The Case of the Disappearing Yard Signs [Updated]

[Updated: mystery solved! It was an honest mistake and the signs have been re-planted.]

Van Metre gave Cliff (and only Cliff) permission to put his signs on their properties in the Broadlands - near the fountain, alongside both shopping centers, and on their vacant lots.

So on Friday, Cliff went and planted his yard signs in those places. More than 15 feet in from the road so as to be out of the VDOT right-of-way. And today - poof! - they're gone.

If you, or anyone you know, took the signs, it'd be a nice gesture if you'd return them.

If you're thinking about taking the one in MY yard, please note that we've got a security system set up.

(this is a duplicate post from doorbellqueen.com. After the election, I'll be turning this site off)

Doorbell Queen is moving

Please set your links to doorbellqueen.com

I'm making this move to help keep commenting open and free, while maintaining a bit of order. I just couldn't figure out how the heck to get Blogger to allow anonymous commenting, without allowing anyone to comment as "anonymous".

See you over there!

Andrea's aides speak up on the record

Dusty Smith and Erika Jacobson Moore have the story.

But it was the cat that prompted action. During a meeting among the supervisors’ aides, McGimsey’s current aide Alex Delgado mentioned he was going to feed her cat and clean out the kitty the litter.

“That upset so many of us that one of the aides went to [County Administrator Tim] Hemstreet about it,” said an aide from another office. At least four aides present at the meeting confirmed the account, including Jessica Echard, who made the complaint.

“I went to the county administrator,” said Echard, who worked for Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) before leaving town for an internship. “The meeting was actually over,” Echard explained, saying Delgado raised the cat care half-jokingly. “’Oh yeah, she just told me to put it on my time sheet.’ We all just stopped and said, ‘Whoa, that’s not OK.’”

Delgado said the entire situation was a misunderstanding with the other aides and that the situation got blown beyond what it actually was.

“No county money was spent to take care of her cat,” he said. “She and I have a friendship beyond [supervisor-aide]. That’s all that was.”

I think it's important to remember that staff aides are at-will employees, entirely dependent on their employer's good will to keep their jobs. If you were in that position, and your employer asked you to do them a favor, whether or not it was on the clock, would you feel like you could say "no"?

And, as a reminder, here is an example of how she treats COUNTY staff, on camera:
[first posted on Without Supervision]

I did tell you so.

Meanwhile, in the school board races...

Items of interest from races I'm watching:

1. Joe Guzman endorses John Stevens:
   

   School Board Rep. Joseph Guzman (R-Sugarland Run)
   "The School Board is no place for partisan politics. John Stevens has been a fantastic Chairman. We both believe in putting children first. I am proud to have supported John and I would vote for him again!"
   
   Read more endorsements at StevensForSchools.org.

    Now, I'm no fan of Guzman, but him snubbing Debbie Rose to endorse John Stevens is definitely big news. Good work, John!


2. Bob Ohneiser has a terrific quote in Leesburg Today about the problematic LCPS discipline policy:
   

   School Board member Bob Ohneiser (Broad Run), an attorney who has been openly critical of the district's discipline process, said in the eight years he's served as a board member, the number of lawsuits and appeals has grown from "fitting on one page to eight pages long on both sides."
   
   "Those parents are spending hundreds and hundreds per hour to set the record straight out of principle," Ohneiser said. "People don't do that unless they feel wronged."

   Bob Oh! is outspoken and not afraid to face down his board mates and Hatrick.


3. The one really bright spot in the Loudoun Times Mirror's confusing endorsements was their endorsement of Joy Maloney:
   

   The Broad Run race is a difficult one. While impressed with Kevin Kuesters and the work he has done preparing for the position, we remain troubled by the accusations of assault which cannot be fully resolved by Election Day. Candidates have a time and a place, and perhaps the problem is that Kuesters needs to resolve these issues in his personal life before making another run for public office. While concerned about write-in candidate Joy Maloney’s ability to organize a successful write-in campaign and balance an elected office with her work life, we endorse her candidacy and are impressed by the level of commitment and involvement with the community that she has demonstrated.

As you all know, I'm going to be voting for Joy and Bob on Tuesday. I hope you will all join me!

Still curious: HOW much money have MC Dean etal put into Loudoun Races this year?

When I added it all together a couple of weeks ago, it came to $27,250 for the BOS races alone.

The fresh reports show Bill Dean giving another $2,500 to Suzanne Volpe, MC Dean giving another $7,500 to Eugene Delgaudio (in two installments) and a whopping $20,000 to Va Rep - Nova Business Forum for the anti-McGimsey mailers that my husband, Stevens, reported on.

So let's see...

$27,250
$ 2,500
$ 7,500
$20,000
-------------
$57,250

We haven't even gotten the final reports yet. And this doesn't count their donations to Black, LeMunyon, and Rust.

We're looking at one company, here. MC Dean and Bill Dean together make BY FAR the largest contributor to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors races.

What are they hoping to get for their money?

You may remember, the BOS decided NOT to have a Dean district. Loudoun shouldn't have a Dean BOS, either.

Okay, so Plowman dropped the charges

That doesn't change the fact that you should still write in Joy Maloney for Broad Run School Board.

My issues with Mr. Kuester's candidacy remain the same, I feel that people on the school board should believe in the value of public education, and should be fiscally responsible. Mr. Kuesters fails both those tests.

Mr. Kuesters sends his school-age children to private religious school. That's his right, obviously. But I think someone who wants to be in charge of our public schools, who has school-age children, should be invested enough in the schools to have his children attend them.

The School Board has fiscal oversight over the schools budget. Mr. Kuesters filed bankruptcy last year and is in more financial hot-water this year with his HOAs.

