Collegiate Times

The month of May signals that Blacksburg Town elections are fast approaching. However, just before the polls are set to open on May 2, a member of Citizens First, a registered Political Action Committee in Virginia, has withdrawn his position as a member.

Chuck Rogol, a member of Citizens First since fall 2004 (just after the group was founded), decided to withdraw from the organization due to a conflict of interest within the group.

Citizens First decided to endorse only one candidate for Town Council - Susan Anderson, and neither of the mayoral candidates, Don Langrehr and Ron Rordam.

Rogol claims that David Scheim, a member of Citizens First, personally endorsed four candidates under the name of another group interested in local politics.

In an email, Rogol said, ?Unfortunately, David failed to mention that he was starting this group when he attended the meeting to decide on CF endorsements. This would be a conflict of interest because his objective and the group's objective could conflict.?

While Rogol saw a conflict of interest in the political endorsement by Scheim, Citizens First spokesman David Britt said Sheim was very open about his personal preference to endorse the other candidates.

?I don't see what the problem is, because (Scheim) was very clear about the candidates he was backing. It wasn't a conflict of interest, it was a matter of opinion.?

Rogol feared the conflict would heighten, as citizens could mistakenly associate Sheim's endorsement in STAR with those of Citizens First.

In the email, Rogol said, ?Many people associate Scheim with CF. Due to the timing of the announcements it was predictable that voters would think that CF supported the (other group's) candidates.?

Scheim feels that his personal support of candidates is separate from the endorsements of Citizens First.

?As far as myself, I've worked the last three elections and individuals can support their own candidates,? said Scheim.

Rogol brought attention to Citizens First committee members and other members of Citizens First, but Scheim acknowledged the conflict of interests as a problem of confusion. Rogol urged Citizens First to make public that Citizens First did not support the Scheim's recommendations and that Scheim was not the spokesperson for his other group.

Rogol said he feels Citizens First has made a concerned effort since 2004 to encourage the citizens of Blacksburg to become involved in town elections.

Rogol said in the email, ?CF has done a terrific job in getting residents interested in the Town elections. Until recently only eight to 10 percent of the eligible voters bothered to vote. Citizens rely on and trust CF for candidate recommendations.?

Britt contended it is still clear that Citizens First only endorsed on candidate.

?The group decided to endorse one candidate: Susan Anderson because they felt she would be good for the town council. We are holding a fundraiser for her Saturday at the University Club,? Britt said.

Citizens First has gained much credibility from residents of Blacksburg, Rogol said, and should be more public regarding its process.