With the health care summit being held earlier this week it shouldn't be too surprising that health care is once again the topic on the Sunday morning talk shows. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Congressional leadership will be making the rounds. Here's the full lineup:
This Week: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-Tenn)
Face the Nation: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn), Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
Meet the Press: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle; Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
State of the Union: Pelosi; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Fox News Sunday: Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
House Republicans Prove Education Isn't One of their Priorities
In these tough economic times there are going to be cuts across the board but it’s important for our elected officials to propose a budget that protects the most important programs like education. Although there are some things I disagree with in the Senate’s budget, our Senators did the best they could to make sure our schools remain among the best in the country. Unfortunately, the House of Delegates passed an absolutely horrible budget that would cut $620 million from education.
What’s very telling about the cuts to education in the House is the fact that the Republicans did their best to keep the Democrats out of the negotiations surrounding the proposal. Even the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee (which is the committee which is supposed to do most of the work on the budget) weren’t given the opportunity to participate until the absolute last possible moment. Of course this also comes on the heals of McDonnell proposing even more cuts to education and trying to keep his budget plans secretive.
The GOP’s insistence of blocking the Democrats from any real negotiations on the budget not only show that they’re not interested in bipartisanship, but it means that they have to take responsibility for proposing so many cuts to education. It’s the action one takes that illustrates the priorities of elected officials and the Republicans have therefore proven that they don’t value education. At the same time that they cut $660 million from education, after all, they included measures that would cost millions of dollars to lure film executives into filming in Virginia and others that wouldn’t help Virginians but would simply shift the financial burden of programs onto local government. If they were truly interested in protecting public education, we wouldn’t have seen the House Republicans use these tactics.
Fortunately, we do have some elected officials in the General Assembly who are willing to fight for Virginia’s students. Not only did the Senate pass a budget that did its best to protect as much education funding as possible, but there were also several Democratic members of the House of Delegates who spoke out passionately about the need to fully fund our schools. In an email that he sent yesterday, for instance, Delegate Adam Ebbin drew attention to the fact that the impact of cutting education expands well beyond our schools.
As negotiators from both the House and Senate begin to work on combining the budgets passed by each body, there is an opportunity to make sure that education remains a priority like the public wants. Since both the House and Governor want massive cuts to our schools in favor of attracting Hollywood executives to Virginia, however, this will take a lot of leadership from the Senate negotiators. Individual members of the Senate have told me that they’re confident in their team, but that this was going to be a tough negotiation. The budget negotiation is supposed to be finished in a couple weeks, but the length of past negotiations suggest that this might take a little longer than is currently scheduled (especially since the budgets are starting out relatively far apart). I therefore encourage you to make sure that members of the General Assembly know that education is a priority to Virginians and that they should keep the Senate’s education funding levels. This could be a long fight and it can help for our elected officials to hear directly from their constituents about what priorities they should fight for.
What’s very telling about the cuts to education in the House is the fact that the Republicans did their best to keep the Democrats out of the negotiations surrounding the proposal. Even the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee (which is the committee which is supposed to do most of the work on the budget) weren’t given the opportunity to participate until the absolute last possible moment. Of course this also comes on the heals of McDonnell proposing even more cuts to education and trying to keep his budget plans secretive.
The GOP’s insistence of blocking the Democrats from any real negotiations on the budget not only show that they’re not interested in bipartisanship, but it means that they have to take responsibility for proposing so many cuts to education. It’s the action one takes that illustrates the priorities of elected officials and the Republicans have therefore proven that they don’t value education. At the same time that they cut $660 million from education, after all, they included measures that would cost millions of dollars to lure film executives into filming in Virginia and others that wouldn’t help Virginians but would simply shift the financial burden of programs onto local government. If they were truly interested in protecting public education, we wouldn’t have seen the House Republicans use these tactics.
Fortunately, we do have some elected officials in the General Assembly who are willing to fight for Virginia’s students. Not only did the Senate pass a budget that did its best to protect as much education funding as possible, but there were also several Democratic members of the House of Delegates who spoke out passionately about the need to fully fund our schools. In an email that he sent yesterday, for instance, Delegate Adam Ebbin drew attention to the fact that the impact of cutting education expands well beyond our schools.
In my opinion, we shouldn't make large indiscriminate cuts without regard to their long and short term impacts. We should make strategic reductions, merge agencies and prioritize education and healthcare for hard working Virginians.I completely agree with Del. Ebbin here. The Republicans might claim to be the party that looks out for business, but their budget clearly says otherwise. Not only are they making cuts to schools at a time when it’s perhaps the most important for our students to receive the best education possible, but they are taking away resources from what makes Virginia so attractive to business leaders – schools that develop a highly qualified workforce.
Companies and taxpayers locate in Virginia because of our outstanding education system and quality of life. The Republican House budget adopted yesterday relies heavily on cuts to the very aspects that make Virginia the Best State for Business.
As negotiators from both the House and Senate begin to work on combining the budgets passed by each body, there is an opportunity to make sure that education remains a priority like the public wants. Since both the House and Governor want massive cuts to our schools in favor of attracting Hollywood executives to Virginia, however, this will take a lot of leadership from the Senate negotiators. Individual members of the Senate have told me that they’re confident in their team, but that this was going to be a tough negotiation. The budget negotiation is supposed to be finished in a couple weeks, but the length of past negotiations suggest that this might take a little longer than is currently scheduled (especially since the budgets are starting out relatively far apart). I therefore encourage you to make sure that members of the General Assembly know that education is a priority to Virginians and that they should keep the Senate’s education funding levels. This could be a long fight and it can help for our elected officials to hear directly from their constituents about what priorities they should fight for.
