RICHMOND, Va. — The City of Richmond has agreed to pay $549,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by its former public records officer, who claimed she was wrongfully fired for exposing the city’s alleged improper practices of hiding public information.
Connie Clay sued the city for $250,000 in March 2024, alleging city leaders routinely delayed or withheld records that taxpayers had the right to access. The settlement ends two years of litigation that spanned two mayoral administrations.
“It’s just such a huge disappointment that the bureaucrats in City Hall do not want to follow the law. And if I don’t say something, who will?” Clay told CBS 6 in a previous interview about the lawsuit.
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After raising concerns about Richmond’s transparency, she was fired
Clay alleged she was terminated as Richmond’s Freedom of Information Act officer by her boss, former Public Relations Director Petula Burks, after warning that the city’s practices were unlawful…