Citing the Holy Bible as authority, Sonnett appeals case to Virginia Supreme Court

Three months after Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey W. Parker dismissed Harris Hollow resident George M. Sonnett, Jr.’s suit charging three county supervisors with violating the state’s Conflict of Interest Act (COIA), Sonnett is appealing to Virginia’s Supreme Court.

The filing is dated July 25. Sonnett filed his original Petition for Declaratory Judgment on Dec. 28, 2018, against county supervisors Chair Roger Welch (Wakefield), Chris Parrish (Stonewall-Hawthorne), and John Lesinski (Hampton) — as well as County Attorney Art Goff.

Sonnett charged the supervisors with violating COIA on several occasions in 2018 when considering the appointment of Peter Luke as Deputy County Attorney — ironically to help handle the workload of previous lawsuits filed against the county government. The petition alleged that supervisors violated COIA by not stating “personal interests” they had in Luke’s hiring.

At the time of the dismissal, Sonnett wrote by email to the Rappahannock News, “We are disappointed that Judge Parker chose to protect the lawyers involved in the case instead of protecting the citizens’ right under the Conflicts Act to be assured their elected officials are acting in the best interest of the citizens and not in their own self-interest.

“We are hopeful that the Virginia Supreme Court will see this case as an opportunity to resolve this and other legal issues in this case, such as whether it is proper for Mr. Goff to serve two masters.”

Sonnett also apparently hopes for help from a far higher authority.

Among an extensive list of previous legal cases and documents Sonnett gives to support his allegations of wrongdoing are two citations from the Holy Bible.

“As the Supreme Court of the United States held in regard to the analogous federal Conflicts of Interest law, ‘the moral principle upon which the statute is based has its foundation in the Biblical admonition that no man may serve two masters, Matthew 6:24, a maxim which is especially pertinent if one of the masters happens to be economic self-interest,’” reads page 3 of the filing. “Perhaps equally relevant is Matthew 6:21, viz.: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’”

Washington attorney David Konick is counsel for Sonnett, who is the Assistant Town Attorney for Front Royal. Sonnett stressed that he filed the suit as a citizen of Rappahannock.