Rawls escorted from Martinsville council meeting after tense exchange

Council member and former Vice Mayor Aaron Rawls was escorted from the March 25 Martinsville City Council meeting and the municipal building after a tense exchange with Mayor LC Jones.

During his comments near the end of the meeting, Rawls referred to an unsigned document shared with him during the meeting, and added it was written by “a coward. I have seen quite a bit of cowardly behavior. People posting on social media in the dead of night, lying on people, no hesitation, where somebody else can’t respond,” yet they “can’t put down the bottle long enough to form a sentence coherently. I’ve had enough of it. I don’t know if I’m sitting a good example,” Rawls said, as some in the crowd responded, “you’re not.”

“Good. With you all saying that, I know I’m doing the right thing,” Rawls said. “People who voted for people who strangle women — get outta here with trying to judge me morally.”

A “lack of leadership has been a root problem in this community for a very long time. It’s not a backhanded sleight to this council. It’s been a problem in this community way before this council. We feel everything harder than most communities because of our lack of leadership. So, when the cost of living rises, it rises harder and more harshly here,” Rawls said.

“That’s a function of us not having the leadership to mitigate that. We have end-of-life infrastructure with no money or no plan to replace it,” he said. “We have utterly preventable health and hazard issues in this (municipal) building, where we have to move people out, get leases, pay attorneys to help us.

“I only cite this as examples of what lack of leadership costs us because it’s coming out of your pockets within these next few months, and it’ll be coming out of your pockets for years to come,” Rawls said.

“I really want to get to one of our ugliest issues head-on. A bunch of you guys got called in advance, and I can guess what they told you. ‘Hey, we have some big old race issue and you’re all being threatened by it. We need you here to support us,’” he said.

Residents were likely not told their taxes would increase, “your utilities are going up and now we’re talking about raising executive pay with your money. Raise the pay for somebody who’s making almost $200,000 a year in the City of Martinsville,” Rawls said.

The council recently decided to allow Jones to negotiate the pay of City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, up to a pre-approved amount.

According to information on the city’s website, Ferrell-Benavides is paid a salary of $183,855. She is ineligible for overtime pay.

Jones tried to gavel the meeting back to order and said, “Fall in order, sir. … I ain’t going to tell you again. Fall in order.”

“What was that?” Rawls asked.

“Fall in order,” Jones replied.

“I don’t even know what you’re saying,” Rawls said.

“You’re making personal attacks,” Jones said. “Fall. In. Order. You.” He added, “Your time is up. We’re going to move on.”

A police officer then proceeded to escort Rawls from the meeting and the building.

“I know that people are looking at us, and they value leadership,” an emotional and visibly shaken Council Member Julian Mei said, adding that he was accused of leaking closed meeting information to Rawls after Rawls was unable to attend a meeting.

“When contacted by media on this, I declined to speak. I do not want to participate in controversy while we have so much business to tend to—property reassessments, the rising cost of living,” Mei said, adding that he is in a “horrible” position, constantly asked to “be some voice of decorum, respect, dignity… don’t speak out, don’t make a scene.

“I care about my home,” Mei said. “There were many things done in the election that hurt many, many people in this town, myself included, my mother, and many people, and I’m tired of it. I love this place. I didn’t have to come back here. I came home because I love being here, and I want to stay here. And I want other people to move here. And I don’t want to hate people, and I don’t want them to hate me.

“I don’t hate people, but when people say falsehoods and say evil things, it creates resentment, and it creates a lot of bad feelings, especially when you don’t know someone, and you take other people for granted. I think people need to try to be a little more compassionate to other people,” Mei said, adding that he was elected to bring stability, safety, and respect to governance.

“Nevertheless, Mayor Jones felt compelled to speak on the matter and is quoted as saying that he no longer has any trust in me and that I’m torn between my loyalty to a friend and my commitment to council,” Mei said.

“I want to make something very clear. While Mr. Rawls is my friend and while I do have a commitment to the council, my utmost commitment is to the citizens of Martinsville. In an organizational structure, you are all our boss. We answer to you, we serve you, and that is what I do and will continue to do, despite attempts to defame my character and my integrity,” Mei said.

He hopes reducing the number of closed meetings would help increase transparency and that having legal counsel in attendance would ensure “we are mindful of our agenda, we don’t waste the public’s time and their money, and we don’t potentially deviate into any discussions or actions that may put the city at risk. … I will function in my words and deeds as the leader you deserve.”

Jones said his comments about closed session material being leaked were from an email Mei sent to council members.

