BY FRANK DELANO
Give him back his Town Hall office and access to staff, an attorney for Colonial Beach Mayor Frederick C. Rummage has demanded of the Town Council.
No way, the town's attorney has replied.
The exchange of letters was the latest in a running feud between Rummage and the council. The dispute includes a raucous June 11 argument between Rummage and Vice Mayor P.A. "Trish" King that has now landed on the desk of the Westmoreland County prosecutor.
Claiming his presence at Town Hall was disruptive, the council voted in April to evict Rummage from his second-floor office. Three weeks later, it barred him from the private offices of Town Hall employees unless he had an invitation or an appointment.
The council's actions are "a thinly disguised--and illegal--attempt to nullify the popular election of Mayor Rummage by the citizens of Colonial Beach," Vienna attorney Henry F. Brandenstein Jr. wrote in a June 19 letter to Town Attorney Andrea Erard.
In a response authorized Thursday by the Town Council, Erard said the council's actions "were necessary in order to permit the staff at Town Hall to do their jobs. Numerous witnesses can verify how the specific actions of Mayor Rummage interfered with and affected the ability of Town staff to perform their jobs."
Rummage continues to preside at Town Council meetings. He is also "pivotal in the construction of every Town Council agenda and, if he wants to raise an issue or address a concern, he has every opportunity to do so," Erard wrote.
"The Mayor has a vote just like any other member of Council and there has been no infringement upon his ability to vote. If the Mayor is experiencing difficulty in discharging the duties of his office, perhaps it is attributable to his actions and his manner," she wrote.
Vice Mayor King also created a recent difficulty, according to Brandenstein. He charged in his letter that King unleashed "an unprovoked and completely unprofessional verbal assault" on Rummage after a June 11 council meeting. The dispute was over membership of council committees, the lawyer said.
"When the Chief of Police attempted to intervene in an effort to restore order he was physically assaulted by Vice Mayor King," wrote Brandenstein.
Police Chief Christopher C. Hawkins said yesterday that King and Rummage were arguing loudly in a back room of Town Center after the meeting. He said that when he went in to calm things down, King pushed him back out of the room.
"Mrs. King has apologized to me five or six times," Hawkins said yesterday. "Emotions were running high. I honestly don't think she recognized me as the chief of police."
Hawkins said he has turned a report of the incident over to Westmoreland Commonwealth's Attorney Dean J. Atkins to decide whether charges against King are warranted.
King declined comment yesterday. Atkins could not be reached for comment.
Brandenstein said Rummage "reserves the right to take any and all legal action" if the council fails to rescind the restrictions placed on him or takes "further arbitrary and capricious action" against the mayor.
Brandenstein also demanded that the council issue a formal, written apology to the mayor.
"The Town Council will not apologize to Mayor Rummage as it has taken no action for which any apology would be warranted," Erard replied.
Frank Delano: 804/761-4300
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com