BOTETOURT CO., Va. – A tense exchange between a local resident and the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors raised questions about public participation at the board’s March meeting.
Chloe Johnson, a Blue Ridge native and member of the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance, said she was shocked and emotional after the encounter with Board Chair Mac Scothorn.
“It was shocking to me. I did get a little upset, emotional, like crying,” Johnson said.
Video from the meeting shows Johnson attempting to give a citizen comment, only to be interrupted and deferred by Scothorn.
“Chloe, what I’ve been doing is after this, we’ll get together and you can speak, but let me get done with all this first,” he said.
Johnson said the interaction felt dismissive and “infantilizing,” raising concerns that young residents might be discouraged from participating in local government.
“You expect to be heard through local government, and you’ve gone to a place where you’ve spoken before. You’re expecting them to listen,” she said.
Botetourt County guidelines allow anyone to provide citizen comments in person, by email, or through a comment form, but they do not specify a separate time for non-residents. Johnson, who recently moved back to the Blue Ridge area, said she felt singled out.
“I kind of think if it were someone else, would they be dissuaded from participating in local government after that?” she said.
Scothorn said in a statement in part: “We value hearing from those who take the time to attend and participate in County meetings.
In this case, there was some confusion regarding how a speaker identified their residency on the comment form versus what was shared verbally. We prioritized hearing from Botetourt County residents first, with the intention of hearing all remaining speakers after Board Comments.….
It was never our intent to exclude anyone, and we remain committed to ensuring voices are heard, especially on issues that draw interest from both within and outside our County."