“Martinsville, what we tolerate from people, we accept from these people. We not only tolerate it, we normalize it. When you see a person always continuously pointing a finger at someone else and can’t hold a sensible conversation, cause we don’t always” agree.

“But when you can’t hold a sensible conversation. When you can’t represent your constituents on a regular basis, show up for a meeting, and articulate their challenges, when you can’t do that, and when we get to the point where we start accepting that, we’re undermining the integrity of not only this office but the whole community and we start looking at each other and we start thinking about what started all this. Was it a Facebook post? Really? This was going on way before a Facebook post. And some of you that’s just moved here are just now figuring it out.

“It’s time we take a stand, Martinsville. All of us. It is not on one side or the other side. I came into this office” on the foundation of integrity, transparency, legitimacy. “I uphold that as well as I uphold the badge that I wear every day. When I’m stepping out in public, I’m not stepping out as LC Jones. I’m stepping out as a representative of Martinsville City. For you. When I hold back what I need to say, or what I should do to somebody, I’m doing it for you because we are better than the people and how they talk about us.

“It’s time we’ve got to work together. You talk about the assessment and taxes, I got taxes too. Nobody is trying to get over on nobody. If you look at the level of transparency on our transparency page, it’s the most you’ve ever seen. And if it won’t on the page, you wouldn’t know what people are making because it’s not been on there in the past. This council is working hard. Not all of this council, but this four right here are working hard. And at times, we work great together, but we have to hold ourselves to a level of accountability regardless of what the community or another individual says about us,” Jones said.

Council member Rayshaun Gravely encouraged residents to continue attending meetings. “I plan to continue to stay open about things, and I plan to continue to work hard.”

Vice Mayor Kathy Lawson responded to an issue raised by Caleb Robertson during the public comment portion of the meeting. He alleged a race issue may have led to excluding both Mei and Rawls from some meetings and discussions.

Lawson said she had attended the MLK service at a local church for a decade. “It’s not that certain people were invited. I visit that church fairly often. I go to places all the time and it’s not necessarily because a member of council or certain people were invited. It’s a community event, and to me, anyone is welcome to go.”

Lawson also welcomed all race fans to the community and encouraged others to follow suit.

Responding to the discussion about her salary, Ferrell-Benavides said, “I took a 30 percent pay cut to come here.” She referenced a study that shows she earns 15 percent less than the average city manager.

“Public service has been my life,” she said, noting that her mother was also a city manager. “I love this community. When I was welcomed in this community, I remember looking out when I was sworn in—I knew I was home.”

She said she bought a $460,000 home to establish roots and vowed to continue serving Martinsville.

For more salary information, visit https://www.martinsville-va.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1363/Employee-Salary-Transparency-January-2025?bidId=

In other matters, the council heard from:

*Jean Hairston, a long-time resident, encouraged the council to “continue to work together and talk to one another. You may not always get your way, and that way may not be best for Martinsville. … Let us work together.  Let us not have factions, Let us not publicize our business on social media.”

*Charisse Hairston recalled a family member told her, “if you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything.” She condemned misinformation on social media, stating, “If it’s not fact, don’t say it. If it’s disparaging, don’t say it.”

*Jerrell Carter also addressed negative rhetoric online, noting that Black fraternities and sororities “provide services. We want to educate the people in our community, black and white. Services are not just for black people. … Educate yourself,” he said, and added to Ferrell-Benavides, “we love you and support you.”

*Johnny Robertson asked, “do you know who debated the chief number one KKK member – Me. How did I get to the point where I’m racist?”

He asked about Eric Payne’s position. Payne, of Washington D.C., was hired last year to serve as the city attorney once he is licensed to practice law in Virginia. Payne is currently serving as the Interim Managing Director of Development, and is paid $185,000, according to salary information posted by the city. He is ineligible for overtime pay.

Before his removal, Rawls defended Payne. He’s “doing well for this city. I have sent him to a number of folks in this community, and he has been able to get things done that we have not been able to accomplish in years.”

The council also:

*Reviewed a tax exemption proposal for elderly and disabled residents.

Ferrell-Benavides said, “This is an opportunity to look at our options. I don’t want to see the elderly bear the burden of rising housing costs.” The topic will be revisited on April 1.

*A grant request for a Kinship Navigator position to assist foster care kinship caregivers.

*An update on ARPA funds, with $2.9 million allocated for ongoing projects.

*Adoption of the budget calendar.

*Approval of a finance agreement reimbursement resolution.

*Lower health care costs for city employees.

*Resolved that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

*Honored the Martinsville Middle School Boys’ Basketball Team, Martinsville Middle School Girls’ Basketball Team, and Martinsville High School Swim Team State Champion Sherman Dillard.