And then there is the arrest. I have volunteered with LAWS, the Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter, and I am aware of how common it is for abused spouses to withdraw complaints against their abusers. Mr. Kuesters may or may not have abused his wife, but whatever happened, it's clear that he has personal issues that are too complex to be completely dealt with before swearing in on January 1.

Meanwhile, Joy Maloney has a daughter at Eagle Ridge, her family is on a good solid financial footing, and she's not facing family turmoil. PLUS, she has a Masters in Educational Leadership and a Bachelors in Secondary Education. She taught high school for 5 years, and she works in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field.

Write in Joy Maloney for Broad Run School Board.

Broken Windows: Why the Loudoun Times Mirror is partly to blame for the LCRC's email "joke"

You all remember when Guilliani was Mayor of NYC, and he said that crimes of vandalism needed to be prosecuted and not just let go, because if you allow broken windows to flourish, you get drug dealing and all sorts of other crime?

Well, here's the thing. Delgaudio regularly sends out to his constituents emails that rail against the evils of Obama, and he regularly sends out to his Public Advocate mailing list emails that rail against the evils of gays, lesbians, and transgendered people and how they're coming to take over the world. And he even makes speeches from the dais, yelling about both things. (video below the fold)

And, knowing this, the Loudoun Times Mirror still endorsed him. They endorsed him, calling his inexcusable behavior "antics". They endorsed him.

He sends out blatently violent images, and the Loudoun Times Mirror says nothing. (violent image below the fold)

(To be fair, neither the Ashburn Patch nor Leesburg Today said anything either. But they didn't endorse Eugene. The Loudoun Times Mirror did.)

Is it any wonder that Mark Sell would think that no-one would think anything of his disgusting email? Is it any wonder that a prominent Republican, the leader of the local committee thought that this would be accepted by the Loudoun community at large?

Of COURSE everyone would be okay with that little ol' picture of Obama. Why, Eugene does this sort of this sort of thing all the time! And he's been re-elected twice! No one cares!

Except that we do. We do care. The community at large does care. Just, apparently, not when Eugene Delgaudio does it.

Loudoun Times Mirror, rescind your endorsement of Eugene Delgaudio.

I write letters [updated]

The Ashburn Patch printed one I sent to all the local papers about Loudoun Times Mirror's deplorable endorsement of Eugene Delgaudio.

[Updated to add] The Loudoun Times Mirror printed it too.

Full-Day Kindergarten: The Broad Run Candidates Respond

Kevin Kuesters

Should Loudoun institute Full-Day Kindergarten in all elementary schools and, if
so, how can it be implemented?

Full disclosure: I read the responses on your blog from Bob Ohneiser, Debbie Rose,
John Stevens, Eric Hornberger, Debbie Piland, Priscilla Godfrey and Bill Fox before
submitting my response to you.

LCPS has 59 elementary schools right now and 12 of these schools already have full-
day kindergarten (FDK). Therefore we would need to add FDK to 47 existing schools to implement it in all elementary schools.

Mish-mashing the math (I’m a CPA, its what I do!) using figures from two of the
aforementioned candidate responses, if we would need the capacity of approximately
2.5 schools to go to FDK, and each elementary school (ES) is projected to cost
$25,165,000 (per FY 2013 CIP estimates), then it will cost us approximately $62,912,500 to build enough rooms to implement FDK just for the current schools. This is a low-ball estimate of the one-time construction cost to put FDK into existing schools.

Assuming most elementary schools only have 2 half-day kindergarten (HDK) classes,
we would also be adding at least 1 more classroom to each school at a minimum cost of
$200,000 (the cost of a trailer).

We would also be adding the cost of a teacher and teacher’s aide for each kindergarten
classroom with more than 15 students. Since the average class size is 22 kids, and
assuming the teacher and teacher’s aide earn the second lowest salary on the pay
scale ($43,815), we would add $87,630 for each new kindergarten classroom, before
considering the cost of benefits for each teacher. Let’s just round it up to $100k in
salaries and benefits for each new kindergarten class. (By the way, only 84.20 teachers
out of the 4,000 or so employed by LCPS make that low salary.) Multiplying $100k in
salary and benefits times 47 (ES that currently do not have FDK), gives us $4.7 million in additional salaries and benefits every year if we add FDK. This is a low-ball estimate of the annual increase in the operating budget

So the estimated cost to implement FDK in LCPS would be around $63 million in
one time construction costs, plus $4.7 million in increased annual costs for teacher
salaries & benefits in existing schools, plus $200k additional construction costs for each new ES, plus $100k in increased annual personnel costs for each new ES.

So what are the benefits?

LCPS runs a school system for grades K-12 and therefore it makes sense to look at
the end result – the finished student as he or she graduates from high school and goes
to college or to work. There are no studies that evidence an appreciable difference
between graduating high school seniors that went to HDK vice FDK. In fact most
studies that look at the difference in academic achievement between half-day and full-

day kindergarten students show that by 4th grade any advantage held by the full day
kindergarten students has disappeared. Therefore, from an academic standpoint FDK is
not needed. There is one exception to this rule though: at-risk kids. At-risk kids who
attend FDK are shown to perform statistically better than at-risk kids who attend HDK
through their entire K-12 careers.

My position: Ultimately the quality of the kindergarten experience matters more than the
length of the day. Full-day kindergarten provides measurable benefits to at-risk kids and
I would support FDK for at-risk kids. Since LCPS already has implemented FDK for this population, I do not support any further expansion of FDK in LCPS at this time.

Joy Maloney

Yes, Loudoun should institute full-day kindergarten. As a two working-parent family, we put my daughter in full-day kindergarten at the superb AOL Child Development Center. We wished she could go to her neighborhood school, but we simply didn't think it was fair to her to be bussed around from school to school when she already loved her childcare center so much. Still, she told me the other day that she wished she had gone to kindergarten at Mill Run, because all of her friends had that one extra year to get to know each other. Full-day kindergarten gives students the transition they need into their elementary school while also giving teachers time to really teach.

