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.

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.

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.

PAY ATTENTION

Metro to Loudoun's fate will be decided by the Board of Supervisor that we are electing this November 8th. Because the change to the (less expensive) site at Dulles Airport means doing new site plans, which won't be done until January at the earliest.

This means that it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to ask the candidates where they stand on metro.

The League of Women's Voters won't be doing debates this year so it is UP TO YOU to get answers to your questions directly from the candidates.

Each of them has a website, use it to contact them and find out where they stand on Metro.

This is the single most important decision the next BOS will make. Make sure you know where the candidates stand.

Cuccinelli is endorsing Steve Stockman in the race for the LCRC nomination for Chair

I wonder how this will affect the Convention on Saturday? If York loses, will he take the Delgaudio bumper sticker off his car?

Anybody remember Loudoun's previous Zoning Administrator?

Looks like her current gig just came to an end.

Where you can find me today

Over at the Loudoun Times Mirror, writing about language.

Jennifer Wexton Wrote an Op-Ed Piece

You may not have seen it, because it is only in the print edition of Loudoun Times Mirror (and in their e-edition, scroll to page A21).

Since LTM wouldn't put up a link, you can read it at Jennifer's website!

And while you're there, why not get involved? It's time for a new Commonwealth's Attorney.

In honor of the day

Christine Lavin's song about a different royal wedding.

Cliff Keirce, Andrea McGimsey, the Hatch Act, and you

Cliff Keirce, who has been a friend of the family since we moved into the Broadlands, has announced a run as an Independent candidate for Supervisor for the new Broad Run district.

Cliff is a widely known, very popular, well-liked, hugely qualified candidate for this office. He's been Stevens's Planning Commissioner for the last couple of years. Before that, he was on the Facilities Standards Manual Public Review Committee, all while serving on the Broadlands HOA (including as President) and the Loudoun Library Foundation Board. His wife and his children are wonderful people, and he and his family are seriously committed to serving the community.

The Hatch Act makes it impossible for him to run for a party nomination, but an Independent label suits Cliff better than either party label anyway.

Cliff is, by all measures, a terrific candidate and deserves to have the unqualified support of all who know him.

Meanwhile, Andrea McGimsey, current Potomac Supervisor, is also in the new Broad Run district and has announced that she is going to run for reelection. I agree with Andrea on most issues, she's been a phenomenal advocate for making Loudoun an environmentally responsible locality and her work on that topic has helped Loudoun win awards for energy efficient policies. She's kept her campaign promises to be a proponent of slow-growth and sustainable policies.

Andrea has earned the trust and admiration of many in Loudoun for her strong and outspoken advocacy of many issues. She's a popular and welcomed figure in Democratic and environmental circles and she has done outstanding work in many areas. She has been a good friend to the Community Services Board* and Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter**, as well as many other organizations of which I am fond. Just like Cliff, she deserves to have the unqualified support of all who know her.

And there's the problem. They are both running for the same seat on the Board of Supervisors, and as much I want them both on the board, we can only pick one.

(Before I start discussing the choice ahead, I would like to point out that in the HOA 4 plan, Andrea and Cliff were not drawn into the same district. Actually, they weren't drawn in together under any of the plans Stevens backed. So the very fact that voters are in a position of having to make this particular choice is pissing me off.)

Now, for the race itself:
First is the fact that this is going to be a 3-way race. Members of either party committee who think that Cliff would be a terrific candidate are in a bind, since it looks like both parties are going to have an official nominee. Members of the LCDC have pledged to help get Democratic candidates elected and pledged not to work against a Democratic candidate in a race where there is one. If there isn't one, LCDC members are  free to back whichever other candidate they choose. I'm assuming the situation is the same for those in the LCRC.

This means that I, like others on the LCDC who live in the new Broad Run, have three choices in this election:

1. Back Andrea
2. Leave the LCDC to back Cliff or
3. Sit down and shut up.

Now, if it weren't for the Hatch Act, Dems could say to Cliff, make a stand: Join the Dems. But that position is closed off to him by law and it's unfair to ask him.

