Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - One week after the Richmond Inspector General released a report that substantiated 25 of 26 allegations of impropriety by City Registrar Keith Balmer and his deputy, the city’s electoral board voted to accept Balmer's resignation.
The decision came after a closed-door meeting held Wednesday at Richmond City Hall. Balmer’s resignation is effective Dec. 31, at which point the board will appoint an interim registrar. Balmer’s deputy, Jerry Richardson, resigned before the meeting.
Balmer and Richardson, the city’s top two election officials, resigned after a pair of investigations found improper spending on city-issued credit cards, nepotism, instances of ignored reports of sexual harassment, and more. The full 24-page report can be viewed here.
The board of elections met Wednesday, Dec. 4 to discuss the allegations, and Balmer announced his resignation the same day.
He told reporters Wednesday that he intends to make both a rebuttal statement and his resignation letter publicly available. He added that his rebuttal will have documentation that should show that “it’s more like administrative mistakes” than criminal actions.