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.