Tag Archives: Local elections

Bought and paid for. Deal with it, suckers.

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Thanks to Liz for alerting me to the recent obscenity from the Sterling supervisor, in which he rants about the Board of Supervisors supposedly “punishing” business leaders:

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..

..[T]his board has ochestrated and frequently hosted assaults in public on business leaders and spokesmen and spokesladies who simply come and give professional written testimony about what other business leaders think or say.

Top business leaders have been brought into the public gallows and condemned by members of the Loudoun County board of supervisors by name and accused of crimes, undue influence and illegal acts on a routine basis.

“Top business leaders” like OpenBand spokesman Ben Young, perhaps? He does seem intent on removing any obstacles – like competition – to his company’s “pursuit of profit and prosperity.” The rant is followed by this, about the “top business leaders” who have donated to Eugene’s campaign: “These donors and their companies have been generous on the record and make a very big difference.” Indeed.

Continue reading →

Catoctin getting slappy

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A couple of weeks ago, Without Supervision alerted us to two remarkably bad letters to the editor attacking Malcolm Baldwin, evidently cobbled together from the results of a FOIA request for constituent emails.

As it turns out, the readers to whom Mr. LaRock and Ms. Mann addressed their concerns are unimpressed by their efforts. Here is a short response:

Dear Editor: I couldn’t believe the letter from David LaRock attacking Malcolm Baldwin, a respected community leader, just because he voiced support for an ordinary non-discrimination rule.

Here’s what I want to know: Why is LaRock so hostile toward people who may be different from himself? Moreover, why is he thinking about other people’s sexual orientation and bodies in public restrooms? I (for one) wish he would stop.

If this is the kind of thing Higgins supporters are interested in, I’ll be voting for Malcolm Baldwin.

Indeed. I don’t think this is the sort of thing Catoctin residents want their supervisor doing, or thinking about, or encouraging others to think about. Yuck.

Another: Continue reading →

Guys, signs don’t vote.

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I was just going to make a quick update to the previous post, but then I witnessed what has the wacky wing of the Higgins campaign (note my assumption that there is an as-yet undiscovered wing) so scared of Malcolm Baldwin, and why the resulting implosion shows no sign of ending.

The previous post began by calling attention to this comment outing embarrassing Higgins campaigner David LaRock, who was upset at the number of Malcolm Baldwin yard signs next to Mike Chapman signs.

[David] LaRock suggest [sic] Mike go around and take down the signs posted next to Baldwin signs..

Now there’s this admission from the other one, Sally Mann:

Most of the signs are gone now.

Ok, I just swung through Hamilton on my way home, and if “most of the signs are gone now,” I have to ask how many were there before. Just on the main drag I counted five or six yards with both Baldwin and Chapman signs. All but one had no other signs that would help identify the owner as either a Republican or Democratic crossover voter (one also had a Shawn Mitchell sign). One of them was the home of a friend who is solidly Independent, so that’s not much help.

Keep in mind that these geniuses are demanding that the Chapman signs be “taken down.” The signs of their own guy. The Republican. Continue reading →

The Perils of Having a Common Name

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This Michael Chapman

Chapman for Sheriff

is not this Michael Chapman

Chapman for Tea Party

The former one (the one who still has his hair), is a respected law enforcement officer, with decades of experience.

The latter one is a Tea Partier par excellence, and apparently the fact that they have the same name has confused some people.

I hope this clears up that confusion.

IS SMART GROWTH STILL AN ISSUE?

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[Promoted by Liz. I’d like to see where this discussion goes. I also edited it so that the links work. And I added a link to Burton’s opponent]

We may believe that “money can’t buy you love” or possibly even happiness (although more are beginning to doubt this), but we obviously do believe it can buy you an election. So much so, in fact, that campaign effectiveness is often judged almost solely on who has raised the most money in the shortest amount of time. Is that true? Should we just add up the total amount raised and declare the winners without going through all the bother of stuffing envelopes, “dialing” phones, and knocking on doors in 100 degree weather? (Receipents of those annoying robocalls are probably shouting “yes!” at this point.)

Maybe. Maybe not.

Large contributions do convey a message: In the Blue Ridge District of Loudoun, the Republican challenger had not only raised $44,730 as of June 30 (including in-kind donations), but had already spent $34,300 of it. www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=344&fmpath=/Electoral%20Board/2011%20Campaign%20Finance%20Reports. She obviously must be expecting much more to come in; November is still a long way off. Almost all of these contributions are from real estate developers, brokers, agents, builders, contractors, financial management, attorneys and insurance — many of whom are located outside the District: (There is one Round Hill contributor listed as “farmer,” but when I looked up the name and address, an entity appeared on the web as “Financial Management Services.”) Three donors are from outside the County: Herndon, VA, Alexandria, VA, and Catonsville, MD.

