A member of the Blacksburg Town Council accused of election fraud continues to face tension with his council colleagues.
The most recent issue 鈥 a recommendation to remove Liam Watson from the town advisory committees on which he serves 鈥 is unrelated to criminal charges that he listed a false Blacksburg address on election paperwork to establish residency as a candidate for his current position.
Liam Watson during a Blacksburg Town Council meeting in 2024.
In a Jan. 9 email to Watson, Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin detailed what he called 鈥渁 pattern of behavior over the past year that has raised concerns.鈥
The email cites Watson鈥檚 use of town letterhead on correspondence to advance personal initiatives that were not discussed or acted on by the full council. On another occasion, Sutphin wrote, Watson 鈥渄isparaged your colleagues鈥 with a news release and social media posts about his opposition to a council vote to join an EMS cost recovery program, falsely implying that some residents would be forced to pay for ambulance services.
People are also reading…
鈥淭here have been recurring concerns about your approach to council business, which at times appear to prioritize individual initiatives and media attention over shared council goals,鈥 the email states.
鈥淭his dynamic has made it harder for council members to work together and focus on the issues at hand,鈥 Sutphin wrote.
A recommendation not to reappoint Watson to the committees on which he currently serves, made by Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith and Sutphin, will likely be discussed at a Feb. 4 town council work session.
Watson said Wednesday that he disagrees with the recommendation.
鈥淏ut I will continue to serve the people of Blacksburg with the same energy and steadfastness as I have since I was elected as a Councilman,鈥 he wrote in an email. He declined further comment.
In August, the council asked Watson to consider taking a leave of absence while his election fraud charges are pending in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Watson responded that he would not step aside, saying he looked forward to his continued service.
Watson, 25, was elected to council as a write-in candidate in 2023. After several citizens raised questions about the address he listed on paperwork required by state and local election officials, a state police investigation was authorized by the attorney general.
In July, a grand jury indicted Watson on charges that he made false statements on election documents when he listed 502 Milhurst Street as his home. 鈥淥ur evidence is he never set foot in that place,鈥 Chief Deputy Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Patrick Jensen said during a December hearing.
The rental property is owned by a company linked to Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith.
An anonymous complaint that was passed on the attorney general alleges that Watson conspired with Hager-Smith 鈥渢o create a false address to enable Mr. Watson to claim residence in the Town of Blacksburg for the purpose of running for Town Council,鈥 court records state.
Hager-Smith was not charged. She has told The 色多多: 鈥淒id I know that he lived at the property? I can鈥檛 say I did.鈥
Attorneys for Watson have filed motions asking a judge to dismiss the charges or suppress evidence for a variety of reasons, including the argument that state police began an investigation before getting the required approval from the attorney general. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 3.
The criminal charges were not mentioned by Sutphin in his Jan. 9 email to Watson, which was written after the councilman inquired about the reasons why council was considering stripping him of his committee assignments.
Watson currently serves on the following town committees: the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board, the Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Committee, the Montgomery-Blacksburg-Christiansburg Development Corp. and the New River Valley Development Corp.
As one example, Sutphin mentioned a letter to the U.S. Postal Service, on the town鈥檚 letterhead and copied to local members of Congress, in which Watson expressed his concerns about delays in mail delivery to his constituents.
鈥淲hile the issue is important, this was not the council鈥檚 collective stance, and it disregarded our established guidelines for correspondence,鈥 Sutphin wrote.
鈥淒espite a discussion during a work session earlier in 2024 regarding appropriate use of town branding,鈥 the email continued, 鈥測ou continue to use town letterhead (or an approximation of it) for personal initiatives undertaken without council approval or input.鈥
