The Virginia Way continues to tarnish the state’s image. In another example of activity that might not be illegal, but which is certainly dubious, the state’s tobacco commission has been handing out grants to its chairman’s kinfolk. That chairman would be Terry Kilgore, a state lawmaker and prominent Republican. It’s not unusual for some families to assume a disproportionate share of the leadership roles in certain rural communities, and there is no realistic way — nor perhaps even any real reason — to prevent that. But it certainly doesn’t look good when the normal course of business starts to look like familial self-dealing. At the very least, Terry Kilgore showed poor judgment by refusing to recuse himself from voting on grants that would be overseen by members of his family. There is also a broader question about whether the tobacco commission is receiving sufficient oversight.The ill-seeming votes, coupled with the Puckett brouhaha and a $4 million fraud case involving a former commissioner, suggest the commission is being run too loosely. Someone in Richmond needs to slip a leash on it — and give it a good yank.
~Times-Dispatch