ROANOKE, Va. – What started as a comment after a meeting has become a public dispute between two Roanoke City Council members.
Council Member Phazhon Nash says fellow Council Member Peter Volosin approached his chair at the end of the July 6 council meeting, whispered something in his ear, tapped his chair and walked away.
“He said ‘Nick owns you,’ referring to Councilman Hagen,” Nash said.
The comment came after Nash and Volosin voted differently on a residential zoning amendment. Days later, Nash addressed the exchange in a Facebook post, saying the words immediately struck a nerve and carried what he described as racial undertones and historical significance.
“I think it’s about the professionalism, being respectful of one another,” Nash said.
Volosin issued a public apology at Monday’s City Council meeting.
“After the July 6 council meeting, I made a comment to council member Nash that I regret,” Volosin said. “I told him in reference to a vote where he and council member Hagan sided together that, quote, ‘Hagan owns you.’ It was a frustrated remark about Mr. Nash’s voting record, and it was the wrong way, time and place to make that point. I understand that my words landed differently than I intended and that Mr. Nash experienced them as carrying a meaning I did not mean to convey.”
Volosin added he takes the impact of his words seriously.
“I take that seriously and I owe him an apology for how I spoke to him and I’d offer that without qualification,” he said. “I’m passionate about our city and about moving forward on goals and policies that benefit all our citizens.”
Both council members say they hope to move forward, though the public exchange has drawn renewed attention to the importance of respect and accountability among elected leaders.