The Democratic Party of Virginia filed a Freedom of Information request with Del. Phil Hamilton, seeking records related to his relationship with Old Dominion University. Yesterday, the response was received (click to enlarge). The upshot is that he couldn’t locate any records.
Allison Jaslow, the new communications director for the DPVA said:
It’s remarkable that Mr. Hamilton secured $500,000 a year in state funds for this center without exchanging any correspondence with Old Dominion University. We hope Mr. Hamilton will explain how he knew what the center needed without exchanging an email or letter.
Yep. Pretty remarkable. How, exactly, did the Delegate determine that funding? Was it through telepathy? And that job – did he get that one through telepathy, too?
If so, I’m sitting here right now thinking that somebody should put a couple million dollars in my bank account.
Nope – nothing there 😦
Maybe that telepathy thing only works between Hamilton and ODU. 😉
UPDATE: Democratic challenger Robin Abbott will be unveiling her Ethics Reform plan tomorrow. How appropriate 😉
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
File a petition of mandamus with the court. Force him to prove he has no records. This a big time violation of the FOIA law; the government does not mess around with that. FOIA violations are taken very seriously, I know this from experience. The FOIA hotline in Richmond is amazing as well.
How does one prove that something does not exist?
How is it logical that nothing exists?
Were the phone records subpoenaed? Perhaps they actually TALKED to each other, like the old days.
That still does not answer the question: How can one prove that no such records exist?
I know of a lot of counties in Southside who outright laugh at the FOIA requirements. How do I know?
My sole recent interactions with my own county government and a neighboring one has consisted of trying to keep them honest, something they would rather I did not do. They stonewall, put it off, drag the information out so any further information has to be paid for.
I disagree that governments take it all that seriously…not that they shouldn’t.
Vivian,
I wrote about this last week. Phil’s explanation is that the funding was requested at a personal meeting with ODU officials. He had three such meetings. As hard as that might be for you and the Democratic spokesperson to understand, business is still occasionally done that way at the General Assembly. The real story here continues to be Phil’s inability to see how this deal looks to the average person.
If you wrote about that, I certainly didn’t see it. And no notes from the three meetings? Come on, Steve.
What about the paperwork to get hired at ODU? Having taught there myself, I know there is paperwork.
The paperwork at ODU would have to be FOIA’d from ODU, not Hamilton’s legislative office. DPVA didn’t do that. I saw the FOIA request and I’m not sure it would have covered Hamilton’s personal notes from an in-person meeting.
This is three strikes against Phillip Hamilton. I can never support him again.
1. He supported the unconstitutional HRTA which allowed taxes to be levied by an unelected authority not accountable in any way to voters.
2. He has supported the King William Reservoir for many years. This has cost the Peninsula over $50 million dollars and counting and raised our water bills far beyond what they should have been.
3. Now it comes out that he has used legislation to create a government funded program that provides him a well paid job.
Phillip Shamilton has lost his way from the land of integrity and found his way into our wallets. He deserves the boot.