Nepotism alive and well in Richmond, Virginia Sheriff’s Office - Conflict of Interest or Not?

Woody has hired at least 10 relatives since taking office
Sheriff Woody - Richmond
By: Kristen Green
Published: September 24, 2011

Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. has hired at least 10 relatives since taking office in 2006, and nine of them are currently employed by the Sheriff's Office — including a sister who is the director of recruiting.

The sheriff's family members earn a combined $382,000 in annual salaries.

A front-page article Wednesday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Woody employs at least four family members — two sisters, a brother-in-law and a son. Since then, The Times-Dispatch has confirmed through city records and interviews with former employees that Woody also employs a daughter, three granddaughters and a nephew. A niece worked as Woody's spokeswoman earlier in his tenure but has left the department.

Because Woody is an independently elected, constitutional officer, he is not required to follow the city's nepotism policy. But other area sheriffs say they avoid hiring family members because the practice can erode trust among staff.

Through a spokesman, Woody has declined numerous requests to discuss his employment of relatives, calling it a personnel matter.

"He's not going to talk with you about that or anything," Maj. Jerry L. Baldwin said this week.

The former employees who provided details about Woody's family members' roles in the Sheriff's Office asked not to be identified because they fear reprisal. Together, they have more than 25 years' experience working for the office, and both left their positions voluntarily.

All of the relatives Woody hired are full-time employees with the exception of one granddaughter who is listed in city documents as a part-time, temporary clerk.

Woody's daughter, Carla Woody, works in payroll, where she is paid $44,000. His nephew, Leon Henry Jr., is a lieutenant in the investigative division, according to his voicemail at the Sheriff's Office. He earns $38,716.

One granddaughter, Camille Johnson, is listed in a city directory as a civilian employee. She is paid $36,375. Her sister, Alesia Johnson, is a budget clerk paid $29,942, according to city records. A third granddaughter, Balaija Woody, is paid $12,580 for her work as a part-time, temporary clerk.

None of Woody's relatives responded to interview requests made via phone and email.

Henry is the son of C.T. Woody Jr.'s sister Pamela Eaton, who works as his executive assistant for an annual salary of $57,494. Her husband, Dwight Eaton, is also employed by the Sheriff's Office in the information technology department, according to one of the former employees. Dwight Eaton is a lieutenant who earns $41,626 annually, according to city records.

Another sister, Patty Nicholas, who handles recruiting for the sheriff's human resources department, earns $50,761.

Woody's son, Clarence Woody III, earns $70,629 as a lieutenant colonel, according to city records. Balaija Woody is his daughter.

Sheriff Woody, who earns an annual salary of $138,871, was critical of his predecessor for hiring family members when he campaigned to unseat her in 2005. Former Sheriff Michelle B. Mitchell now works as a secretary for Henrico County Sheriff Michael L. Wade. Mitchell said she employed her mother and aunt in part-time positions, as well as a cousin and brother-in-law as deputies.

One of the former Sheriff's Office employees said that while Woody did not announce to other staff when he hired a family member, he has alluded to the practice at staff meetings.

Another former employee said working among Woody's relatives created a negative work environment because his family members acted as though "I can't do anything wrong. I can act as I want to act."

"It's demoralizing for a lot of people," that former employee said.

The city's nepotism policy prohibits hiring immediate family members for a supervisor-subordinate relationship without a "special exemption" from the director of human resources. The city defines immediate family members as "the mother, father, wife, husband, child, brother, sister, legal ward, grandparents and grandchildren of the employee or the employee's spouse; or any other relative of the employee or spouse who lives in the employee's household."

In Virginia, constitutional officers include clerks of circuit courts, commonwealth's attorneys, sheriffs, commissioners of the revenue and treasurers. The state does not have a nepotism policy but relies on the Virginia code's conflict-of-interest act. It says a supervisor-subordinate may not be a spouse or live in the same household if the subordinate is paid more than $35,000.

The Department of Human Resource Management interprets the code to forbid the hiring of immediate family members and leaves the hiring of other family members to the discretion of an agency head.

Virginia's constitutional officers are not required to provide grievance procedures for their employees. Woody's office has not responded to a request to provide his office's hiring and grievance policies.

Hanover County's sheriff, Col. David R. Hines, doesn't have a nepotism policy, but as a practice, the sheriff does not employ any family members. And in Henrico, Wade doesn't currently have any relatives on staff, saying to do so "takes a little bit of trust away."

Richmond City Council President Kathy C. Graziano said having family members work for the sheriff "makes for an awkward situation," but she stopped short of saying the office should be made to follow the city's nepotism policy. "It's probably a question that we need to have a conversation about," she said.