Fisherfolk

I’m not a regular blogger; but I was honored to be invited to blog on Patch.com in the Chantilly site, which covers much of the Dulles District, plus part of Fairfax County.  I’ve done two blogs so far, one on Romney’s attitudes towards the poor, and one on the need to protect Drug Court and the Public Inebriate Center project. 

I’m also using the blog to sport my art, drawings, oil paintings, ceramics and photographs, as they relate to stories.

 I hope you will take the time to read the blogs and comment on the substance and the art.

Best wishes to all.  Larry Roeder

Lies  and Distortions from the Right

A flyer from the Matt Letourneau campaign has started showing up in Dulles District mailboxes, and–just like the rhetoric we’ve heard from his fellow Republicans on the national stage–it’s rife with distortions, exaggerations, and flat-out untruths about his qualifications. Let’s look at his claims.

• “Matt . . . is the only candidate for Dulles Supervisor with both private and public sector policy experience.” Matt, take another look at your opponent’s resume. After his years designing and implementing policies in the State Department, Larry Roeder was a director of an international private-sector corporation chartered in Washington, DC doing charitable work.  He has also worked as an independent consultant on economic development and emergency management policies.
• “[Matt] played a role in the passage of several key pieces of legislation.” What kind of legislation did Matt help pass, and who benefited from it–U.S. taxpayers, or special interests? Larry Roeder has negotiated major economic agreements
  and designed strategies that expanded exports of U.S. goods abroad. Loudoun needs that kind of strategic thinking to boost domestic growth for all its citizens.
• “[Matt has] experience working at the highest level of government….” Did he ever advise the President? Larry did–specifically, Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, as well as Vice President Gore. Larry has also worked with prime ministers, ambassadors, and other top-echelon global leaders from the United Nations and the Organization for
  Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as the Red Cross.
• “…and for the world’s largest business organization.” Matt actually works for one of the biggest lobbyists in the world–the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a huge trade association aimed at putting business interests ahead of everyone else. By contrast, when Larry talks about broadening our tax base in Loudoun to boost economic development, he is committed to using a lifetime of economic policy experience to preserve Loudoun’s culture and the interests of all stakeholders—not just big business.
• Transportation: Yes, we need to connect roads, but simply widening roads as Matt recommends is not the real answer. Traffic is like water. If the pipe is widened, water just fills the pipe with more flow.  What Loudoun needs is to get cars off the road. Larry has offered a plan to do that.
• Education: Matt doesn’t offer a plan, just an attack on “misplaced priorities.” What are his priorities and how will they be paid? Larry’s priorities are clearly explained in his education flyer.
• “[Matt] became involved with county issues….” Matt cites only two experiences with community service:  as part-time president of his HOA and as Dulles District Chair for his party. By  contrast, in addition to being Dulles District Chair for Loudoun Democrats, Larry is vice chair of the Loudoun County Criminal Justice Board, as well as a volunteer with the Red Cross and the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps–programs that benefit the entire county, not just one party or one HOA.
• Cultural Diversity:  Larry served in the military in Africa and has lived and worked abroad in nearly every region of the world, giving him the broad experience necessary to help Loudoun’s multi-ethnic communities and our returning veterans. Matt has none of that.
• “Matt’s Dulles Direct Initiative will bring government closer . . .  through open quarterly meetings….”: Quarterly
  meetings? Citizens and business owners tell Larry they want a Supervisor who will talk to them every day, not three or four times a year. With a full-time job 90 minutes from Loudoun–a job he admits requires a lot of travel–when will Matt ever be available to help citizens? When it comes to a choice between a Loudoun crisis and a Chamber crisis, whose needs have to take priority? Larry will have only one job and one priority: serving Loudoun.   He will be a true full-time
  Supervisor.