The hard part, of course, is implementing it. We are in a tough economic situation right now, and we are going to have a difficult challenge just maintaining the excellent education our schools provide, let alone improving on it. We can start by having a concrete long-term plan. We need to begin building new schools with the assumption that there will be full-day kindergarten in those schools. We need to add schools each year that offer full-day kindergarten to at least disadvantaged children. We can offer it at schools, but not make it required to begin with, possibly keeping enrollment lower to start.

Fairfax County began implementing full-day kindergarten over 10 years ago. They finally came up with a plan to rapidly expand full-day kindergarten in 2006. It took them two years longer than their plan to actually get it accomplished. We need a plan, and maybe it will take longer than we expect, too. But if we don't start, we won't finish.

Another letter from Eugene Delgaudio

This one didn't end up in my Inbox, but others have gotten it.

Eugene Delgaudio felt that this header image was appropriate to send out to his Public Advocate mailing list

Eugene Delgaudio felt it was appropriate to send out a header image depicting a pool of rainbow blood on a floor, with a bloody handprint.

Please, please, please Sterling. Vote this guy out of office. Please, please, please Sterling. Vote for Al Nevarez.

If you don't live in Sterling, but the thought of someone like Eugene Delgaudio remaining in office horrifies you, please donate to Al Nevarez.

Don't know who Eugene Delgaudio is? Here's a refresher:

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

This song has been in my head a lot lately

Back in May, I was really really really angry and cut off some contact with a lot of people I had thought were my friends...lately, I've been speaking with some of them again.

So here is Christine Lavin's "Regretting What I Said..." sung by Julia Murney. If you think this song is for you, it probably is.
I'm sorry. Forgive me. I'm sorry, but I'm still mad at you.

I would vote for Kelly Burk

Over at his own blog, my husband, Stevens Miller, has said that he would vote for Ken Reid if we lived in Leesburg.

I understand his reasons, and agree with a lot of what he says but from the same facts, I come to a different conclusion.

Yes, Kelly Burk is flaky and never remembers to turn off her cell phone. Yes, she's not a terribly clear thinker. Yes, she's been known to be petty and vindictive.

I would still vote for her, because I fear what we would get with Ken Reid. Ken Reid is a staunch conservative ala Dick Black and Eugene Delgaudio who is smart enough to at least try to hide that he is a Black/Delgaudio fan. If he is elected to the BOS, he could easily use that as a platform to get to the general assembly. We already have enough people running for the GA who think that birth control should be outlawed.

The anti-choice/anti-LGBT folks vote anti-choice/anti-LGBT at every level of government, because they know that local office is where you get your crop for next year's higher office candidates.

It's time for our side to start doing the same. We need to vote PRO-choice/PRO-LGBT at every level of government.

And, while Kelly isn't an ally of Choice, she did stand up to Delgaudio. I'd rather have tepid support than avid opposition.

So, if you live in Leesburg, and you're no Black/Delgaudio fan, vote for Kelly Burk.

In case you were wondering...

Campaign Signs: What are the Rules?: 

Loudoun County’s zoning ordinance provisions require anyone interested in displaying signs on the roadways within the county to obtain a zoning permit. Once the permit is obtained, signs not exceeding four-square-feet may be placed on private property (any parcel of record) upon consent of the property owner. Large billboard type signs are not permitted in accordance with current zoning ordinance provisions. For additional information regarding the sign permit process, please contact Marsha Keim, Zoning Permit Division, 703-777-0648.

No signs are permitted in a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) right-of-way. Under an agreement with VDOT, Loudoun County removes all signs that have been placed within VDOT rights-of-way.  For additional information regarding the sign collection program, please contact Roger Carroll, Zoning Enforcement, 703-737-8818.

Sign regulations may differ within Loudoun County’s incorporated towns and the appropriate town offices should be contacted regarding placement of campaign and other temporary signs within towns.

Brief Note

Discussing Delgaudio's behaviors and parsing his letter in the post below is definitely on-topic. Attributing those behaviors and the wording of the letter to a mental illness is not, even if you are attributing it to a specific mental illness.

Delgaudio is mean, narrow-minded, and preys on the fears and loathings of others. Not all people who do these things are mentally ill, and not all mentally ill people do these things.

Personally, I believe that Delgaudio is acting, that he is a con-artist, that he behaves this way because it makes him money.

I am leaving up nazani14's comment on the post below, but I am asking you all, nazani14 included, to please stop speculating about Delgaudio's mental status.

Thank you.

Letter from Eugene Delgaudio

A letter from Eugene Delgaudio was in my inbox this morning. Mostly, it's got a lot of anti-community activism text, especially,

"COUNTY SUPERVISORS DROP KICK BUSINESS LEADERS?
And in Leesburg-- your Loudoun County Board of supervisors-- hears and considers condemnations of business leaders...[snip]

The pursuit of profit and prosperity is what makes America a great nation.

To attack free market leaders and business spokesman in Leesburg-- our local seat of government-- or on Wall Street-- is an attack on all our freedoms."[emphasis his]

Plus a bit about "donors and their companies". This makes me think that the letter is a reaction to both the pleas by residents to deny a franchise to OpenBand (link from Loudoun Times Mirror*) and the disgust over his taking a $2,500 donation from OpenBand owner MC Dean a month before a vote on that franchise is scheduled to take place.

The letter itself, as it was sent to me, is after the jump.

The upshot of the letter is a message to the people of Sterling: If you want someone who really does support working people, and wants to maintain the rights and freedoms of Loudouners, vote for Al Nevarez.

*"Bill Dean, M.C. Dean CEO and president, holds a minority interest in Times Community Media and sits on its board of directors" - from the article I linked to.

I got curious UPDATED

How much money has MC Dean (owners of OpenBand) and William H. Dean (owner of MC Dean) put into Loudoun races so far this cycle*?

