Now Play Nice, Boys and Girls

As they began deliberating Tuesday on a package of ethics and disclosure measures, Loudoun County supervisors pledged to keep their discussions civil.

After all, they noted, the standard of conduct they were considering adopting called for them to be "open-minded and patient" and to "maintain an attitude of courtesy and consideration toward all citizens, colleagues and staff during all discussions and deliberations."

That's how it went -- at first. Supervisor Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles) apologized to Supervisor Lori L. Waters (R-Broad Run) for any derogatory comments he had made about her. In a 2004 e-mail quoted in a recent Washington Post article, Snow had said that Waters should be ostracized because she was "anti-growth and anti-property rights."

With Valentine's Day coming up, Snow said, "hope springs eternal that we can all get along. We could sure use a change of heart in our county."

But the niceties eventually devolved into bickering and, at one point, all-out yelling. Board members sharply questioned each other's motives for advocating or objecting to the ethics proposals.

By the end of the debate, Snow had changed his tune. "What a charade we just had for two and a half hours today," he told his colleagues. "How does it feel? You just violated your own code of ethics."

Waters and other supporters of the new guidelines argued that they were needed to restore public trust following articles in The Post last month that detailed how developers, landowners and public officials coordinated efforts to influence land-use decisions. Critics said that some of the ethics language was too subjective and that some disclosure provisions, such as requiring supervisors to disclose in writing all their meetings with people involved in pending land-use applications, were time-consuming and unnecessary.

The board finally voted, 6 to 2, with Snow and Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling) dissenting, to adopt -- with some changes -- the code of ethics and standards of conduct most of them had signed voluntarily almost two years ago. A majority voted to remove language that called for supervisors to lose half their office and staff funding if they refused to sign the document.

Under the final version, supervisors who violate the ethics code are subject to such penalties as a public apology and loss of committee assignments. Even the measure's sponsors admitted that it was unclear how those sanctions would be enforced.

Supervisor Jim Clem (R-Leesburg) walked out before the vote, saying he had another meeting to attend. Before he left, Clem suggested to his colleagues that the ethics code used in Spotsylvania County would be a good model to follow. Later, Snow symbolically signed a document based on the Spotsylvania code, saying it presented fewer potential pitfalls than the plan backed by the majority.

Delgaudio presented his own proposal for rules of conduct -- many tongue-in-cheek, such as "No sharing of pretzels, cherry licorice sticks, chocolate or candy behind the dais" and "No private car . . . with the supervisor as a passenger shall be allowed into the Town of Leesburg." He made the board consider all 33 items on his list.

By a separate vote of 5 to 2, the board approved voluntary guidelines that discourage supervisors from accepting campaign donations from developers with pending land-use applications and that encourage full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. Delgaudio and Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run) dissented, Snow abstained and Clem was absent.

The supervisors then tabled a discussion about recording closed sessions of the board, pending a legal review of that proposal.