As criticism mounts, Del. Hamilton rejects plea to resign

RICHMOND

The Democrat running to be Virginia's top prosecutor says Newport News Republican Phillip Hamilton should immediately resign his seat in the House of Delegates.

Attorney general candidate Steve Shannon, a delegate from Fairfax County, called on Hamilton to step down Sunday evening, days after a report in The Virginian-Pilot revealed that Hamilton used e-mails to negotiate a paid job for himself at an Old Dominion University teaching center for which he secured state startup funds in 2007.

The Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership at ODU has received $500,000 annually since then, and Hamilton had been paid $40,000 a year as an independent contractor. School leaders and Hamilton last week said they mutually agreed to end that relationship.

Hamilton, reached by phone Sunday, said he has no plans to resign.

Officials from both political parties have expressed dismay about Hamilton's conduct, and Shannon is the first to publicly push Hamilton to quit the seat he has held for 20 years.

"The bottom line is that Phil Hamilton appears to have attempted to use his position of public trust and taxpayers' money to enrich himself," Shannon said in a statement.

"I think Phil Hamilton needs to resign immediately, in order to ensure that Virginia maintains its reputation for honest government and fiscal responsibility," he said.

It is unclear whether an ethics investigation of Hamilton's actions has begun. Such investigations are confidential.

Evaluations of complaints filed are conducted by a five-member House ethics advisory panel. Those deemed founded can be forwarded to Attorney General Bill Mims, a Republican, for possible prosecution.

Virginia's conflict-of-interest law bars lawmakers from accepting money for services performed within the scope of their legislative duties. Violation of the law is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

When he spoke with The Pilot in July, Hamilton said there was no conflict of interest because he had no discussions with ODU officials about possible employment with the center before he introduced a budget amendment for it.

Yet e-mails obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of Information Act request showed that Hamilton exchanged messages with ODU officials in 2006 and 2007 about obtaining funding for the center and getting a job. In several of those back-and-forth conversations, Hamilton discussed his desired salary.

Hamilton said the public response to his saga was "overwhelmingly positive" during door-to-door campaign visits in his district Saturday.

"I made a mistake, I've accepted responsibility for it... and people are behind me," he said. He characterized Shannon's resignation remarks as a political ploy.

An adviser to GOP attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli, a state senator from Fairfax County, said the Republican is disappointed in Hamilton, but has refrained from condemning him.

"Delegate Phil Hamilton's future is in the hands of the voters of Newport News and Phil Hamilton," said Cuccinelli spokesman Chris LaCivita. "Steve Shannon should be more worried about running his own campaign than interfering with and running other people's campaigns."

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com