A leadership dispute within the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations (“Federation”) has escalated into a significant governance controversy, marked by contested board actions, emergency special meetings, disputed communications, and sharply conflicting accounts regarding the legality and legitimacy of the removal of the Federation’s President.
At the center of the dispute is Morgan Jameson of Oakton, who was elected President by the Federation’s membership on May 22, 2025. A small group of Board members, led by First Vice President Dave Fitzgerald of McLean, assert that Jameson has been removed as allowed per the Federation bylaws. Jameson strongly disputes that claim.
According to Jameson, events began on Friday, December 12, 2025, when Fitzgerald called him at approximately 12:18 p.m. Fitzgerald indicated that three Board members were petitioning for a special meeting, one agenda item being a discussion of whether Jameson should continue serving as President.
Jameson stated that he asked Fitzgerald to provide the petition by email and indicated he would have no objection to scheduling a meeting once the written petition was received per Federation bylaws. However, Jameson said Fitzgerald insisted the meeting be held on Sunday, December 14, despite Jameson having previously stated he would not be available that day. In addition, Jameson shared that he never received a request by Fitzgerald in writing as required by the Federation bylaws.
Fitzgerald subsequently distributed an email to the Board announcing that a meeting would take place on December 14. On Sunday, December 14, 2025, Fitzgerald convened the special Board meeting. During that meeting, the Board took several votes on several items, including a vote purporting to remove the President.
Jameson maintains that he never directly received formal notification of any vote to remove him, nor was he informed of any charges, allegations, or reasoning underlying the Board’s purported action.
According to the Federation bylaws – Article IV, Section 7, it is stated that a minimum of ten (10) member associations may petition in writing for consideration of removal of an officer from office. Such petition shall be submitted at a regular meeting. A hearing on the complaint shall be held at a regular or special meeting not more than two (2) months after submission of the complaint and after written notice of such complaint to all member associations and the Board of Directors. Disposition of the complaint shall be by ballot; removal shall require a three-fourths (3/4) vote.
In the following days, Jameson sought legal opinion to clarify his removal from this volunteer position under both the Federation bylaws and the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act (“VNCA”) under which the Federation was established. In a legal opinion letter issued on December 17, 2025, and circulated by Jameson to the Federation Board, it stated that “The members are vested with the authority to remove officers. This makes sense, because the members (not the Board) elect the officers. Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, it is my legal opinion that the purported removal of Mr. Jameson as President of the Federation on December 14 was null and void.”
In the days following the meeting, changes were made to the Federation’s website removing Jameson as President. Fitzgerald also asked other officers to update the Federation’s bank signature card to remove Jameson.
On December 20 and again on December 21, 2025, Fitzgerald emailed the Federation listserv stating that the President had been removed and that he was the Acting President. There is no Acting President defined in the Federation bylaws, but that the First Vice President is to execute the duties of the president in absence (such as a removal).
Jameson has yet to be officially informed about the charges against him and the actions taken. He first learned of his removal from several board members who reached out to him and when he received the listserv distribution that also included media, elected officials, and community members, which included personal friends of Jameson. According to Jameson, he started receiving text messages asking if he “embezzled money” from the organization and what he did wrong to get “kicked out.”
In our email to Fitzgerald and Jameson, on January 13, 2026, we asked the following question – Was the December 14, 2025, special meeting held in accordance with the Federation bylaws as stated in the Federation bylaws Article IV, Section 7 – If so, we would like a copy of the written petition for public record.”
In response to questions regarding the legitimacy of these actions, Fitzgerald provided the following statement by email on January 15, 2026:
“The Board of Directors of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations removed the president of the organization in accord with its Bylaws and governing law. The Federation has no further comment.”
Jameson disputes this characterization, stating that the Federation’s bylaws do not authorize the Board to remove a sitting President without a vote of the membership, nor do they provide for an “Acting President” designation under the circumstances described. He further stated that he remains unaware of whether, when, or how any membership vote on his removal would occur.
“A few rogue members of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations Board are attempting to illegally and without membership input, remove me,” Jameson said. “Throughout this time, I have been subjected to defamation that has seeped beyond the board and into the community.”
Jameson stated that member organizations—including Homeowners Associations and District Councils such as Braddock, Hunter Mill, and Mason—were not informed of any cause for removal and were denied any opportunity to vote or provide input. He noted that such an action would be unprecedented in the Federation’s 85-year history.
Jameson further alleged that Fitzgerald went as far as to direct past President Tim Thompson of McLean to pressure a board member to involve law enforcement in an effort to bar Jameson from attending Federation meetings, which are held in public facilities.
The following week, a Board meeting originally scheduled for January 15 at the Kings Park Library in Burke was moved to a virtual format without public notice. Jameson was removed from Board communications.
Jameson maintains that all actions taken to remove him were conducted in bad faith, in violation of the Federation’s bylaws and Virginia state code, and without the involvement of the membership that elected him.
