RICHMOND, Va. — The City of Richmond has agreed to pay $549,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by its former public records officer, who claimed she was wrongfully fired for exposing the city's alleged improper practices of hiding public information.
Connie Clay sued the city for $250,000 in March 2024, alleging city leaders routinely delayed or withheld records that taxpayers had the right to access. The settlement ends two years of litigation that spanned two mayoral administrations.
"It's just such a huge disappointment that the bureaucrats in City Hall do not want to follow the law. And if I don't say something, who will?" Clay told CBS 6 in a previous interview about the lawsuit.
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After raising concerns about Richmond's transparency, she was fired
Clay alleged she was terminated as Richmond's Freedom of Information Act officer by her boss, former Public Relations Director Petula Burks, after warning that the city's practices were unlawful.
"There were many instances where I was asked to withhold information that should have been released or to sit on records that should have been released," Clay said in the interview. "I think they just wanted to do what they wanted to do. I had a conversation with Petula at one point and she said, ‘I just don't want the city to look stupid.’ And I remember thinking, 'Well, the city needs to stop doing stupid things.'"
But the city argued that officials merely disagreed with Clay about FOIA matters, that she was difficult to work with, and that she did not meet the legal definition of a whistleblower.
The lawsuit was initially filed under former Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration, and the city continued to fight it under current Mayor Danny Avula.
Leading up to a potential trial, court filings suggested there were contentious moments between the two parties.
Last month, a judge found the city’s lawyers failed to abide by court orders and "demonstrated a lack of good faith" to participate in a settlement negotiation.
The judge also faulted the city for a "reckless failure" to preserve evidence on a work cell phone belonging to Burks that was apparently lost. The judge noted that if the case went to trial, the jury would be instructed to assume any information on the lost phone would be unfavorable to the city.
Burks was later dropped as a named defendant in the lawsuit.
On Friday, Richmond’s Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald released a statement confirming there was a settlement in a case involving a "plaintiff" that the city did not believe qualified as a whistleblower. The statement did not name Clay.
Donald said, "continued litigation is not in the best financial interest of the City or its residents" and that the settlement does not reflect "an admission of wrongdoing."
A city spokesperson said the total payment amount was $549,000.
In a statement, Clay and her attorney Sarah Robb said the matter was amicably resolved and that they would not comment further.
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