Loudoun County Supervisor Ken Reid's efforts to appoint Waterford resident Milari Madison to the County's Historic District Review Committee have met with opposition from Board Chairman Scott York and several of the County's leading historic preservation and educational organizations.

The Historic District Review Committee is a seven-member panel appointed by the Board of Supervisors and charged with maintaining the architectural and historic integrity of Loudoun County's Historic Districts.

Malari Madison and her husband, Paul, are arguably best known for their ultimately unsuccessful efforts to have the Village of Waterford removed from the list of Virginia Historic landmarks and stripped of its Historic District designation.

The Madisons, after a multiyear court and PR struggle, also razed the historic Simms House on Janney Street in Waterford and replaced it with a modern brick structure.

Asked about Reid's nomination of Madison, Board Chairman Scott York told the Eccentric, "I will not support this proposed nomination. I do not believe an individual who worked to end the historic designation of Waterford meets the qualifications of serving on this body."

When asked if she had heard of the appointment, Cate Magennis Wyatt, President of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, characterized the news as "Sad but true."

Childs Burden, President of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, observed that Reid's nomination of Madison to the county's Historic District Review "is more than troubling."

"Why," he said, "would a lady who has made a questionable career of being a critic of anything concerning historic preservation be put in this important committee? Ms. Madison is well known for her tactics of disruption and her appointment to the HDRC is like appointing an atheist to the monastery."

Historian Marc Leepson, also a member of the Mosby Board, said, "There's no better way to say this: Putting Ms. Madison on the HDRC board is akin to the fox guarding the hen house--maybe even worse than that. Based on her past actions, she would be trying to destroy everything the Committee stands for."

At press time the only supervisor who had responded to email queries about the nomination was Board Co-Chair and Blue Ridge District representative Janet Clarke. She wrote: "I was not aware of Milari Madison's nomination until Supervisor Reid made the nomination. I have never met nor conversed with Ms. Madison and have not had an opportunity to speak with Supervisor Higgins regarding the nomination since Ms. Madison resides in his district."

There will be an opportunity for public comment on Monday night, July 2nd, beginning at 5:00 PM.

The nomination currently is scheduled to be acted on at the July 3rd business meeting of the Board of Supervisors.