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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Back to School Night Report: Eagle Ridge Middle School

Great turnout! I was happy to see so many familiar faces there. I kept hearing over and over, "Yes! Cliff was at my door!" or "He's my neighbor" or "I talked to him at X, Y, or Z event!" or "We saw his wife and daughter here at the 6th Grade BTSN!"

Do I need to tell you how much I love to hear that? LOVE.

Cliff had two volunteers at ERMS and, between Jon and I, we handed out over a thousand pieces of literature.

Shawn Williams and the LCRC were out in force. I met and talked with Mike Chapman, who is a lot taller than I expected.

The only school board candidate represented was Eric Hornberger. His volunteer, Mark, did a great job.

The big surprise of the evening was that Larry Roeder and Anjan Chimaladinne sent volunteers from their campaigns. I spoke with Wayde Byard of the LCPS this morning, and he told me that Eagle Ridge does not have any students from the new Dulles District.

I know that the school boundaries and new electoral boundaries are confusing, but better to miss a BTSN you should have been at than to waste your volunteers' time at a school where the parents can't vote for you.

I'm sorry to say that I'm not shocked that the LCDC didn't send anyone for Andrea and Valdis. But it's not surprising considering that their website, while showing a District Chair for Algonkian:

1. Doesn't have the Ashburn District listed at all.
2. Says the Chair for Broad Run is my friend Dave Nemetz, who a) moved to Fairfax in July, and b) lived in Lansdowne in the Ashburn District.
3. Says the Chair for Dulles is Doug Miller, whose home is now in the Blue Ridge District.
4. Still lists the Potomac District, but doesn't have a chair for that district or for Catoctin.

Which means that unless you're a candidate in Blue Ridge, Leesburg, Algonkian, or Sterling, you haven't got a district chair to help you out. Good luck with that, folks!

LCDC District Chairs

I know Valdis had folks at Belmont Ridge Middle School BTSN last night, and has focused on doors in the ERMS catchment, but where were the LCDC volunteers to hand out his and Andrea's lit?