General Assembly Reverses Bob McDonnell's Proposal To Close Mason Neck Park
As I mentioned in an earlier post, there was a lot of opposition to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to close Mason Neck Park. Community activists and elected officials from the area, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, passionately spoke up about how the park is a valuable social and financial resource to the local community. Thousands of people who visit every year (88,000 did so last year) including many students taking advantage of the educational programs there and it also helps to produce $500,000 in revenue for local businesses. In other words, Gov. McDonnell was simply wrong to even suggest closing down the park.
Fortunately, both chambers of the General Assembly saw the error of McDonnell’s proposal and decided to keep Mason Neck open. After hearing this news, Rep. Gerry Connolly sent a letter to both Richard Saslaw and Bill Howell thanking them for their “leadership on this important issue” and praising the General Assembly’s decision. He also reiterated many of the points he had made in previous statements on the issue and pointed out how “saving less than one dollar per visitor, at a cost of a half million dollars to local business, would have been shortsighted.”
I absolutely agree with the sentiments Gerry expressed and want to point out that he was also one of people who truly took leadership on preventing the park’s closure. As this budget process is going to see some severe cuts to crucial programs, the General Assembly coming together to save Mason Neck can be seen as one of the few positive events in the discussion so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to see some other signs for optimism as negotiators work to combine the House and Senate bills.
Fortunately, both chambers of the General Assembly saw the error of McDonnell’s proposal and decided to keep Mason Neck open. After hearing this news, Rep. Gerry Connolly sent a letter to both Richard Saslaw and Bill Howell thanking them for their “leadership on this important issue” and praising the General Assembly’s decision. He also reiterated many of the points he had made in previous statements on the issue and pointed out how “saving less than one dollar per visitor, at a cost of a half million dollars to local business, would have been shortsighted.”
I absolutely agree with the sentiments Gerry expressed and want to point out that he was also one of people who truly took leadership on preventing the park’s closure. As this budget process is going to see some severe cuts to crucial programs, the General Assembly coming together to save Mason Neck can be seen as one of the few positive events in the discussion so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to see some other signs for optimism as negotiators work to combine the House and Senate bills.
Webb and Warner to Participate in GOTV Rallies Filler-Corn This Weekend
As we are only days away from when voters in the 41st House district will head to the polls in a special election, the GOTV programs are in full gear and the campaigns are once again reminding their supporters to vote on March 2. Rallying the troops this weekend for Eileen Filler-Corn will be both Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Jim Webb. When you combine the fact that the race between Dave Marsden and Kerry Bolgnese for these seat was decided by less than 400 in November with the fact that both Senators have been (and will be) busy helping Eileen as the election approaches, there is no denying that these volunteer efforts in the final days could have a large impact on the election results.
If you have some time to spare this weekend and want to hang out with Sen. Webb and Warner while helping Filler-Corn, here is the information for the events.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
GOTV Rally and Canvass Launch with Senator Jim Webb
Campaign Headquarters
5618 Ox Road, Suite C
Fairfax Station, VA 22039
9:00 AM Start
Sunday, February 28, 2010
GOTV Rally and Canvass Launch with Senator Mark Warner
Outside/Near Starbucks at Huntsman Square
7475 Huntsman Blvd.
Springfield, VA 22153
9:45 AM Start
If you have some time to spare this weekend and want to hang out with Sen. Webb and Warner while helping Filler-Corn, here is the information for the events.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
GOTV Rally and Canvass Launch with Senator Jim Webb
Campaign Headquarters
5618 Ox Road, Suite C
Fairfax Station, VA 22039
9:00 AM Start
Sunday, February 28, 2010
GOTV Rally and Canvass Launch with Senator Mark Warner
Outside/Near Starbucks at Huntsman Square
7475 Huntsman Blvd.
Springfield, VA 22153
9:45 AM Start
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sen. Merkley Calls Out GOP Senator for Obstructing Legislation that Would Benefit Working Class
With so many people still out of work, the Senate tried to pass a 30 day extension to unemployment and Cobra. This would greatly benefit hard working Americans who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own. The extension has already been passed by the House of Representatives so that the people wouldn't be harmed by the fact that lawmakers needed a little more time to figure out how to address the long-term issues. Nonetheless, Sen. Jim Bunning (R - KY) voiced his objection and that defeated the bill because Senate rules say that a single objection to a voice vote can prevent a bill from passing. In other words, one Senator is standing in the way of helping millions of unemployed Americans.
Senator Jeff Merkley has rightfully expressed his frustration with this and spoke up about it last night on the floor of the Senate. Merkley has repeatedly proved that Oregonians were right to elect him to the US Senate and I'm glad to see that he is once again standing up for the working class. I'd like to see more Senators follow Merkley's lead by standing up and demanding that the body move forward with productive legislation.
PS I have posted the transcript of the exchange in the comment section of this post.