 MC Dean: $12,500 (counting the $2,500 reported on Delgaudio's latest filing. Not yet on VPAP)
William H. Dean: $20,500.

Total: $33,000.

Of those numbers, $7,500 of MC Dean's contributions are going to BOS races. $18,000 of Bill Dean's contributions are going to BOS races. That's $25,500.

The BOS recipients are:

Buona ($5,000 + $500)
Clarke ($5,000 + $500)
Delgaudio ($2,500 this year)
Letourneau ($2,500 + $3,000)
Volpe ($5,500)


$25,500 $24,500 to five Supervisor candidates, including one scheduled to vote on OpenBand in less than 2 weeks. The rest, if they win, will almost certainly vote on OpenBand during their tenure.

MC Dean and Bill Dean together make the largest contributor to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors races.


What are they hoping to get for their money?

*Not counting money to Opportunity Virginia PAC and Va Rep - Senate Caucus.

 [UPDATE #1: James Brabham, an executive at MC Dean, donated $500 each to Buona, Clarke, Letourneau, and Volpe. (Norman) Douglas Cumins, another executive at MC Dean gave $250 each to Buona, Clarke, and Volpe.
So, their totals from MC Dean etal this year are:
Buona ($5,000 + $500 + $500 + $250) = $6250
Clarke ($5,000 + $500 + $500 + $250) = $6250
Delgaudio ($2,500 this year)
Letourneau ($2,500 + $3,000 + $500) = $6000
Volpe ($5,500 + $500 + $250) = $6250

Which brings the total for BOS candidates alone to $27,250. VPAP doesn't have searches by employer, so all I've got to go on is donations from people I know are employed by MC Dean. If you know of others, please let me know and I'll add them.]

Noticed this while compiling the campaign contributions list

Delgaudio got another $2500 from M.C. Dean. That brings him up to a life-time total of $12,500.

You think he'll recuse himself when they vote on OpenBand in a couple of weeks?

How to vote for Joy Maloney using the electronic voting machine

How to write in your vote using the electronic voting machines

Dick Black is against a woman's right to choose what to do with her...

...Work product.

Catherine Read, a professional photographer, was at the NARAL Black OUT event on Thursday, along with a host of pro-Choice Loudouners and Fairfaxians, and took a ton of pictures, which she put on her facebook page, and...

Well...Let me let her tell you the rest of the story.

Apparently Dick Black's daughter Michelle Black Staton attempted to tag my photos not realizing AS THE OWNER OF THE PHOTO I have to give MY PERMISSION. Which I DID NOT. So Dick Black's campaign simply downloaded it from Facebook and used it for their email WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION OR PERMISSION!! Great judgment call for an attorney to make. I guess he thinks intellectual property doesn't mean the same thing on the Internet. Oct. 14, 2011. http://secure.campaigner.com/Campaigner/Public/t.show?O5Wl--AGQw-rwn1q3

 Here's a screen capture of the requests to tag the photos in question.

And here's a screen capture of the Dick Black fund-raising page, with the stolen photo:

When Dick Black says he is 100% against a woman's right to choose, HE MEANS IT.

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Don't like what Dick did? Donate to NARAL Pro-Choice VA or to Shawn Mitchell.

Write-in Joy Maloney for Broad Run School Board!

My friend and neighbor, Joy Maloney, is stepping up to run against Kevin Kuesters, who was recently arrested for assaulting his wife.

Check out Joy's website and, please, write her name in on November 8th.


Stevens has more at Without Supervision.

Poor Jim Plowman, has to go out of the county to find supporters

Invitation to Jim Plowman's fundraiser in Fairfax last night

While Jennifer Wexton was holding a well-attended fundraiser at a local Loudoun business, Jim Plowman had to leave the county to get to his fundraiser, at the law offices of Phillips, Beckwith, Hall, & Chase.

Wait a minute....Beckwith? Beckwith? Why does that name sound so familiar? Because Beckwith was the attorney for a defendant that got a sweetheart deal from Plowman's office.

Friends of Jim Plowman

Sean Mabry robbed women at knifepoint in three separate offenses in Loudoun in September, 2010. Once he was caught, he admitted that he sought out women victims because he thought they would be easier to rob.

Mabry hired an attorney whose firm was a donor to Plowman’s campaign and in March, 2011, the Commonwealth agreed that Mabry would plead guilty to two of the robberies, and would not be charged for any other robberies he committed in Loudoun.

The Commonwealth not only to the specific sentence, and that the sentences could be served concurrently with one another, they also agreed that the sentence for the Loudoun charges would be concurrent to the sentence Mabry would serve for two additional robberies he had committed in Fairfax County! (See Mabry Facts and Plea Agreement)

Mabry’s counsel’s law firm followed up with an additional campaign donation to Plowman in June, 2011.

The Commonwealth’s volume discount allowed the defendant to commit numerous armed robberies throughout Northern Virginia, targeting those he believed to be the most vulnerable victims, for NO ADDITIONAL PENALTY. (See Mabry Facts and Plea Agreement).

Beckwith's signature on Mabry's plea agreement

It's time for Loudoun to have a Commonwealth's Attorney that doesn't give sweetheart deals to the clients of donors. It's time to bring honesty and integrity back to the office of Commonwealth's Attorney.

It's time to vote for Jennifer Wexton.

Can you spot the blogger?

DPVA has put up a new site The Real Dick Black.

It's a really strong site, filled with lots of information about Dick Black and his record. And it also has a video.

This video:



More videos coming soon!

Speaking of Solutions...

Dick Black (R-epulsive) has been smearing Shawn Mitchell, his Democratic opponent for the new 13th Senate seat.

