Board Chairman Quits Job With Developer

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I) said yesterday he has resigned from his job with a Colorado developer, a position his opponents have said presented a conflict of interest with his work as a government official.

His last day of full-time work as an executive vice president for ServiceStar Development Co. was Sept. 30, though he will not completely leave the company until the end of October, York said.

York has been criticized because ServiceStar, a commercial development company that he has worked for since 2005, does business with the county. York has occasionally represented ServiceStar in discussions with county staff, a role that political foes have said was improper.

In June, several Republicans on the board accused him of an ethics lapse when it emerged that he sat in on a meeting with county planners in December about an Ashburn strip mall developed in part by ServiceStar.

York, who has denied any wrongdoing, said yesterday that his resignation has nothing to do with the controversy. The company asked him to move out west and to refrain from seeking a fourth term in office so he could devote more time to his work, he said. He declined both requests, he said.

"I've enjoyed serving the public, and I just concluded and felt that was what I wanted to do for one more full term," he said. "I wanted to jump into the fray."

York is running against Purcellville entrepreneur Michael J. Firetti, who yesterday called for York to step down from his government post.

"Mr. York's resignation is a pitifully belated acknowledgment of the conflicts of interest inherent in his position with ServiceStar," he said at a news conference. "Resigning from a job two weeks before an election is not an act of an ethical politician. . . . It's the desperate act of a desperate man who got his hand caught in the cookie jar."

York declined to specify how much he earned at ServiceStar, disclosing only that it was about $100,000 a year. Starting in January, Loudoun supervisors will be paid $50,000 a year.

York said he does not have a new job, but "when the appropriate time comes, I will make an announcement. Right now, I am in the process of wrapping up a campaign."