UPDATE: Sen. Merkley has written a piece over at the Huffington Post about the situation. I highly recommend you check it out as he explains why it is so outrageous that one Senator is standing in the way of the Senate passing legislation that could be so beneficial for millions of Americans.
Senator Jeff Merkley has rightfully expressed his frustration with this and spoke up about it last night on the floor of the Senate. Merkley has repeatedly proved that Oregonians were right to elect him to the US Senate and I'm glad to see that he is once again standing up for the working class. I'd like to see more Senators follow Merkley's lead by standing up and demanding that the body move forward with productive legislation.
PS I have posted the transcript of the exchange in the comment section of this post.
UPDATE: Sen. Merkley has written a piece over at the Huffington Post about the situation. I highly recommend you check it out as he explains why it is so outrageous that one Senator is standing in the way of the Senate passing legislation that could be so beneficial for millions of Americans.
Keith Fimian Can't Spell Capital Gains
Well this is rather entertaining. Keith Fimian has always tried to cast himself as the likeable guy who runs a small business and therefore might be able to help create jobs if he’s elected. Setting aside the fact that he’s advocating for policies that simply won't work, has a history of forcing his own right wing views on his employees, and that even Republicans admit he spends most of his time railing against “career politicians” and “Congressional cronies,” it looks like he isn’t exactly on top of what’s supposed to be his top issue (financial policy).
If you look at this video beginning right around the 3 minute mark, Keith begins listing some of his recommendations. The first one that pops up is his belief that we should address capital gains issues. The problem is, he can’t even spell capital gains correct. I’m not kidding, somebody should let Fimian know how to spell “capital” gains. So much for Fimian having an in depth knowledge of financial issues.
It also looks like having to figure out how to spell capital gains has caused him to stress out as Fimian’s hair has gotten a whole lot grayer since we saw him run in 2008. I guess that means you have to cross “boyish good looks” off his list of qualifications too.
If you look at this video beginning right around the 3 minute mark, Keith begins listing some of his recommendations. The first one that pops up is his belief that we should address capital gains issues. The problem is, he can’t even spell capital gains correct. I’m not kidding, somebody should let Fimian know how to spell “capital” gains. So much for Fimian having an in depth knowledge of financial issues.
It also looks like having to figure out how to spell capital gains has caused him to stress out as Fimian’s hair has gotten a whole lot grayer since we saw him run in 2008. I guess that means you have to cross “boyish good looks” off his list of qualifications too.
Dennis Findley Drops Out of Democratic Primary in the 10th
At the Dranesville Democratic Committee meeting last night Dennis Findley announced that he would be dropping out of the Democratic primary in the 10th Congressional District. After explaining that “a family matter has arisen” that needs his “undivided time and attention,” Dennis thanked his staff and all his supporters for their efforts and promised to do what he could to help the eventual Democratic nominee.
As many others have already said both publicly and privately, I think Findley deserves to be praised for putting himself forward for public service even though it didn’t turn out the way he would have hoped. Furthermore, I understand that it was actually through advocating for his special needs son that inspired Findley to get more involved in the political process. As I pointed out in a post earlier this week, this is an area where our elected officials need to be held accountable so I am very pleased to see that there are people like Findley who are actively advocating for special needs children. I sincerely hope that he’s able to continue his work on these topics because it’s clear to me that he’s passionate about making a difference and I’m confident that he could have a positive impact if he continues his advocacy work.
Of course the primary must go on and it appears as though the date and method of the primary will be set this weekend. As Lowell pointed out in his post earlier this morning, “the ‘firehouse primary’ they tentatively decided on a few weeks ago may go by the wayside, but we'll find out soon enough.” I personally hope they decide to go with an open primary because I believe this is the most democratic (with a small d) and is the best way to get more voters activated. In the end, however, a “firehouse primary” is still a whole lot better than a caucus which generally only involves a small number of voters.
As many others have already said both publicly and privately, I think Findley deserves to be praised for putting himself forward for public service even though it didn’t turn out the way he would have hoped. Furthermore, I understand that it was actually through advocating for his special needs son that inspired Findley to get more involved in the political process. As I pointed out in a post earlier this week, this is an area where our elected officials need to be held accountable so I am very pleased to see that there are people like Findley who are actively advocating for special needs children. I sincerely hope that he’s able to continue his work on these topics because it’s clear to me that he’s passionate about making a difference and I’m confident that he could have a positive impact if he continues his advocacy work.
Of course the primary must go on and it appears as though the date and method of the primary will be set this weekend. As Lowell pointed out in his post earlier this morning, “the ‘firehouse primary’ they tentatively decided on a few weeks ago may go by the wayside, but we'll find out soon enough.” I personally hope they decide to go with an open primary because I believe this is the most democratic (with a small d) and is the best way to get more voters activated. In the end, however, a “firehouse primary” is still a whole lot better than a caucus which generally only involves a small number of voters.
A Look At How Education Fairs in the Senate's Budget Proposal
The Senate passed a budget yesterday which reversed over $700 million in cuts to education that were proposed by Governor Bob McDonnell. Now the Senate wasn’t able to do away with all of the cuts to education, which is understandable in these horrible economic times, but it was able to reduce it to a total of $133 million ($37 million for the first year and $95 for the second) – which is still a lot of money. Before you get too excited about the Senate's budget, however, it's important thing to note is that the House proposing $620 million in cuts to education related spending. This means there's a difference of almost $500 million in education funding in the two budgets and the final proposal could look a lot different than what the Senate just passed. So with the potential for future changes in mind, here are a few of the important notes about the Senate's budget proposals surrounding education.