Perhaps it's because he just has nothing else to offer the voters? Shawn Mitchell, on the other hand, does have more to offer the voters:

Solutions vs. Rhetoric
Mitchell Offers Real Solutions While Career Politician Black
Covers Up His Record

Ashburn, VA – Twice recently, small business owner Shawn Mitchell squared off against career politician Delegate Dick Black in a discussion about the future direction of the 13thDistrict. It is clear that Mitchell is the only candidate who will go to Richmond with real solutions to jump-start the economy and get Virginia moving forward again.

“Dick Black spends more time running away from his record than he does offering a vision for a better future,” said Mitchell Campaign Manager Dominic Gabello. “Whether it was voting against teacher pay raises or against more seats in Virginia colleges and universities for Virginia kids, Dick Black is too extreme for Loudoun and Prince William families. 

“Black's empty campaign rhetoric on issues like transportation continue to explain why he was one of the most ineffective members of the General Assembly when voters fired him in 2005. Loudoun and Prince William families need real solutions for our transportation crisis, not pay in the sky schemes that will only pay off if Virginia posts a budget surplus.” 

A comparison between the two candidates on the issues of most importance to voters:

Economy

Mitchell: Mitchell will work to attract high-growth, high-energy jobs. Mitchell also knows that one of the biggest problems small businesses face is their access to capital, so he proposes creating a reserve fund that will back bank loans to small businesses. Additionally, Mitchell supports worker training programs that will help unemployed workers get new skills and help them get back to work.

Black: Only talks about reducing regulations on business but offers no plans on creating jobs or how to attract new businesses to Virginia.

Transportation

Mitchell: Mitchell supports bringing the Northern Virginia Delegation together to support a comprehensive, long-term plan to address our transportation nightmare. That plan should place an emphasis on projects that relieve the most congestion first. 

Black: Offers no comprehensive solution to our traffic crisis. Only “solution” is IF there is a budget surplus.

Education
Mitchell: Says we need to stop cutting K-12 and Higher Education funding, which is raising the costs on families and putting kids in trailers. Supports raising teacher pay to at least the national average so we are attracting and retaining the best teachers for our kids.

Black: In 2004, Black voted against an additional $250 million in higher education funding in the bi-partisan Warner budget. In 2005, Black voted against a bill that would guarantee more seats for Virginia students at state Colleges and Universities. Additionally, in the Committee of 100 debate, Black said he never voted against a teacher pay raise, but in 2001 voted against a 6% pay raise for teachers.   

BACKGROUND:
Dick Black on Jobs: http://www.dickblack4senate.com/jobs.html

2005 Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act
HB 2866 http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=051&typ=bil&val=hb2866

Voted Against Giving Teachers a Six Percent Salary Increase and Against Restoring $9.4 Million Into the General Fund for Public School Maintenance
McEachin Floor Amdt. To HB1600, 2/8/2011 - http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?011+vot+HV1202+HB1600

Prince William Committee of 100 debate at  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/17661833

Loudoun Chamber forum at  http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/article_0bf86694-eea8-11e0-a7ba-001cc4c03286.html    

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Authorized by Shawn Mitchell for State Senate

Remember folks, when it comes time to vote, that we need reasonable people with real solutions for our everyday problems. Shawn Mitchell is a veteran, a local successful business man, and is exactly the kind of person we need in Richmond.

Problem/Solution

Problem: The US has lost millions of manufacturing jobs overseas, we have millions of unemployed people - most of whom have at least a high school education. Tax incentives to large businesses have not increased domestic hiring of these workers who were formerly employed making things here in the US.

Problem: Increasing tariffs on foreign-made products doesn't do much to bring back jobs here, because it ends up closing markets to our goods as well.

Problem: Asking people to "Buy American" is hard when there's not a lot that actually does get made here anymore (though here's a good resource to find stuff that is).

Problem: Even with tariffs, products made overseas can be made for pennies on the dollar, because they don't much care about worker safety or child labor. So basically, we as consumers, and the stores we shop at, are getting bargain-basement prices while ignoring the fact that the true cost of those prices is the horrible conditions of workers - and the fact that many of the things we buy are made by children.

Problem: Given that bringing lost manufacturing jobs back to the US is an unrealistic goal, how then to re-employ the work-force who once held those jobs?

Solution: Create, or build upon, industries that cannot be exported. Examples:

• Infrastructure. Specifically, rail. Our nation is woefully under-provided with passenger rail. We could connect every point in the country with every other point in the country with a reliable rail network. Building railroads requires putting people to work on-site. Maintaining railroads requires keeping people working on-site.
• Infrastructure again. This time, specifically nation-wide wireless broadband access. Get people in every nook-and-cranny of the country connected. Installing and maintaining a wireless broadband network = jobs.
• Renovation. Making every existing building more energy efficient. Installing new windows, better insulation, solar panels, radiant flooring.
• Renovation again. Making every existing building less toxic. Removing lead paint, asbestos, mercury.
• Renovation again. Making every existing building accessible.

Now, I'm guessing that there are people who say that private industry should step up and do these things, and I would agree...if private industry were stepping up to do it. But it's not. And this is a perfect example of what the government can be really good for. Government can start the ball rolling just like it did during the '30's with the WPA. Spend money on infrastructure, create a robust national rail network. And, yes, high speed rail. Create a robust high speed wireless network.
Give grants or government loans to homeowners for renovations. Grants or government loans, instead of tax breaks or bank loans, since tax breaks and bank loans assume a level of solvency that not every homeowner has.
Give grants to school systems, organizations, and municipal governments for similar renovations.

Put people to work. Here at home.

The Perils of Having a Common Name

This Michael Chapman

Chapman for Sheriff

is not this Michael Chapman

Chapman for Tea Party

The former one (the one who still has his hair), is a respected law enforcement officer, with decades of experience.

The latter one is a Tea Partier par excellence, and apparently the fact that they have the same name has confused some people.