Second, is the political reality of the new district. I can't speak to the politics of the other areas in the new Broad Run, but I CAN speak to the politics of the Broadlands. The people in Broadlands like to vote for the moderate. They don't like mean-spirited politicians: they didn't like Dick Black or Steve Snow and were ready to vote for reasonable Democrats to get rid of them. But, given a seemingly reasonable moderate Republican or, for preference, an Independent, they'll vote for that person over a Democratic candidate (see the Poisson/Greason election). Cliff Keirce has been elected, and re-elected, and re-re-elected to the HOA board in the Broadlands. The residents know him, like him, and expect him to be reasonable and a good advocate. People who have opposed him on various issues respect him and consider him fair-minded, even when they disagree with him vehemently. All of which is to say that I think that Cliff can win the Broadlands, no matter whether he runs in a 3-way race or a 2-way race.

If Cliff were not in the race, I think the Broadlands would vote for Shawn Williams, unless Andrea can make a big enough stink about him being a Dick Black fan. The residents of the Broadlands don't want to be preached to by either side of the political spectrum. They're proud to live in a community with lots of environmentally-friendly features, but that doesn't mean they want to see any clothes-lines or compost piles. They may or may not care a great deal about social issues, regardless, they don't want the people representing them to be rabid about such issues either.

(Please note I am speaking in generalities here, each resident of the Broadlands is an individual and this generalization will not apply to all those individuals).

It is my opinion that if a candidate wins the Broadlands, they will win the new Broad Run.

Third, what can the opposition use? For the last several months Andrea has said many times from the dais, that her full-time job as the Executive Director for Oatlands makes it difficult for her to attend daytime BOS meetings, or to be prepared for the ones she attends. It makes her sound like she can't maintain the effort needed to stay on top of her committments. I think an opponent could use those statements to ask why she's running for a second term if she's finding it hard to keep up.

Against Cliff is the fact that he was a vocal proponent of the hospital in the Broadlands (which actually will be viewed positively in many quarters), and is a high-order nerd (collecting comic books and signed first editions - much like me, actually). He has large presence online and in the local papers, and that's always dangerous for a candidate who doesn't want his words used against him. His clothing sense is questionable (while I might see it as plus, I'm not sure if voters are going to welcome a guy knocking on their door in a Thor's Mighty Hammer t-shirt).

I wish I didn't have to choose between two terrific candidates. I wish that it were a 2-way race between one of these two great candidates and the LCRC's candidate. And it's my guess that there are many people who consider themselves Democrats who are feeling the same way today.

It's not my way to sit down and shut up, so I only have two choices. Stay with the LCDC and back Andrea, or leave the LCDC and back Cliff. I've never worked against a Democratic candidate before, nor have I ever worked against the person I thought was the better candidate. I've always felt that the Democratic candidate, if there was one in the race, was the better candidate, which is why I'm a member of the LCDC in the first place. But what if a committed Dem thinks that Cliff is the better candidate? For that matter, what if a Republican does?

What are your thoughts?

*I'm a member of the Board of the CSB.
**I did an internship with LAWS.

Leesburg Today has a new look!

It's a bit stark, but it loads faster and the pop-up ads have vanished. All in all, it's an improvement.

While we're discussing the door-knocking season

There's one possible candidate who won't be needing me to canvass for him this year.

Stevens, I couldn't be prouder of all the work you've done for Loudoun and Virginia the last few years. Thank you for letting me be part of it.

Thinking of Jimmy Dugan

A high school friend of mine went missing last week, when a dock he was on collapsed, and now they think they've found his body.

He was a person who was full of life, made friends easily, and will be sorely missed.

So I had a post planned for today, talking about how women's rights are being stripped away state-by-state, but I'm not going to post it. Instead, I'm going to send you to Shakesville.

And I will sit here, mourning Jimmy, and mourning our friend Chris, who died in a fire 14 years ago and who I'm missing very much right now.

Expanding on my comments

Paradox13 put up a post about the redistricting over at Loudoun Progress. And I made a couple of comments there, which I'm going to expand on here.