As I mentioned in a post I wrote yesterday, one of the most controversial issues this year was Tim Kaine’s proposal to freeze the Local Composite Index (LCI). After an uproar from communities that would have benefited from the tradition recalculation, the Senate has decided to reverse the freeze. To address the concerns of localities in other regions of the Commonwealth that might have lost funding due to the recalculation of the LCI, the “Senate’s budget holds all localities harmless.” In a statement released yesterday, the Senate Democratic Caucus explained how this decision will help communities all across Virginia.
As the Democratic Caucus pointed out, the Senate's budget also differed from Gov. McDonnell regarding higher education funding.
Although in a perfect world the budget would look a lot better than this, it's clear that the Senate’s proposal is the one that education advocates would like to see passed and I'm sure they'll let their elected officials know that when they're in Richmond for a rally this weekend. When you combine the fact that education activists generally favor the Senate’s proposals and that I was told by a well-placed source that Senators are very confident in the ability of their negotiators, one would hope that many of these proposals will remain in the final budget. Unfortunately, the plain and simple fact that the House and Senate are so far apart to start with also suggests the Senate negotiators will have a lot of hard work in front of them if they want their proposals to make it through. I therefore highly encourage everyone to let their General Assembly members know that they prefer the Senate's budget proposal.
As I mentioned in a post I wrote yesterday, one of the most controversial issues this year was Tim Kaine’s proposal to freeze the Local Composite Index (LCI). After an uproar from communities that would have benefited from the tradition recalculation, the Senate has decided to reverse the freeze. To address the concerns of localities in other regions of the Commonwealth that might have lost funding due to the recalculation of the LCI, the “Senate’s budget holds all localities harmless.” In a statement released yesterday, the Senate Democratic Caucus explained how this decision will help communities all across Virginia.
The normal two-year recalculation of the Local Composite Index will occur under the Senate budget, meaning that state aid to local school districts will be distributed more fairly and accurately based on population and property values. Under the recalculation many localities were going to see an increase in state funding, but 97 localities stood to lose state support. The Senate’s budget holds all localities harmless in the recalculation, meaning that no locality will receive less than was proposed by Governor Kaine. This will keep teachers in the classroom in every local school system in Virginia. The House of Delegates has proposed to restore 80% of funding to those localities, while Governor McDonnell proposed no assistance.Continuing along the theme of assisting localities, there were a few noteworthy proposals that helped to ensure that the state wasn't hurting individual communities by shifting too much of the financial burden of running a good school system to the localities. For example, local school systems will gain some flexibility in allocating their resources through a “temporarily eases some mandates such as testing requirements and class size ratios” and will save millions by being able to defer contributions to retirement accounts. The retirement funding could create an interesting situation down the road, however, as the deferred payments will have to be repaid to the system in the future.
As the Democratic Caucus pointed out, the Senate's budget also differed from Gov. McDonnell regarding higher education funding.
Virginia’s colleges and universities will be critical to economic recovery, so no further reductions were recommended in the state’s higher education system. The Senate also preserved nearly $10 million in tuition assistance grants to help keep college affordable, preventing Governor McDonnell’s $19.9 million proposed cut to the program. The Senate preserved funding for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, a group that had been targeted for elimination by the House of Delegates. The Senate also held Virginia’s libraries harmless, while the House made a 15% cut.Finally, another important thing that the Senate did was reject McDonnell’s recommendation to eliminate state support for school breakfasts. As someone who has spent so much time fighting for working families and frequently fighting to maintain programs like this one, I am extremely pleased to see that the Senate has proposed the continuation of the crucial service. The students who qualify for school breakfasts do so for a reason -- their families are in an economic situation where this is one of the only ways the children can afford a meal in the morning. By providing these students with a nutritional meal in the mornings, the school breakfasts create a situation in which the students are able to concentrate in class and receive the best education possible. By making it easier for students to obtain the skills necessary to enter the 21st Century job market, these school breakfasts will earn a return on the investment both socially, through being one step towards presenting students with the chance to perform better in schools, and financially through the increased wages their earn after getting a better education.
Although in a perfect world the budget would look a lot better than this, it's clear that the Senate’s proposal is the one that education advocates would like to see passed and I'm sure they'll let their elected officials know that when they're in Richmond for a rally this weekend. When you combine the fact that education activists generally favor the Senate’s proposals and that I was told by a well-placed source that Senators are very confident in the ability of their negotiators, one would hope that many of these proposals will remain in the final budget. Unfortunately, the plain and simple fact that the House and Senate are so far apart to start with also suggests the Senate negotiators will have a lot of hard work in front of them if they want their proposals to make it through. I therefore highly encourage everyone to let their General Assembly members know that they prefer the Senate's budget proposal.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sen. Mark Herring Is Fighting to Reverse the LCI Freeze
The budgets currently being considered by the General Assembly all include massive cuts to education and, despite the efforts of organizations like the FEA, it does look like a large portion of them will remain. One of the more controversial aspects of education related spending has been that before leaving office Gov. Tim Kaine proposed freezing the Local Composite Index (LCI). This is important because the LCI is the method by which the state decides how much funding it will provide to localities for their school systems.