I hope this clears up that confusion.

Attention Candidates!!!

The State Board of Elections has ruled the following about websites:

Each page is accessible via its own link and address. Therefore, each webpage must include the disclaimer.

Quite frankly, I would never have interpreted the law this way, since the law says,

Radio, TV and print media communications must include disclaimers displayed conspicuously. Print media includes billboards, newspaper and magazine ads, mailings, fliers, email and websites. Printed pieces consisting of more than one page need bear the disclaimer only on one page or face. VA. CODE ANN. § 24.2-955.1 (defining “print media”).

However, I'm not in charge. The SBE is.

I will not insist that your campaign websites conform with this new ruling to be eligible for inclusion in my Campaign Websites page. From here on, I will list one link per candidate no matter what.

If you don't have a campaign website, but you do have a facebook page or a blog or whatever that, please send me ONE link to the site you would like me to include. I would prefer that it not be an official government site, but if that's all you've got, I'll accept it.

67th HOD: Candidates Answers on Metro

Eric Clingan (D)

Completing the Silver Line and extending Metro to Loudoun is one of my top transportation priorities. Dulles Airport is the gateway to the world for our nation's capital and it should be served by a first rate public transportation system.

My District, which is comprised of parts of Chantilly, Oakton, Herndon, South Riding and Centreville, also desperately needs higher quality public transportation options. I strongly support the extension of the Orange Line to Centreville and Chantilly.

Northern Virginia commuters spend more time in traffic every year. Every minute spent in traffic is a minute of potential economic productivity wasted. We need multi-modal solutions to our region's transportation woes to get people out of traffic and into work.

Jim LeMunyon (R)

Elizabeth,
Delegate LeMunyon is out of town today attending a funeral. He was quoted today in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on this very subject. I’ve copied and pasted his quote, specific to providing additional funding for Metro rail to Dulles, below. The entire article can be found here: http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/state_house_of_delegate_candidates_face_off_at_chamber_event898/

But LeMunyon stood somewhere in the middle on his position for additional funding.

“In a word, I’ll say maybe and I’ll explain why,” he said.

“We need to rank projects based on what will give us the biggest bang for the buck based on congestion reduction and spend a lion’s share of transportation dollars funding those projects,” LeMunyon continued. “If Dulles Rail is high on the list then the state needs to step up and fund it.”

If you need more information, please let me know.

Best regards,

Christen Smith
Legislative Aide
Delegate Jim LeMunyon

A First

I had the strangest experience yesterday. I was talking to a registered voter in the Oak Grove district about Cliff Keirce (Independent!) and then briefly talked about Jennifer Wexton and Mike Kondratick (Democrats!) and the voter said,

"What about the Republicans?"

And I said,

"Well, I haven't got any of his literature, but I'm voting for Mike Chapman for Sheriff. He's a Republican."

And he said,

"So you're supporting Republicans as well as Democrats and Independents?"

And I said,

"Yup! I'm not with any organization, I'm voting for all these folks and I hope you will, too."

So, by my own rules, I hearby announce that I am endorsing Republican candidate for Sheriff, Mike Chapman.

This is the first time I've ever supported a Republican. Feels really weird, people.

FUNDRAISER FOR BLACK OUT - CANDIDATE BLACK THAT IS - 10/13, 6:30-8:30P​M, LBURG

THE EMERGENCY IS

WE REALLY NEED A BLACK OUT

 

 

And it’s HIGH time for a BlackOut
in Loudoun & Prince William Counties!

ANTI-CHOICE SENATE CANDIDATE DICK BLACK
 
YOU REMEMBER - THE AUTHOR OF THE INFAMOUS PLASTIC FETUS

Please Join the NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC Board for a BlackOut party to keep anti-choice Dick Black OUT 

of the state Senate! 

________________ 

 

Thursday, October 13, 20116:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

At the law offices of Campbell Flannery PC

19 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176

(Parking in back of our offices)
____________________

What's at stake .... ?

Plenty!  See, for eg, -  

http://bronxgadfly.blogspot.com/2011/05/gazette-column-women-know-your-governor.html

____________________

You’ll meet PAC Executive Director Tarina Keene
and find out how NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC
is taking on Dick Black and
answering other threats to reproductive freedom
in Virginia.  

 

Also, meet special guests 

Senate candidate Shawn Mitchell 

and

Senator Mark Herring.
____________________

 

Host Committee (still in formation): 

John Flannery • Charlie Jackson • Karen Raschke Catherine Read • John Sherman 

Choice Champion Host: $500

Choice Defender Host: $250 

Guest Suggested Donation Levels:

Choice Power Couple: $125

Choice Advocate: $100

Choice Ally & Young Professional: $50  

 

Enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and great political conversation!

 To RSVP or for more information, 

please contact Caroline O’Shea at rsvp@naralva.org or 202-973-3085.

MEDIA WELCOME - PLEASE TRY TO LET US KNOW IN ADVANCE - jonflan@aol.com

Warmest regards,

John

John P. Flannery II
CAMPBELL FLANNERY PC
19 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176
Office: 703-771-8344; Cell: 202-365-5060
www.johnpflannery.com
jonflan@aol.com

[from my inbox. I'll be arriving at this event a bit late, because I have a CSB meeting that same evening. Crossposted @ Loudoun Progress]

What I said

John Stevens sent out an email today asking for campaign donations.

My response?

John, if you were running for BOS, I'd be giving you money. But you're not. And I'm still pissed at you about that.

Because we all know that he could beat Suzanne Volpe. And yes, Susan Buckley could, too. As could Andrea (probably).

