this effort. Then he resigned, claiming the defense of his seat was a matter of principle, and ignoring the fact that he just wasted plenty of the county’s time and money.
I’m thinking that the only principle that matters to Chris Dumler is his own pride and ego. I’m also thinking that nothing that comes out of his mouth should be accepted at face value. I’m thinking that his credibility in terms of the charges leveled against him is zero. I think that anyone that defended this man or believed in the words that came out of his mouth either had an ulterior motive or were fools.
Yeah, but WHY did he resign now? After refusing to resign back when it would have been the right thing to do? Resigning back then might have left him with some scrap of personal dignity. Why resign after he has won his court case and can keep his seat (even if disgraced)? What prompted this sudden reversal? Now he has no seat, plus the disgrace.