In years past, the LCI formula has resulted in the localities in Northern Virginia having to pay a much larger portion of their education related budget than other localities throughout the Commonwealth. Due to the diminished home values resulting from the poor economic times, however, the formula would allow for a larger portion of Northern Virginia’s education budget to be covered by the state in upcoming years. The fact that Kaine proposed freezing this formula (because it would supposedly save some money for the state) has therefore outraged parents and elected officials from NoVA.
After years of playing by the rules and dealing with the consequences, it simply isn't right that the one time the formula would actually benefit Northern Virginia localities the state was going to prevent these changes from being made. Legislators have therefore been spending a lot of time and energy trying to reverse the freeze and they even received some help on the issue from Bob McDonnell (I’ll give credit when credit is due). While there appears to be some positive signs that the adjustments will be made, there still is a lot of work that needs to be done on the issue. I therefore wanted to provide an update Sen. Herring gave on the LCI in an email sent out earlier today because he does a great job of explaining why it's an important issue and were it currently stands.
In years past, the LCI formula has resulted in the localities in Northern Virginia having to pay a much larger portion of their education related budget than other localities throughout the Commonwealth. Due to the diminished home values resulting from the poor economic times, however, the formula would allow for a larger portion of Northern Virginia’s education budget to be covered by the state in upcoming years. The fact that Kaine proposed freezing this formula (because it would supposedly save some money for the state) has therefore outraged parents and elected officials from NoVA.
After years of playing by the rules and dealing with the consequences, it simply isn't right that the one time the formula would actually benefit Northern Virginia localities the state was going to prevent these changes from being made. Legislators have therefore been spending a lot of time and energy trying to reverse the freeze and they even received some help on the issue from Bob McDonnell (I’ll give credit when credit is due). While there appears to be some positive signs that the adjustments will be made, there still is a lot of work that needs to be done on the issue. I therefore wanted to provide an update Sen. Herring gave on the LCI in an email sent out earlier today because he does a great job of explaining why it's an important issue and were it currently stands.
I've been working hard to change the proposed freeze on the scheduled recalculation of Local Composite Index (LCI) in the budget. The LCI is the formula that determines how much state education funding is distributed to each locality. This formula is recalculated every two years based on the most recent data relating to local property valuations, income and other factors.Since there will still be a lot of work to do on passing the budget in the House and then producing a single proposal, I highly encourage everyone to contact your General Assembly members and let them know that you don’t support freezing the LCI. Sen. Herring’s remarks suggest that there is room for optimism, but we still need to make sure that there isn’t any possibility that they will freeze the LCI. As members of the FEA said in their press conference about the budget in general, it is simply unacceptable “to balance the budget on the backs of children.” In my opinion, it is even more unacceptable to do so in a way that forces the children in a certain region to carry an extra share of the burden.
The Governor's introduced budget, however, would delay the scheduled recalculation for one year, preventing Loudoun and Fairfax from receiving additional funding. Delaying the reformulation would cost Loudoun County $35 million (about 7 cents on the real estate tax rate) and Fairfax County $61 million (approximately 3 cents on the real estate tax rate).
I have been very vocal in my opposition to this proposed freeze and began to organize opposition before the session began. I spoke out against this plan on the Senate Floor, introduced a budget amendment to reverse the freeze, and continue to press the Senate Finance Committee on the issue. Governor McDonnell has lent his support to our effort, but ultimately the General Assembly must take action.
In recent days, both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee released their respective budget proposals. Fortunately, the Senate Finance Committee has agreed with my budget amendment to reverse the LCI Freeze, and the House Appropriations Committee accepted a similar proposal as well. As it stands currently, both the Senate Finance Committee budget and House Appropriations Committee budget restore the money that is due Loudoun from reformulating the LCI.
Dueling St. Patrick's Day Events, I Recommend Gerry Connolly's
Anybody who knows Gerry Connolly knows that he loves St. Patrick's Day. I've heard him joke on several occasions about how it's supposedly "the holiest day of the year." Since he first ran for Providence Supervisor back in 1995, he's been holding an annual celebration for St. Patrick's Day that started out in his home and has now grown into one of the must attend events in Northern Virginia for Democrats. Over 1,000 people attended last year as it also featured plenty of statewide candidates giving speeches and the event's famous straw poll. It's gotten so big that even Pat Herrity has tried to copy Connolly by holding a St. Patrick's Day Party (it'll be interesting to see which event attracts more people).
In past years, the straw poll at this event has become one of the big things for candidates in local Democratic primaries to participate in. Since there aren't any Democratic primaries that cover turf in the 11th this year though, I'm thinking Gerry should change it up a little bit here. Since Herrity's already proven he's want to copy Gerry's campaign events, why not have people vote on who they want to win the Republican primary in the 11th? That could create some entertainment :)
On a serious note, however, if you're interested in attending the event will be held at the Kena Temple (9001 Arlington Boulevard in Fairfax) on Wednesday from March 17th and you can purchase tickets at the door or by purchasing them online here.
