Already facing unrelated charges of election fraud, Liam Watson was reprimanded Tuesday by his fellow members of the Blacksburg Town Council for actions that have 鈥渆roded trust鈥 since he joined the body a year ago.
By a unanimous vote, the council censured Watson for violating its handbook and official procedures.
Those violations include making 鈥渄isparaging remarks鈥 about council members following their vote to recover costs for emergency medical services. Watson鈥檚 misleading comments in a press release and on social media suggested that town residents would be charged, creating public confusion about the issue, according to the written censure.
Watson was also sanctioned for expressing his personal concerns about mail delivery to federal officials as a council member, without input from the other six members.
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And he repeatedly used the official town letterhead and logo to advance his personal initiatives, the censure states.
There was no discussion before the vote was taken 鈥 except for comments from Watson, who said he 鈥渨holeheartedly disagreed鈥 with the resolution but would abstain from voting.
鈥淚t is disappointing that my fellow council members have brought a resolution to censure me for simply doing what I have always done since taking office, and that is passionately representing my constituents,鈥 he said.
鈥淥ur disagreements strengthen our democratic body, while resolutions such as these, on the other hand, weaken it,鈥 he said.
The censure 鈥 a rare step for local governments in the region to take 鈥 does not limit what Watson can do as an elected official answerable to the voters of Blacksburg.
However, the two-page resolution warned that Watson could be removed from his council-appointed positions on several committees and boards, should there be additional violations.
Officials at the Virginia Municipal League said while they were not aware of actual statistics on the number of censures statewide, 鈥渋t happens on occasion and there seems to be a trend that censures are increasing,鈥 a spokesperson for the league said.
In December, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors censured one of its members, Sara Bohn, for regularly failing to attend meetings of the board and other bodies to which she was appointed.
Last August, after Watson was charged with four counts of election fraud, the town council asked him to consider taking a leave of absence while the charges were pending. Watson declined, saying he looked forward to his continued service.
Watson, 25, is accused of falsely stating on election paperwork that he lived in a rental house on Milhurst Street to establish his residency in Blacksburg, which is required by state law to qualify as a candidate.
Evidence presented in pre-trial hearings and court records has shown that he resided at several other addresses, including his parents鈥 home in Montgomery County, in the months leading up to the November 2023 election.
Watson was elected as a write-in candidate, becoming what is believed to be the youngest person on the council.
The Milhurst Street property is owned by a company linked to Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith, who said earlier that she did not know whether or not Watson was living there. She has since declined to elaborate.
A trial date of July 14-15 has been scheduled.
The process that led to Waston鈥檚 censure began in early January, when he received an email from Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin detailing 鈥渁 pattern of behavior over the past year that has raised concerns.鈥
Initially, the notion was to remove Watson from the town advisory committees on which he serves. But after discussing the matter at a work session last week, the council opted to go with an official censure.
The resolution states that Watson 鈥渆roded trust among Council members, mispresented the Council鈥檚 official positions, and created confusion among residents regarding key policy issues.鈥
Watson opposed Blacksburg鈥檚 decision last year to begin a program to recover the costs of emergency medical services, similar to existing policies by Christiansburg and Montgomery County that seek to utilize a patient鈥檚 insurance coverage to offset some of the expenses.
While no one unable to pay would be denied medical care, those who were not residents of Blacksburg and Montgomery County would receive a bill for any amount not covered by their insurance, the town said at the time.
In a news release and on social media, Watson called the decision 鈥渨ildly irresponsible,鈥 and said he had a responsibility 鈥渢o look out for my neighbors who, like me, would struggle to pay an ambulance bill and may decide not to seek life-saving medical attention.鈥
By failing to mention that local residents would not be charged, Watson violated the expectation that council members 鈥渟hould demonstrate honesty and integrity in every action and statement,鈥 the censure action states.
