Stolle, Norment cleared of conflict charges

Roanoke lawyer David Nixon claimed that two senators – Ken Stolle and Tommy Norment – broke the conflict of interest of rules when they worked to rewrite Virginia’s eminent domain laws during the past General Assembly session. Their firm, Kaufman & Canoles, represents a number of local governments that could benefit from the changed condemnation statutes, he said. Even though Attorney General Bob McDonnell said a vote would be OK, both Stolle and Norment abstained when the measure came to a vote. The Senate Ethics Advisory Panel looked at Nixon’s claims and even held a closed hearing last week. But as The Virginian-Pilot reports, the panel dismissed all the charges against Stolle and Norment.