In past years, the straw poll at this event has become one of the big things for candidates in local Democratic primaries to participate in. Since there aren't any Democratic primaries that cover turf in the 11th this year though, I'm thinking Gerry should change it up a little bit here. Since Herrity's already proven he's want to copy Gerry's campaign events, why not have people vote on who they want to win the Republican primary in the 11th? That could create some entertainment :)
On a serious note, however, if you're interested in attending the event will be held at the Kena Temple (9001 Arlington Boulevard in Fairfax) on Wednesday from March 17th and you can purchase tickets at the door or by purchasing them online here.
Who Did You Want to Win the Russia v. Canada Hockey Game (With Poll)
With the Washington Capitals performing so well in the last few years, DC is beginning to emerge as a hockey town. While my sport is still baseball (the Nats have had a good off season, btw), I’ve been to the Verizon Center for a few Caps games and the energy there is absolutely amazing. With our star player, Alex Ovechkin, playing for Russia I’ve heard that some hockey fans from the area are hoping that Russia does well in the Olympics. David Gregory even brought up his children’s sense of divided loyalties during an interview he had with VP Joe Biden on Meet the Press.
Those DC area fans that wanted Ovechkin and his teammates to go far in the Olympics were treated with some bad news last night as Canada beat Russia 7 to 3 in the quarterfinals. Apparently, DC fans weren’t the only ones who were focused in on Ovechkin last night as the Washington Post reports that Canadians were really looking forward to taking on the hockey great.
Those DC area fans that wanted Ovechkin and his teammates to go far in the Olympics were treated with some bad news last night as Canada beat Russia 7 to 3 in the quarterfinals. Apparently, DC fans weren’t the only ones who were focused in on Ovechkin last night as the Washington Post reports that Canadians were really looking forward to taking on the hockey great.
What all of Canada had built into an Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby matchup -- the red-clad, hockey-mad fans gave the arena the look of Verizon Center during a Caps-Penguins playoff game -- instead turned into an eye-averting onslaught. Ovechkin was certainly a focal point, both for the crowd, which booed him during introductions and every chance it got, and for the Canadians, who hit him so hard and so often that Ted Leonsis probably had difficulty getting out of bed this morning. But neither of them had a point.Now what I find interesting is that a lot of people who are just casual sports fans and tune into the Olympics simply because it’s the thing to do seem to want our friends to the North to do well. I know that early on I found myself cheering for Canada to get its first gold medal on home turf when there wasn’t an American in the running. Taking all this into consideration, I thought it would be interesting to see who people from the DC area wanted to win last night’s game between Russia and Canada. You can answer in the poll below and, if you feel so inclined, leave your thoughts on the game (or anything else about the Olympics) in the comment section.
FEA Members Speaking Out Against Proposed Cuts to Education
Members of the Fairfax Education Association (FEA) held a press conference yesterday in which they spoke out against the extreme cuts to education that can be found in the proposed state budgets. Although they concentrated their remarks on the budget put forward by Gov. Bob McDonnell, the members who spoke said that all of the proposed budget had far too many cuts to education and that it was severely disappointed that officials were trying to balance the budget on the back of our children.
There were several topics that were touched upon and you can see in the video below, but a main focus was the music programs that are potentially going to be cut. Speaking on this topic was both a music teacher and a fine arts administrator who talked about how thousands of students could potentially lose out on an opportunity to participate in music programs at their schools. As someone who was heavily involved in the band programs in Fairfax County Public Schools, I have to say I completely agree with the sentiment that taking away these programs would be detrimental to the student population. I was fortunate to have enough musical ability to do reasonably well in the band programs, but I am the first to admit that some of the most important lessons I learned in those classes address issues besides music – something that I’ve also heard from so many others who participated in the fine arts. Taking away these programs, or delaying the grade in which students can participate in the programs, would therefore decrease the value of the experience in Fairfax County Public Schools.
After the FEA members gave their speeches, I asked if the organization had been speaking with members of the General Assembly about their concerns regarding the budget. According to acting FEA president Michael Hairston, many members took the time to travel down to Richmond for “a successful lobby day” in late January and even more will be participating in a rally in Richmond this weekend that will call for schools to be fully funded. He also pointed out that FEA has endorsed Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate in the 41st and Sandy Evans for School Board from Mason District and members will be working to educate people about why those are the best candidates on education related issues.
Overall, I thought the people who spoke conveyed a very good message that laid out how the Governor’s budget proposal would have a negative impact on the student population. Furthermore, I was very pleased to see them highlight how one of the main reasons many families and businesses locate in Fairfax County is because it has a very good school system. Since this also helps to drive the home values up, generate well paying jobs, and help to make sure that students are prepared for the 21st Century job market, following through on severe cuts to the schools could also have a negative impact on our already struggling economy.
Of course one of the hardest things about the education budget is that Gov. McDonnell and so many of the Republicans in the General Assembly have already make it clear that they won’t consider even remotely raising taxes. This is despite the fact that community members in Fairfax have been saying that they’re willing to pay a little more if it means the revenue will be there to maintain the high quality schools in the County. After all, the great schools in the area have such a positive impact on their quality of life and the local economy that the investment would be well worth it in the long run. So while we might not see the results we want on this budget, I’m still very glad to see we have people like these FEA members and other concerned citizens who won’t silently stand by as Gov. Bob McDonnell and his Republican colleagues try to “balance the budget on our children’s backs.”
