Former Republican Delegate Dick Black is back. He’s going to announce his candidacy for State Senate on November 11th, Veterans Day, and I imagine it’s to highlight his military service (please provide a copy of your DD-214, sir). That’s all well and good, but it glosses over his odious behavior from the time he served in the General Assembly, before many current Loudouners were residents here.

They may not be aware of some of Mr. Black’s antics, so I’d like to remind everyone, and to bring certain issues to their attention:1) Mr. Black voted against increased penalties for a second stalking conviction within 2 years (HB 2688, February 2005), raising the crime from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony;

2) He voted against a bill in subcommittee in 2005 which would have notified parents when their children were being assaulted at school (i.e., an “anti-bullying” measure). He touts the fact that he eventually supported the bill, though. Sort of like,” I was against it before I was for it”. But the fact remains that he tried to kill the bill before it left committee;

3) HB 1015 (4/26/04) included language that would allow the provision of counseling and advice through the schools to children who are victims of sexual abuse. Mr. Black voted against that bill;

4) On education, he voted against a bill that included a raise in teacher salaries (HB 292) in January 2004. He was also ranked next-to-last for Delegates in 2005 by education advocacy group Virginia 21 for “protecting higher education, increasing economic opportunity and creating an open government top priorities”;

5) He argued, on the floor of the House of Delegates in 2002, against the removal of the “marital exemption” in Virginia’s rape law (HB 488). Mr. Black stated, “I don’t know how on earth you could validly get a conviction when they (a husband and wife) are living together, sleeping in the same bed, she’s in a nighty, and there’s no injury. We’ve got to establish rules to reasonably ensure that we’re not going to convict an innocent person”;

6) In 2005, his final year in the House of Delegates, he was given a rating of 42% effectiveness by the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education, ranking him 96th out of 98 Delegates measured.

Those are just a few examples of his bizarre behavior.  And that doesn’t take into account his offensive act in February of 2003 of sending plastic replica fetuses to members of the legislature along with a grisly description of abortion procedures. Or his quote in January 2004 where he called contraceptives “baby pesticides”.  He is noted for his desire to legislate what consenting adults do in their own homes; for relentless censorship, book-banning, and anti-First Amendment efforts, and for his intolerant stances on civil rights.

This type of extremist, unproductive behavior has no place in Loudoun County. We got rid of Mr. Black and his brand of extremism 5 years ago. There’s no reason we should return to it now, no matter in which Senate district he ends up. Please consider these issues when Mr. Black starts his campaign.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Black, if an exemplary Air Force officer such as Jeff Barnett couldn’t be helped in his campaign by his stalwart military service, what makes you think yours matters?