Ramblings: Bob Cowell Blasts Lawsuits As 'Smear Campaign'; Littlepage Wins House Primary; Next City Audit Likely Late, Too

What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another. We’re on the lookout for tidbits related to money in politics, data, business, civic engagement or interesting events. Think you know of something that could be a Rambling? Drop us a line at editor@roanokerambler.com and we may well write about it. Happy reading!

Cowell calls lawsuits 'smear campaign'

Former Roanoke city manager Bob Cowell on Monday blasted whistleblower lawsuits against him as “nothing more than a self-serving smear campaign,” court records say.

The lawsuits allege a toxic workplace environment around events that happened in the spring of 2024. 

Former finance official Amelia Merchant and former budget analyst Yen Ha claim then-city officials retaliated against them for reporting alleged abuse. Both seek $5 million in damages.

Cowell resigned in June 2024 after demoting Brent Robertson, an assistant city manager and the city’s finance director, after Robertson was accused of berating Ha, who quit and told council members what happened. Cowell kept Robertson on until November, when he retired and became vested in the city’s pension fund. 

Ha is suing Cowell and Robertson while Merchant is suing Cowell, Robertson and Deputy City Manager Angela O’Brien.

Lawyers from Gentry Locke filed a response Monday on behalf of Cowell and O’Brien to the allegations from Merchant and Ha. Robertson is represented by Salem attorney Jim Guynn, who previously filed his own response denying the allegations.

Gentry Locke’s response describes the lawsuits as a “self-serving smear campaign against loyal and dedicated public servants” in which the plaintiffs “incredibly [seek] to extort $5 million from the taxpayers of the City of Roanoke[.]” Cowell and O’Brien say both lawsuits should be thrown out because they’re protected by sovereign immunity. They also say Merchant and Ha have not proved that they’re whistleblowers as defined by the law.

There are “insufficient allegations that Cowell or O’Brien knew” that Merchant and Ha were whistleblowers “and then discriminated against [them] on that basis,” court records say.

Gentry Locke’s response notes that Ha alleged Robertson made a decision to reject her raise.

“Additionally, she specifically alleges that it was Robertson’s behavior alone that was the cause of her ‘mental anguish and trauma’ and the reason she felt compelled to resign her employment." 

Roanoke parted ways with Cowell more than a year ago. The city paid out $206,575.77, about one year’s salary and benefits under a “no cause termination” clause in his contract.

More recently, some Roanoke leaders have thrown Cowell under the bus for city spending and accounting problems. Cowell has defended his handling of Roanoke’s budget. 

In the last year, Cowell has been named a finalist for at least 10 city manager jobs across the country, according to local media outlets, including in Arvada, Colorado; Davenport, Iowa; Springfield, Missouri; and Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

Cowell told a town hall in Springfield that his departure from Roanoke stemmed from “the decision that I had relative to the discipline of an employee that I felt had conducted themselves inappropriately within the organization,” according to the Springfield Daily Citizen.

“Cowell said the Roanoke City Council wanted him to go further in his discipline of the employee — which he did not mention by name — than he was willing to, which prompted his resignation,” the news outlet reported.

Cowell disputed allegations of a toxic environment, which he said was “not reflected accurately in social media reports,” according to the Springfield Daily Citizen.

“I don’t want to dismiss the concerns that were raised by the couple of individuals there, I think they were genuinely felt concerns,” Cowell was quoted as saying. “But I don’t think in any way they were representative of culture and the organization that I helped lead in the community.”

Littlepage wins primary, to face McNamara

Donna Littlepage won a Democratic primary Tuesday to take on Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, in the 40th state House District.

With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Littlepage had 63 percent of the vote to Kiesha Preston’s 37 percent.

Littlepage said Tuesday night that she is a moderate and hopes to put together a mix of Democrats, independents and maybe some moderate Republicans, in a district that has trended red historically.

" I think I have a skillset that that help people on both sides of the aisle," she said.

Preston ran a great race and Littlepage said she plans to talk to Preston about the issues that were part of her campaign. Littlepage said she hopes to secure Preston's supporters for the general election.

In her first run for elected office, Littlepage recently retired as the senior vice president of accountable care strategies at Carilion Clinic. Preston, an activist and consultant, ran as an independent for Roanoke City Council in 2020, finishing sixth in an eight-way race for three seats.

The general election is Nov. 4. McNamara had held the seat since 2018.

The 40th District includes the city of Salem, a large part of Roanoke County and a small section of Roanoke. In Roanoke, the precincts include 15-Grandin Court, 16-Deyerle and 17-Lee-Hi.

Also Tuesday, no independent candidates filed to run in several Roanoke constitutional office races, leaving Democratic candidates unopposed on the ballot. That includes John McNeil for commonwealth's attorney, Tasha Burkett for treasurer and Ryan LaFountain for commissioner of revenue.

City audit likely late, again

A required annual city of Roanoke audit report was six months late — which likely means the next one will be late too, city officials said last week. 

Roanoke spent $5 million more than the City Council authorized during the 2023-24 budget year, a violation of state law according to a finding in the report by Brown Edwards, an accounting firm contracted by the city. 

Municipal Auditor Drew Harmon has said there’s no legal repercussions for the city, other than the admission of error contained in the report. The city had the money, but a process was not followed to make sure the council approved what was being spent, Harmon has said. 

During an audit committee meeting last Wednesday, City Manager Valmarie Turner asked at what point can the city catch up.

“Because I don’t want us to continue to be late,” she said.

John Aldridge, a CPA with Brown Edwards, was at the meeting. 

“That’s on your staff to say,” he said, adding that his firm has the resources to help the city get back on track if information can be made available in a timely manner.

Harmon said the situation is compounded because the city is implementing a new software system. He said he believes that’s a good step, because a new system should create a better process, but it will take time.

He told the council he and others in the city administration will keep the council informed on the matter in the ongoing effort to get back on a normal schedule.