There were several topics that were touched upon and you can see in the video below, but a main focus was the music programs that are potentially going to be cut. Speaking on this topic was both a music teacher and a fine arts administrator who talked about how thousands of students could potentially lose out on an opportunity to participate in music programs at their schools. As someone who was heavily involved in the band programs in Fairfax County Public Schools, I have to say I completely agree with the sentiment that taking away these programs would be detrimental to the student population. I was fortunate to have enough musical ability to do reasonably well in the band programs, but I am the first to admit that some of the most important lessons I learned in those classes address issues besides music – something that I’ve also heard from so many others who participated in the fine arts. Taking away these programs, or delaying the grade in which students can participate in the programs, would therefore decrease the value of the experience in Fairfax County Public Schools.
After the FEA members gave their speeches, I asked if the organization had been speaking with members of the General Assembly about their concerns regarding the budget. According to acting FEA president Michael Hairston, many members took the time to travel down to Richmond for “a successful lobby day” in late January and even more will be participating in a rally in Richmond this weekend that will call for schools to be fully funded. He also pointed out that FEA has endorsed Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate in the 41st and Sandy Evans for School Board from Mason District and members will be working to educate people about why those are the best candidates on education related issues.
Overall, I thought the people who spoke conveyed a very good message that laid out how the Governor’s budget proposal would have a negative impact on the student population. Furthermore, I was very pleased to see them highlight how one of the main reasons many families and businesses locate in Fairfax County is because it has a very good school system. Since this also helps to drive the home values up, generate well paying jobs, and help to make sure that students are prepared for the 21st Century job market, following through on severe cuts to the schools could also have a negative impact on our already struggling economy.
Of course one of the hardest things about the education budget is that Gov. McDonnell and so many of the Republicans in the General Assembly have already make it clear that they won’t consider even remotely raising taxes. This is despite the fact that community members in Fairfax have been saying that they’re willing to pay a little more if it means the revenue will be there to maintain the high quality schools in the County. After all, the great schools in the area have such a positive impact on their quality of life and the local economy that the investment would be well worth it in the long run. So while we might not see the results we want on this budget, I’m still very glad to see we have people like these FEA members and other concerned citizens who won’t silently stand by as Gov. Bob McDonnell and his Republican colleagues try to “balance the budget on our children’s backs.”
Teacher Speaks Out About Bolognese's Contradictory Campaign Promises Regarding Education
With a less than a week before voters will head to the polls in the 41st Delegate district, members of the FEA held a press conference yesterday to discuss the budget and its impact on education. While the focus of the press conference was opposition to Bob McDonnell’s plan to balance the budget on the backs of students, there was also some discussion about the upcoming special election and the differences between Kerry Bolognese and Eileen Filler-Corn.
Both candidates have made education a big part of their campaign, which isn’t too surprising because one of the reasons many families move to Fairfax County is the high quality of its school system. Parents therefore want to make sure that the school system remains at the same level that caused them to move to the area in the first place. Realizing this, Bolognese has been using campaign lit that says he opposes cuts to education so that the general public thinks he’ll fight for maintaining the programs that make our schools so successful. In a questionnaire for the Northern Virginia Tea Party (paid for by the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance), however, his answers to three separate questions said that the school system’s budget was “excessive.”
During yesterday's press conference a local special education teacher and FEA member pointed out that Bolognese’s decision to say one thing in his campaign literature and another in his questions to the extreme right is “two-faced.” It also suggests that he's willing to say whatever he thinks will score him some political points with particular constituent groups. Since we need leaders in the House of Delegates who will work hard to produce actual results while we’re trying to recover from these tough economic times, Bolognese’s inability to be straightforward about where he stands on the important issues like education goes to show why the voters rejected his candidacy in November and should do so again on March 2.
For those of you who are interested, here’s a video of Kevin’s remarks. I think they’re important to watch because they make the connection between Bolognese’s various campaign promises directly contradict themselves and how we therefore can’t trust him to protect funding for our schools if he’s elected to the House of Delegates. As a side note, I also think it's important for groups like the FEA to hold elected officials and candidates accountable for what they say. This is a prime example of how their membership is truly taking the time to educate the public about the contradictory statements that a candidate is hoping won't receive too much attention.
Both candidates have made education a big part of their campaign, which isn’t too surprising because one of the reasons many families move to Fairfax County is the high quality of its school system. Parents therefore want to make sure that the school system remains at the same level that caused them to move to the area in the first place. Realizing this, Bolognese has been using campaign lit that says he opposes cuts to education so that the general public thinks he’ll fight for maintaining the programs that make our schools so successful. In a questionnaire for the Northern Virginia Tea Party (paid for by the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance), however, his answers to three separate questions said that the school system’s budget was “excessive.”
During yesterday's press conference a local special education teacher and FEA member pointed out that Bolognese’s decision to say one thing in his campaign literature and another in his questions to the extreme right is “two-faced.” It also suggests that he's willing to say whatever he thinks will score him some political points with particular constituent groups. Since we need leaders in the House of Delegates who will work hard to produce actual results while we’re trying to recover from these tough economic times, Bolognese’s inability to be straightforward about where he stands on the important issues like education goes to show why the voters rejected his candidacy in November and should do so again on March 2.
