Another half dozen Republican elected officials in Chesapeake have come forward to say they don’t support a City Council candidate accused of mistreating two elderly relatives and taking from them property and cash worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The latest group of elected officials to say they’re concerned about the allegations against Republican candidate Amanda Newins includes City Treasurer Barbara Carraway, and school board members Samuel Boone Jr., Thomas Mercer Sr., Harry Murphy, Louis Tayon Jr., and Michael Woods.
Murphy is chairman of the nine-member board and Mercer is its vice chair.
The group also said it was disappointed by Newins’ response to a statement issued Friday by six other top elected officials in which they announced they were withdrawing support for her amid the allegations. That group included Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan, Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Hamel, Clerk of the Circuit Court Alan Krasnoff, and City Council members Stephen Best, Don Carey, and Robert Ike.
“We have been following the events surrounding the lawsuit and criminal investigation involving Amanda Newins, a Republican-endorsed candidate for Chesapeake’s City Council,” a statement issued Sunday by the second group of officials said.
“We are disappointed by the responses from Ms. Newins and our local party chairman, which represent a small minority of Chesapeake’s current Republican elected officials. We cannot be silent during their coordinated response attacking respected office holders and longtime members of the party, without even acknowledging victims of elder abuse.”
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Newins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
“We understand that Ms. Newins will have her chance to defend herself through the legal system, which we believe is the best avenue for her to tell her story instead of through the campaign trail and counterattacks in the media,” the statement issued by the second group said. “Effective immediately, we are withdrawing our support for and endorsement of Ms. Newins, and we stand together with Steve Best, Don Carey, Matt Hamel, Robert Ike, Alan Krasnoff, and Jim O’Sullivan.”
Newins, 30, a lawyer and vice president of the Chesapeake Bar Association, is among 13 candidates running for one of five open seats on the City Council.
She was sued last week by a great aunt who claims Newins mistreated her and her late husband, and stole property and cash from them. The claim seeks $540,000 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
A Chesapeake police spokesman confirmed last week the department received a complaint about the allegations and was investigating them.
Newins and her attorney issued responses on Friday to the lawsuit and the first statement. They called the lawsuit a baseless claim filed by an estranged relative. And they said the six officials who first announced they were withdrawing support for Newins had never been on her side and had instead been working to help a non-Republican candidate.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
