Editor, Gazette-Journal:

For those of us that recall Teresa Altemus’s behavior when she was previously a member of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors (“BOS”), it is hard to understand how she could be running again.

Memories are short, but they cannot be that short. Anyone who lived in Gloucester in 2008 should remember Ms. Altemus as Chairman of the BOS and the terrible decisions that were made under her leadership.

First, there was the late night firing of the County Administrator, William Whitley, and of the County Attorney, Daniel Stuck, effective immediately, both honorable gentlemen, who had served the county well. The firing occurred at the end of the January 2, 2008 organizational meeting of the BOS, Ms. Altemus’s first meeting as Chairman. The Sheriff was directed to seize computers located in Mr. Whitley’s office and in Mr. Stuck’s office. Each man was allowed one hour the following morning to remove his personal items from his office.

On July 8, 2008 a special grand jury indicted Ms. Altemus and three other members of the BOS on charges of “transacting public business without authority in secret and in a manner contrary to law,” “engaging in unlawful warrantless searches and seizures,” and “engaging in computer trespass.” A special prosecutor that was appointed to prosecute the criminal indictments ultimately decided not to prosecute, and all charges against Ms. Altemus and the three other supervisors were dismissed. Then, after Ms. Altemus had lost her bid for re-election in the fall of 2009, she and the three other supervisors voted to have Gloucester County pay over $300,000.00 of attorney’s fees they had incurred as a result of the indictments.

In the November 2009 election Ms. Altemus received only 18% of the vote. Her opponent received a whopping 82% of the vote. That tells you what the citizens thought of Ms. Altemus by the fall of 2009. She has not done anything since then to redeem herself.

In 2015 Ms. Altemus sought to run again for a seat on the BOS. The Republican party wisely chose to nominate Mr. Chris Hutson, instead. It is hard to understand, in the year 2021, why the Republican party would now choose to have Ms. Altemus as its candidate for an at-large seat. Her opponent is Kevin Smith, who has given many hours of his time in the service of Gloucester County. He served three terms on the Gloucester County School Board. He has served on the BOS with honor and dignity.

One should recall the acrimony and the toxic atmosphere that existed in the BOS meetings when Ms. Altemus was a member of the board. There was no respectful disagreement or debate. Business was conducted in an adversarial manner, making it harder for all concerned to do their jobs. As Winston Churchill famously said: “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Let’s hope that the citizens of Gloucester have learned from history.

Breckenridge Ingles
Gloucester, Va.