Washingtonpost.com (Jeremy Borden):
A Manassas City Council member who is the executive director of the Manassas Ballet Theatre voted again Monday to fund the non-profit with $23,000 of city money.
Mark D. Wolfe (R) is the unpaid executive director of the ballet, and his wife, Amy, is paid $50,000 per year, Wolfe said. Last month, Wolfe did not disclose his position in the ballet — although he is well-known locally for that role — before a vote that gave a total of $142,500 to arts and human-services groups, including the ballet.
Wolfe said there was no reason that he could not vote on the funding package. At the request of Mayor Harry “Hal” Parrish II (R) the council took the vote a second time in order to discuss the issue and so that Wolfe could properly disclose his role in the ballet.
The 4-2 vote Monday was the same as in June, with members Marc Aveni (R) and Ian Lovejoy (R) voting against the allocations.
Parrish, who does not generally vote, and other members of the council said Wolfe had made a mistake by not disclosing his position on the ballet.
