Thanks to local heroes

Retired mathmaticians Ellen and Phil Winter arrived in Waynesboro a dozen years ago from the relative obscurity that only a sprawling, throbbing, clattering suburbia such as Northern Virginia can provide. They welcomed the change to rustic calm in the shadows of the Blue Ridge, but preferred to retain at least some of the former anonymity.
As a result, a public thanks from The News Virginian comes late, more than four months after the Winters’ efforts to reveal troubles plaguing the city Treasurer’s Office transformed an election and toppled an incumbent.
Close followers of city politics knew the Winters waved the red flags and then gathered reams of information from city government that showed a Treasurer’s Office in disarray. That led to a front-page story in this newspaper Sept. 30 reporting that Treasurer Sandra “Sandee” Dixon had been thumped in four straight state audits for tardy accounting and sloppy recordkeeping and had botched the handling of hundreds of thousands of dollars in city and state taxpayer money.
Within slightly more than two weeks, two write-in candidates joined the treasurer’s race, doubling the field. On Election Day, challenger Stephanie Beverage topped Dixon for the job.
Credit the Winters for the outcome. We sought to give them due praise on the day we printed our first story, but kept the their name out of print at their request. That their names appear today in this space is the result of an editor’s hard sell. Thanks for giving in this time.
We’ve nominated the Winters for the American Society of News Editors Local Heroes Award, which recognizes people who help improve access to government.
The Winters did this principally by demonstrating the power of people to make a difference in their government and the importance of taking those vital first steps.
Ellen Winter several years ago noticed that the city had failed to deposit the couple’s property tax check in a timely fashion. Then she received a bill for late fees on water use charges she’d already paid. She talked to friends who reported similar problems. Querying city staff and the council drew nods of acknowledgement, but offered no avail. As an elected official, the city treasurer answers to no one but the people.
So the Winters made their case. Phil Winter went to City Hall and requested all city correspondence related to the treasurer’s performance. That produced more than 100 pages of documents, including several state audit reports, dozens of e-mails and memos referencing problems in the Treasurer’s Office and spreadsheets showing lost interest revenue to the city.
Armed with this information, the Winters then turned to the media. Voters finished the job.
This is how a representative republic, powered by the people through open government and the accountability that affords, is designed to work. Thanks to the Winters for the lesson. Let us all follow it with due and equal vigilance.