A Personal  Message from Larry:

“My lifetime of authentic, policy-level experiences in economic development and emergency management have been in both the public and private sectors. They taught me that elections should be fair, with truthful comparisons. Too many times we have been subjected to distortions by Republicans like John Boehner, Michelle Bachmann, and Eric Cantor.  You deserve better.  In these crucial times, when every vote is about jobs, schools, safety, and infrastructure,  I want to assure our voters that when I am elected, I will have only one job: serving you, Democrat, Republican and Independent.  I have the background and zeal to help Loudoun.  Help me help you,  and please vote on November 8.

“Many thanks for your attention.”

Best,
Larry  Roeder

I was amused to discover over coffee this morning after the storm, that during the night Too Conservative had nothing better to better to do than poke at my art and interest in animals.  They did find a typo and thanks for that.  Probably didn’t like the spaniel on my palm card either, but this just shows how tone deaf the Republicans are in Loudoun County, a place where people actually love their pets, horses and livestock.  Maybe Too conservative doesn’t.  In fact, I think the Republicans skipped the County Fair.

To me, conservative should mean conserving what resources we have, not wasting them. Surely, any conservative would agree that preserving livestock, the principal means of income for many Loudoun citizens in more than on district, is a good idea, same for protecting pets in every district.  I never saw that as Blue or Red.  The fact is, as a global issue, of the poorest people on earth, about a billion (including Americans) depend on livestock for food or income, but so do middle class Loudoun residents who work on farms, not just the owners.  If you take away the livestock from the very poor, people will starve or be unable to support their families. That’s the animal welfare I mostly focused on in Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis, or when moving cattle off of an active volcano in Costa Rica, or negotiating standards with the Red Cross and the UN to help refugees and the internally displaced have a sustainable life after they returned home from a war or a flood, or when I worked on combating climate change  — in other words, building human jobs and saving human lives, real economic development in other words.

Larry with cow at County Fair

Again, never saw this as a Red or Blue issue.  So I guess what this all means is that once again Republicans don’t know their science or economic development principles, just politics.

June was very, very active  — as usual.   Thanks to the wonderful team of volunteers supporting our campaign.

I spoke to around 500 Islamic parishioners, mostly voters.   These people are wonderful citizens who enrich our society.  Very sad that there are so many misperceptions of their values and aspirations.   Also spoke to many in the Hispanic community, who as with the Islamic community, feel a great deal of distrust of the Republican agenda.

I campaign every day, even on Sunday.  In June, knocked on most of the doors in Loudoun Valley Estates, plus many below Braddock and lots in Stone Ridge and South Riding.  Lots of  friends also helped on weekends.    Lots of non-HOA citizens and stores along Route 50 got attention.   Also attended events.  Sponsored a hole at a PTSA golf tournament with proceeds going to help children, plus many meetings with leaders in Stone Ridge and Brambleton, unions, Loudoun Valley Estates and some national Democratic leaders.  More on that later on.  Spoke to the Board of Supervisors on our plan to build jobs in Dulles and expand our tax base without raising taxes.  Lots more.  A very busy month indeed.

Disappointing seeing the Republican party breaking rules and acting in a rude manner in South Riding.  Just don’t see how they think such behavior will gain votes or respect.

Visit us on facebook or come to loudoun4roeder.org.  Larry Roeder

South Riding Citizens Endorse Full-Time Supervisor Model

The ROEDER FOR SUPERVISOR Campaign is pleased to announce its support for the Loudoun Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Leesburg, which services the needs of abused children throughout Loudoun County.

As someone long interested in preventng abuse, and through my own work on the Loudoun County Criminal Justice Board, I have come to know that the Loudoun CAC is a wonderful institution that receives too little attention from the public and politicians.  I call on all politicians of all political parties to step up and advocate for full funding for this program, as well as other programs that protect children, especially our schools, teachers and PTSAs.

CAC is a public/private partnership among Loudoun County agencies and organizations dedicated to child victims of abuse and/or neglect.  It supports the continued development of children in a child-centered approach when investigating cases of child abuse and neglect.  This work is critical.  Victims of child abuse feel the emotional scars the rest of their lives.

Larry Roeder, Democratic Candidate for County Supervisor, the Dulles District

“Experience Matters,”   www.loudoun4roeder.org