Among the more interesting items appearing across our desks lately was this press release from former Delegate Richard H. “Dick” Black of Loudoun, who is contemplating a run for the Virginia Senate in 2011:

STERLING, VA (June 15, 2010) — Virginia Delegate Richard H. Black, who served four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1998 to 2006, today expressed thanks to the participants of a poll conducted by the Loudoun Independent. The clear majority of those who participated in the poll stated that Black is needed back in Richmond.

Wow. As a staunch supporter of Senator Mark Herring (D-33), whom Black would seemingly be challenging, this news is very surprising to me. One would think that the rousing beating Mr. Black took at the hands of Dave Poisson in the 2005 election would have served notice that his brand of right-wing loonyism (i.e., “baby pesticides” and plastic fetuses) didn’t fly in Loudoun County.

Until you consider the source of the poll, and do a little digging.The Loudoun Independent is owned by William Dean, who also runs engineering firm M.C. Dean, Inc., headquartered in Sterling, VA. Ironically, Bill Dean personally donated $2,000 to Mr. Black’s campaigns when he (Black) served as Delegate for the 32nd District.

Even more ironically, M.C. Dean Building intelligence Inc. is also on record as having donated $19,500 to Mr. Black while he was a delegate, dating back to 2000.

The Loudoun Independent, if they want to be considered as a legitimate news operation in Loudoun, should have either revealed this to their readers or stayed on the sidelines. One can also wonder if campaign finance laws are possibly being violated here: can a known Black supporter running a poll on their newspaper’s website for that candidate to gauge interest in his campaign be construed as making an in-kind donation to that candidate? While true that Black hasn’t yet declared, why would he issue a press release stating the results if he wasn’t going to run?

The poll, though, was simply a sidebar poll, and as of 1 PM on June 17th only had 324 responses. No other polls have been taken by any other media outlet in Loudoun to date.

So until an impartial source comes out with a more scientific poll showing similar results, we can take the Loudoun Independent/Dick Black’s poll for what it is: nothing substantial. And Black’s hyping of this poll as a mandate from the citizens of Loudoun is just a gross overexaggeration.

But the next time the Loudoun Independent hypes Dick Black, or vice versa, you’ll know the motivations.

Postscript: this was released by the Loudoun Times-Mirror after I published this diary. Hat-tip to Erika Garman.