This clearly represents a full frontal attack on the current zoning of western Loudoun. More housing development, strip malls, chain stores, office buildings and traffic. Is that what you want?

We have over 30 million square feet of industrial and office space approved by the county and waiting to be constructed now, in addition to the 14% vacancy rate of existing buildings. A “no holds barred” approach to unfettered growth could likely result in more stalled commercial projects surrounded by houses which will be sold on the promise of a tranquil life in (rapidly disappearing) rural Loudoun. After which it will be even harder to convince businesses to fill the vacant buildings, considering our biggest draw is the beauty that surrounds us. So, the commerce we actually get may very well come in the form of fast food, strip malls and big box stores to service a sprawling residential demographic that works in Tysons Corner.

Are you really ready to give up the idea of Smart Growth? (Drive slowly by Rt. 15 N in the vicinity of WalMart and Target before you answer.)

Although outside money IS intent on buying access to the open space, if you disagree with this goal, you don’t need to dispair of being able to defeat that intention since the conventional wisdom about elections being all about money is not necessarily true: I noted with interest that in the Leesburg Town elections last year, Mayor Kristen Umstattd was re-elected even though she spent far less than other candidates during her campaign (approximately $2.60 per vote received compared to challenger Dunn’s $5.50.). Similarly Councilman Kevin Wright’s tally calculated at only $3.75 each, while Reid spent a whopping $7.00. Winning does not always require heavy fund raising and expenditures; it can be done with experienced name recognition and a history of trusted service.

The incumbant, Jim Burton (I) has a 16-year history on the Board of Supervisors as a strong supporter of Smart Growth and the county’s Comprehensive Plan. Contrary to the other Blue Ridge candidate, all of the donors on his recent financial report actually live in the Blue Ridge District that he represents.

Why did you move here? Why do you stay? This year’s elections, possibly more than any other, will determine the future shape of Loudoun County. The choice is between quick speculative profits for outside development firms — or sustainable economic development for a diversified area. It’s time to pick a side and make a stand.

News and notes

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  • I hope you all can join Tom Greeson and the Dulles Area Democrats for this reception benefitting Shawn Mitchell.

    Shawn’s running in the 13th state Senate District and we all know that Republican Dick Black is trying to get the Republican nomination to oppose Shawn. We need to come together and work to ensure Shawn is well-funded for what might be a very interesting and closely targeted race.

    Here’s the facebook invitation again!

  • Lots of candidates are putting out the call for volunteers for back-to-school night.

  • Don’t forget that there is a list of campaign websites for every declared candidate who will be on a ballot in Loudoun over at DBQ. If you know of one I’m missing, please let me know.

Whitbeck’s abuse of his position on the Lansdowne HOA

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At 6:15 PM on Wednesday the 13th, several candidates for offices that will be representing Lansdowne got calls or emails (or a note through their websites) from John Whitbeck (who is running against Dave Butler for 10th HOD) inviting them to what had been a “residents-only” meeting at 7:00 PM that same night. The meeting was to discuss whether or not to begin a suit against Open Band.

This seems to have been a way of enabling Ralph Buona, who is running for Ashburn Supervisor against Lansdowne resident Valdis Ronis, to attend a meeting that Valdis was entitled to attend.

Considering that Buona has received quite a lot of money from MC Dean, Bill Dean, and other executives from MC Dean, that MC Dean owns Open Band, his presence at a closed “residents-only” meeting, where other attendees had to show proof of residency is questionable, at best.

Inviting other candidates less than an hour before the meeting was due to start does not grant cover to what is pretty obviously political game-playing by Whitbeck.

According to my sources, neither Dave Butler nor Randy Minchew were invited.

Your one-stop spot for Loudoun’s campaign websites

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All, I am working on a page over at Doorbell Queen that will end up listing all the campaign websites for all the declared candidates for every office on the ballots in Loudoun this November.

What’s missing: links to School Board candidates and Soil & Water Conservation district.

If you know of a link I’m missing, please drop a link either here or on the Campaign Websites page.

I have posted all the links there without comments, even though linking to Eugene Delgaudio and Dick Black made me throw up in my mouth a little.