Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim and Suffolk Mayor Linda Johnson have resigned from their positions on the TowneBank Board of Directors, according to a statement from TowneBank on Thursday.
Click here to read Norfolk Mayor's Statement
This comes after Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms was placed on paid administrative leave from his position as President of Towne Financial Services Group.
TowneBank released the following statement to the public on Thursday, November 13, 2014:
Since the founding of Towne Bank over 15 years ago, the foundational pillars of our company have been anchored in service to others, community engagement, philanthropic support and, most of all, a commitment to operating with only the highest ethical standards.
Our community board members throughout the cities of Hampton Roads have provided a passionate and committed sense of direction for our bank to ensure that we always meet the needs of each community including providing a hand up to those among us who are less fortunate. Our Towne Boards represent virtually every segment of our community including those engaged in public service. Included among those who have represented their communities with distinction are the Honorable Paul Fraim, Mayor of the City of Norfolk, and the Honorable Linda Johnson, Mayor of the City of Suffolk. Mayor Fraim serves on our Hampton Roads corporate board and our Norfolk community board. Mayor Johnson serves on our Portsmouth/Suffolk community board.
The unfortunate events of the past week concerning city council actions in the City of Virginia Beach have led us to reassess the perception of our local mayors serving as members of our various boards. After reflection and out of an abundance of caution, Mayor Fraim and Mayor Johnson have agreed to resign from their Towne board positions, effective today. Importantly, this action has been taken to eliminate any perception of a conflict of interest and is not suggestive that any conflict exists.
The Towne family would like to thank both of them for their years of service in helping us meet the needs of their respective cities.
To each of them, we pledge to continue our unwavering support to be a community asset in the Norfolk and Suffolk communities.