News you can use:

• The campaigns for Shawn Mitchell, Jennifer Wexton, and Cliff Keirce have all announced yard sign availability.
• The Coalition for Women's Health is having a rally down in Richmond on October 15. Bus ride is free if you RSVP ASAP.
• Jennifer Wexton has challenged Jim Plowman to a debate. This is one to watch!
• I've got 21 responses on the Metro question (out of 39), 7 responses on Full-Day Kindergarten (out of 23), and 4 on Donations (out of 20), with promises of more to come on each. Do you have a question you'd like me to ask the candidates? Let me know.
• Also, sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. Not everyone knows about the election on November 8. Make sure you get the word out to your friends and co-workers. People fight and die every day all over the world for the right to vote. Let's show our support by herding Federal voters of our aquaintance to the polls in the off-years.

A picture's worth a thousand words

Cliff Keirce in the news!

Terrific article on Cliff in the Ashburn Patch. My favorite part?

Keirce sees Metro’s extension into Loudoun as a pivotal hook to bring new businesses to the area, and he fully supports the project.

“I’m 100 percent certain it will be completed,” he said. “It’s important not only to the region but to the federal government.”

In a recent meeting with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Keirce learned that while Phase 2 does not have any federal funding currently, Sec. LaHood promised that the federal government would assist in some way with Phase 2 – likely through low-interest federal loans.

Go read it all.

On Blogging in the Open

I started blogging in May of '05, under the pseudonym "Mystery Mommy" (a mommy who liked mysteries). I blogged anonymously partly because I didn't want to be Dooced, but mostly because all the bloggers I was reading (almost exclusively personal bloggers) were blogging anonymously. I didn't care really if people outside of my bosses knew about my blog. I told Stevens about it. I told my friends about it. Heck, I told my mom about it.

Mostly, I didn't want to be googleable.

I came up with descriptive names for people when I wrote about them (my mom is "QuiltsALot", my dad is "MakesBooksForGrandkids"). I met several of my bloggy friends in real life.

So, along comes 2007, and I started having trouble blogging because the biggest thing going on in my life was just unbloggable if I wanted to stay ungoogleable.

But I found a way.

As time went on, staying ungoogleable became less and less important. I told more people. I told Stevens's campaign manager (Shaun Daniels, the World's Best Campaign Manager, Bar None). I told our '09 campaign staff. I twittered and facebooked. And I started this blog here.

And I was surprised at how long it took the Loudoun blogosphere to find me, because some of the folks in this arena are strong with the Google-fu (Hi Barbara!!).

The drawback to blogging in the open is that I am held personally accountable for the things I write.

The benefit to blogging in the open is that accountability breeds trust. Several of the people who responded to my questions for candidates told me that they were answering my questions because I blog under my own name, and they know that they have a remedy if I misrepresent what they say or break my promise to post their responses without editing or commentary.

Accountability, I has it. I get benefits from it. But I do pay a price. It's a price I am willing to pay, but I don't think you're wrong if you're not willing to pay it.

But here's the thing: If you're an anonymous blogger, don't whine that you're not getting the benefits of open blogging. That's the price YOU'RE paying for not having accountability.

Deal with it.

Gah!!

I accidentally put John Stevens as representing Sugarland Run in my fundraising posts. He represents Potomac. I hate it when I make the same mistakes I call other people out for.

No, she's not.

Andrea is NOT the Broad Run incumbent, that honor belongs to Lori Waters, who is not running for re-election.

The district that Andrea is running for is a mish-mash of precincts from three of the existing districts. Most come from both the current Broad Run (Lori Waters, Incumbent) and the current Dulles (Stevens Miller, Incumbent). Andrea's current district of Potomac is contributing only part of one little precinct.

For Andrea to tout herself as being the incumbent of Broad Run is, at best, misleading.

Here's how Kelly listed her name on the same program:

You notice something there that Andrea didn't include?

Here's Andrea's again:

Andrea's leaving out her party affiliation may lead to the impression that she is an Independent. Her website goes further to foster that impression, as she never mentions her party affilation, but has as a tag line that she is "Experienced. Independent. Trusted."). There IS an Independent in her race, but she is not him. That honor belongs to Cliff Keirce*, who I support fully.

Andrea is misrepresenting herself. She is NOT the Broad Run incumbent. She is NOT the Independent.

Experienced? At what?
Independent? From who?
Trusted? Not anymore.



*Due to an oversight, no Independents were invited to this forum, though candidates from both the Republicans and Democrats were. Stevens informed Cliff of the event on the morning it was taking place, and Cliff ended up being able to attend.

Two new questions

I just sent out two new questions: one to the Board of Supervisors candidates on donations; and one to the School Board candidates on Full-Day Kindergarten.

Both were inspired by questions I've gotten from readers.

Board of Supervisors:

Several people have been asking me about donations that BOS candidates are receiving and what that means for recusals and conflicts of interest. The questions have focused on donations from one particular donor, but it occurs to me that it doesn't matter who the donor is, the question can apply to all of you. So here's my question:

As a Supervisor, what will you do when one of your donors has business before the Board?

School Board:

Many of my readers have asked me if I know where each of you stands on Full-Day Kindergarten. Loudoun is now the only county in the DC Area without Full-Day Kindergarten in all of its elementary schools, and as far as I know, there is no plan to bring Loudoun into the group that includes Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Montgomery County, Prince William County, and Washington, D.C.

I will create a page like the one I have for the legislative and BOS candidates' answers on Metro, listing every candidate with his or her completely unedited answer to this one question:

Should Loudoun institute Full-Day Kindergarten in all elementary schools and, if so, how can it be implemented?

I will set up pages for their responses. As I get their answers, I will post them unedited and without comment.

By Request (UPDATED)

Okay, I got a good comment on the last post, and it made a valid point about how cash-on-hand can be misleading. So, here's the list of candidates with their funds raised in the same order as my websites page.


[UPDATED to add information for Mark Nuzzaco, and to round amounts to the nearest dollar.]

