In Richmond, Virginia, the Electoral Board, comprising two Republicans and one Democrat, has voted to accept the resignation of Registrar Keith Balmer following an investigation that uncovered evidence of overspending, nepotism, and other issues.
For context, conservatives have long called out blatant corruption in Democrat controlled cities where city officials often treat municipal funds as their piggy banks. For this reason, many conservatives have applauded the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with President Trump established to root out fraudulent spending and government waste.
In any case, as reported in a December 4, 2024, article from the Richmonder, Board Chair Starlet Stevens gave Registrar Keith Balmer the option of resigning but clarified that he would be leaving his office regardless of his decision. She said, “If he didn’t want to resign, we were unanimous that we would have him removed.”
Despite the damining evidence, Balmer offered excuses in the face of his resignation. The allegedly corrupt official stated that, while he was proud of his work, he acknowledged “administrative sloppiness.” While disputing several of the specific allegations, he said that there were cases of “mistakes” in his role.
Apologizing, Balmer said, “At the end of the day, the citizens of this city need to have a registrar in place who is also following the city guidelines, and that is where my office has fallen short. And I take full responsibility for that.” He added that he chose to resign because it was easier than a court case, saying, “I just don’t need that sort of energy, especially not around the holidays.”
After his tepid apology, the corrupt election official turned the blame back on his employers. Regarding allegations that he committed fraud by failing to log his vacation time, he stated, “And the inspector general says that you should know how to do that because you went through orientation and training? No, I didn’t. There was no orientation or training. Don’t just allow a new person to come in and figure stuff out on their own. Because ultimately, this is where we’re at, and this is why this happened.”
Rejecting the official narrative, Balmer denied the idea that he intentionally split a single $230,000 remodeling payment into 21 small purchases to evade procurement rules. He argued that he suffered from a “lack of understanding about city procurement policies.”
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Looking back on the scandal, Balmer called it “the wonderful roller coaster” that has made him “a much stronger and more confident person.” Concluding his remarks, he said, “God has another plan for me. I believe that, so this is, you know, not likely the last time you heard of Keith Balmer.”
Speaking to the press about their decision, the three officials at the Electoral Board offered dramatically different statements. One official, the lone Democrat, refused to provide a statement, saying, “I don’t want to answer the media,” and added, “We’ve taken care of what we needed to do.” However, one of the Republicans confidently stated, “I think that the citizens of Richmond deserve to have an elections office that’s run efficiently.”