Stevens disagrees with me on a lot of what I'm about to say, but this is my blog, my opinion, and here it goes.

I don't care one iota if there is one Western district or two. I think having an HOA or a town kept entirely in one district is a fine desire, but not something that ends up mattering a whole lot on election day. I do think that it matters if a district is contiguous. I do think it matters if you have to leave the district to reach another part of it, but ultimately, I think that there are many ways to split up Loudoun relatively equitably and Miller 5 (unamended) and HOA 4 were two of them.

I've said before that I am partisan only inasmuch as the Democratic party is the party that has, as part of its platform, a pledge (among other things) to protect the rights of women, minorities, LGBT, and people with disabilities.

In this county, we have an elected official whose day job it is to fight against the right of people who are gay.

There was one and only one partisan piece of redistricting that was included in both Miller 5 (unamended) and HOA 4. That piece was including MY precinct, Oak Grove, with Delgaudio's district.

And Sally Kurtz amended it into Andrea McGimsey's district.

Which is so phenomenally stupid that I am flabbergasted that Mike Turner is crowing about it.


Oak Grove has a net 100 reliable Democrats. Delgaudio won last time by 200 votes. Oak Grove was the keystone in the plan to get Delgaudio booted out this November. And the beauty of it was, it wasn't gerrymandering, because Oak Grove BELONGS in Sterling. It is otherwise isolated from the rest of the county. There was no way for Delgaudio to complain about it. It was natural to join it in. OF COURSE it should be joined in.


Now, instead of making the demise of Delgaudio's Board tenure a sure thing, Oak Grove is merely there to increase McGimsey's win margin, in an obvious bit of gerrymandering to pull us into her district.

I really like Andrea. I think she's been a good Supervisor. But if this bit of redistricting sends Delgaudio back to the Board next year (especially if he wins by less than 100 votes), I will never forget that it was she, and Mike Turner, and Sally Kurtz, and Kelly Burk, and Susan Buckley, and Jim Burton who made this happen.

And I will make sure that everyone, everywhere, who has ever heard of Delgaudio knows EXACTLY whose fault it is if he wins.

Here's the thing

Blogging at work, and reading blogs at work, is a major no-no. So I wait until I get home. And then I make dinner, and eat dinner, and play with my son, and watch Red Dwarf, and put my son to bed, and then I read blogs. And then I'm just pooped. So that's what's been going on with the lack of bloggish activity on this here blog.

But there's a whole hell of a lot going on in the world. Wisconsin. OH MY GOD, how much do you love the Dem Senators in Wisconsin? And the protesters? I am so stoked by what's going on there. This is the stuff I read about when I was a kid, and sang songs about at summer camp, and everything. I am totally living vicariously through my Twitter feed.

I think that the Wisconsin GOP are going to get seriously spanked by the voters for this one. And I, for one, can't wait.

Perhaps more federal Dems will take their cue from the Wisconsin 14. Standing firm against stealing from the poor is a Democratic value.

And last but not least, Johnny Mathias who worked on Stevens's campaign for Delegate, is in WI as we speak, and is reporting LIVE! on Facebook and Twitter. He is awesome.

"We must stand together against all violence"

Uh....

Via Shakesville

Why?

You all know how I feel about guns (short version, they're okay by me, but don't point them my way), but I don't understand why the sale and manufacture of clips to hold large amounts of ammunition for handguns is allowed.

What legitimate need does it fulfill? Hunting? Not with a handgun. Home defense? What, 9 or 11 bullets won't do? Militia duties? Again, not with a handgun.

The combination of an easily hidden handgun and a large clip of ammunition increased the scope of Saturday's tragedy.

So, why? What legitimate purpose did the availability of that clip serve?

(Yes, yes, I know that the ammunition clip didn't kill and injure the people at that event, that the shooter did. But he wouldn't have killed or injured as many people without that clip.)

My thoughts are with the friends, families, and victims.

Talking about a resolution

Loudoun Times Mirror's David D'Onofrio very kindly asked me to contribute to his collection of resolutions for Loudoun County!

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL HAS BEEN REPEALED!!!

This is the best news I've heard in a long time..