Board of Supervisors

• Chair (At-Large)
• Tom Bellanca (D): Raised, $35,580. COH, $40,924.
• Scott York (R), incumbent: Raised, $15,060. COH, $27,737.
• Algonkian
• Denise Moore Pierce (D): Raised, $2,338. COH, $6,891.
• Suzanne Volpe (R): Raised, $4,300. COH, $45,282.
• Ashburn
• Ralph Buona (R): Raised, $3,600. COH, $31,600.
• Valdis Ronis (D): Raised, $5,588. COH, $3,463.
• Blue Ridge
• Jim Burton (I), incumbent: Raised, $2,275. COH, $18,932.
• Janet Clark (R): Raised, $11,169. COH, $12.638.
• Broad Run
• Cliff Keirce (I): Raised, $3,451. COH, $7,069.
• Andrea McGimsey (D), currently Potomac Supervisor: Raised, $7,678. COH, $40,745.
• Shawn Williams (R): Raised, $3,648. COH, $9,396.
• Catoctin
• Malcolm Baldwin (D): Raised, $2,662. COH, $15,361.
• Geary Higgins (R): Raised, $4,421. COH, $16,483.
• Dulles
• Matt Letourneau (R): Raised, $3,800. COH, $15,692.
• Larry Roeder (D): Raised, $9,902. COH, $8,033.
• Leesburg
• Kelly Burk (D), incumbent: Raised, $6,344. COH, $23,163.
• Ken Reid (R): Raised, $3,225. COH, $14,898.
• Sterling
• Eugene Delgaudio (R), incumbent: Raised, $1,860. COH, $43,925.
• Al Nevarez (D): Raised, $1,443. COH, $5,336.
• L. Ali Shahriari (I): does not accept donations.

Constitutional Offices

• Commonwealth's Attorney
• Jim Plowman (R), incumbent: Raised, $6,950. COH, $7,426.
• Jennifer Wexton (D): Raised, $1,213. COH, $13,688.
• Sheriff
• Mike Chapman (R): Raised, $5,060. COH, $4825.
• Steve Simpson (I), incumbent: Raised, $775. COH, $29,614.
• Ron Speakman (I): Raised, $13,000. COH, $1,667.
• Commissioner of the Revenue
• Bob Wertz (R), incumbent, unopposed: Raised, $500. COH, $5,551.
• Treasurer
• Roger Zurn (R), incumbent, unopposed: Stated "No Activity". COH, $6,211.53.

House of Delegates

• 10th District
• Dave Butler (D): Raised, $9,441. COH, $13,537.
• Randy Minchew (R): Raised, $90,664. COH, $38,689.
• 32nd District
• Tag Greason (R), incumbent, unopposed: Raised, $5,587. COH, $70,182.
• 33rd District
• Joe May (R), incumbent, unopposed: Raised, $19,375. COH, $33,007.
• 34th District
• Barbara Comstock (R), incumbent: Raised, $43,691. COH, $261,203.
• Pamela Danner (D): Raised, $34,591. COH, $88,269.
• 67th District
• Eric Clingan (D): Raised, $21,013. COH, $35,189. 
• Jim LeMunyon (R), incumbent: Raised, $17,973. COH, $103,929.
• 86th District
• Tom Rust (R), incumbent, unopposed: Raised, $5,587. COH, $70,182.
• 87th District
• Mike Kondratick (D): Raised, $10,136. COH, $31,282. 
• David Ramadan (R): Raised, $40,725. COH, $40,366.

School Board

• At Large
• Jay Bose: Raised, $600. COH, $16.32.
• Bob Ohneiser, currently representing Broad Run: does not accept donations.
• Tom Reed, incumbent: Raised, $330. COH, $2,585.
• Algonkian
• Eileen Tagg-Murdock: did not file a finance report.
• Debbie Rose: Raised $409.85. COH $813.25.
• John Stevens, currently representing Potomac: Raised, $400. COH, $1,240.53.
• Ashburn
• John Andrews: Raised, $0. COH, $1,550.
• Eric Hornberger: Raised, $199. COH, $3,555.
• Debbie Piland: Raised, $0. COH, $119.
• John Ryan:  Raised, $531. COH, $236. 
• Chris Souther: Raised, $125. COH, $669. 
• Blue Ridge
• Priscilla Godfrey, incumbent: Raised, $298. COH, $1,094.
• Jill Turgeon: Raised, $141. COH, $2.
• Broad Run
• Kevin Kuesters, unopposed: Raised, $100. COH $3,420.
• Catoctin
• Jennifer Bergel, incumbent: Stated "No Activity". COH, $88.
• Pablo "Paul" Arias: did not file a finance report.
• Dulles
• Anjan Chimaladinne: Raised, $0. COH, $11,271.
• Margaret Michaud: did not file a finance report.
• Jeff Morse: Raised, $4,727. COH, $3,858.
• Leesburg
• Bill Fox: Raised, $1,747. COH $1,295.
• Tom Marshall, incumbent: Raised, $0. COH, $302.
• Mark Nuzzaco: Raised, $94. COH, $20.
• Sterling
• Brenda Sheridan, incumbent, unopposed: Raised, $0. COH, $40.

State Senate

• 13th District
• Dick Black (R): Raised, $18,852. COH, $22,779.
• Shawn Mitchell (D): Raised, $42,415. COH, $17,636. 
• 27th District
• Shaun Broy (D): Raised, $620. COH, $427.
• Donald Marro (I): Raised, $100,000. COH, $100,000.
• Jill Holtzman Vogel (R), incumbent: Raised, $6,570. COH, $160,126.
• 31st District
• Barbara Favola (D): Raised, $21,401. COH, $14,659.
• Caren Merrick (R): Raised, $23,805. COH, $125,464.
• 33rd District
• Mark Herring (D), incumbent: Raised, $31,279. COH, $197,241.
• Patricia Phillips (R): Raised, $43,933. COH, $38,520.