Spin Control: Inside City Manager’s use of DC PR firm in wake of Police Chief firing

“It’s very important you DON’T continue inserting the (police) surveys into the public domain. This will only invite more questions…”

Highland Poe website

After Charlottesville City Manager Chip Boyles made the decision to fire Police Chief RaShall Brackney, just 10 days after signing off on a press release showing full support for the Chief, he realized he had a communications crisis on his hands. Boyles and his team then enlisted the help of Highland Poe, a DC public relations firm, to help them craft an Op-Ed in the Daily Progress and a statement as he prepared to face questions from City Council on September 20. Keep in mind, the City has a Communication/PR department, headed by Brian Wheeler, but Boyles chose to work with the DC firm and even discussed appropriating City funds to engage with them on this and on a long-term basis. Former City Manager Tarron Richardson also dealt with a number of difficult public relations issues during his time as City Manager, but it’s not hard to imagine what the fallout might have been if he had engaged a DC public relations firm to deal with them. Of course, Highland Poe’s se…