Councilman Parker Agelasto to Resign November 30th

Last summer councilman Parker Agelasto bought a house that wasn’t in the 5th District. He and his family moved into the new house. When this news was revealed (he made no effort to hide it) several folks took offense. Former Councilman Chuck Richardson and activist Sa’ad El-Amin filed a total of four lawsuits arguing that Agelasto couldn’t represent the 5th District without living in the district.

You can read Parker’s full statement here but he contends that he was making no effort to deceive and operated under advice from the City Attorney.

Before purchasing our new house, I consulted with City Attorney Allen Jackson last summer on the legality of acquiring a second home but maintaining my domicile on Floyd Ave. The now seemingly dubious advice I was given at that time was that my move to accommodate my family would not impact my ability to serve through the end of my term because I had already decided not to seek re-election. While residence is an objective determination, and many people have multiple residences, domicile is subjective and one’s domiciliary intent can only be affiliated with one location. My domiciliary intent is and has always been associated with my home on Floyd Avenue in the 5th District and I have never abandoned that intent. My decision to acquire another residence was made in good faith, based on the legal advice I received in advance, with zero intent to flout the law. I have at all times been honest and forthright in my intentions. Sadly, the law is ambiguous and the advice given by the City Attorney is now being challenged in court.

What happens next? Well, Agelasto makes a point of covering that in his letter as well.

According to the City’s Voter Registrar, my decision will now set in motion a series of deadlines that will require City Council to call for a special election. In an effort to mitigate the budgetary impact and avoid the appointment of a non-elected representative of the 5th District, I strongly urge City Council to petition the Richmond Circuit Court to schedule the special election for my seat so that it coincides with the statewide general election on November 5, 2019. Not only will this avoid the excessive costs and redundancies associated with holding an additional election, it will allow for interested candidates to file paperwork prior to the deadlines determined by the Registrar and state code and announced in the coming months. It will also ensure an orderly transition.