RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The United States Postal Service is still ignoring calls from Virginia officials to hold a townhall to address residents’ concerns about mail theft, delays and the agency’s transparency.
Countless central Virginians have reached out to 8News about extensive mail delays, saying they haven’t received important documents like bills, tax papers and election ballots for months.
Similarly, local officials, like Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, said her office received an abnormally high amount of reports during the fall and winter season of 2023.
“Deputy Commonwealth’s attorney Christine Sestero, who is really the lead on this initiative, has received literally hundreds of emails, Facebook posts, texts [and] phone calls,” said McEachin.
In December, McEachin’s office decided to host a town hall in an effort to open a line of communication between residents and the postal service.
“At least, if they couldn’t offer an immediate solution to residents, residents would at least know that the post office was aware of their specific concerns and was working to address them,” said McEachin.
Soon after it was announced that a town hall would take place, the event was canceled because officials from the postal service declined to attend and speak with residents.
That’s when Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, sent a letter to the postal service to call on officials to host a townhall for residents by Jan. 19. Last week, the legislators received a response from the postal service, saying the agency would not do so, a decision McEachin said she was disappointed to hear about.
“If not have a town hall, at least send out some type of communication to the public, either through our office or through the federal representative’s offices or through their own information officer,” said McEachin.
Although the holiday season is over, McEachin told 8News her office continues to receive reports of mail issues — and with tax season and elections around the corner, she says she’s worried the issue will persist.
For now, McEachin urges residents to continue to share their concerns with elected officials and take necessary precautions to protect themselves from mail thefts by dropping of mail inside of the post office rather than outside in the blue drop boxes.
“Our hands are tied, just like every other representative’s hands are tied,” said McEachin. “This is really ultimately something that the postal service board can choose to fix or not fix.”