For those of you who are interested, here’s a video of Kevin’s remarks. I think they’re important to watch because they make the connection between Bolognese’s various campaign promises directly contradict themselves and how we therefore can’t trust him to protect funding for our schools if he’s elected to the House of Delegates. As a side note, I also think it's important for groups like the FEA to hold elected officials and candidates accountable for what they say. This is a prime example of how their membership is truly taking the time to educate the public about the contradictory statements that a candidate is hoping won't receive too much attention.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Mark Levine Talks About Potential Need For Second Stimulus on Fox Business Happy Hour
My friend Mark Levine was on the Fox Business Happy Hour last week talking about the stimulus and how you can help our economy recover. Despite the fact that it was three on one, I think Mark came out as the only one here who was making sense. Whenever he got to a point such as sound arguments for potentially having another stimulus (or at least why the original should have been bigger) and that it's actually the Republicans who tend to favor policies that favor big business, the crew at Fox seemed to try to shout him down so that his points couldn't be heard. In the end, I think that only helps to show how Mark was the one here discussing valid views and not just giving out partisan talking points. Well done, Mark.
After Having A Poor Attendance Record, Herrity Bails On Appointments to Transportation Boards
Transportation is one of the most important issues facing Northern Virginia and many of the elected officials who want to make a major impact on the issue are members of the board at either the Northern Virginian Transportation Commission (NVTC) or the Virginia Railway Express (VRE). Neither of these positions is incredibly exciting, but board members who take the time to really examine transportation issues in the region can truly make a difference. Despite the opportunity serving in these positions presented to help solve our transportation issues in Northern Virginia, Pat Herrity recently asked Sharon Bulova not to reappoint him to these boards.
Although it doesn’t necessarily get a lot of press attention and those familiar with the work the board does describe it as “wonkish,” the decisions made by NVTC have a huge impact on transportation systems in Northern Virginia. The commission is made up of 20 members from its six jurisdictions (Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Alexandria, City of Fairfax, and Falls Church) and its commissioners come together to make decisions regarding the buses in NOVA such as the Fairfax Connector and Arlington County art, Metro (both rail and buses), and it is a “co-owner” of the VRE. In other words, this provides its members with an opportunity to help craft policy that would greatly improve our transportation system in Northern Virginia and elected officials who are passionate about improving our transportation system try to get a seat on the commission or on the board of the VRE (Herrity gave up both).
What makes Herrity’s desire to no longer serve on these boards really interesting is the fact that he has been telling community members that one of the major reasons he should be elected to Congress is he wants to help address the area’s transportation woes. The fact that Herrity doesn’t even want to remain on these boards not only raises his questions about his interest in improving our transportation system but it really calls into question Herrity’s integrity regarding promises he’s making on the campaign trail.
This lack of enthusiasm about taking the time to set productive transportation policy isn’t a new development. A quick examination of the minutes of NVTC and VRE board meetings shows that Herrity apparently was never really interested in doing the work associated with these posts anyways. Of the 21 meetings that were held between when he was sworn in as a NVTC commissioner on February 7, 2008 and his replacement being sworn in on February 11, 2010, Herrity could only bring himself to attend 13 of them. In other words, he missed 38% of the meetings. That’s simply egregious and in any other job Herrity would have been fired because missing 38% of your work means that you’re not even doing the bare minimum required to perform your duties. What makes it even more outrageous is that the only time that Herrity actually attended four meetings in a row was his last four meetings, which took place when he was deliberating about whether or not he wanted to run for Congress.
Herrity’s attendance at VRE meetings was even worse. Like with the NVTC, he only attended 13 of 21 meetings for the VRE (which means he missed 38%). Of the meetings that he did attend, however, he could only be bothered to show up on time for four of them. This means that he only showed up on time (if at all) to 19% of the meetings. Considering how VRE is a vital part of our public transportation system in the region, Herrity’s attendance record doesn’t fit someone who supposedly is extremely interested in improving our transportation system.
Now when Herrity asked Bulova not to reappoint him to these boards, he claimed that it was so Supervisor Cook, a Republican on the Board of Supervisors who won a special election early last year, could pick up another committee assignment. This reasoning, however, simply doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. If that was truly Pat’s reasoning, one has to wonder why he didn’t give up the committee assignments right when Cook was elected. After all, Herrity missed several meetings after Cook joined the Board of Supervisors so his attendance record definitely suggests that Cook could have done a better job of representing Fairfax County on the boards at the NVTC and VRE.
We get a better glimpse at the potential motivation for Herrity’s request when you look at the political context of the situation. Herrity’s attendance at meetings only really improved when he was considering a bid for Congress and his request not to be reappointed came in the same time frame that he announced his candidacy for Congress. It doesn’t take a political genius to see how this suggests that he was only using the appointments for political gain and now wants to have more time to run his campaign.
By asking not to be reappointed to these posts, Pat Herrity has illustrated that he is not the type of leader that this region needs on transportation related issues. The plain and simple fact that he also never took his commitments serious enough to have even a half way decent attendance record also suggests that he cannot be counted on to take the time to set policy that’s truly in the best interests of his constituents. When you combine that with the fact that many of his decisions here appear to have his own political future in mind, Pat Herrity has proven that is not fit to represent Virginia’s 11th District in the House of Representatives.
Although it doesn’t necessarily get a lot of press attention and those familiar with the work the board does describe it as “wonkish,” the decisions made by NVTC have a huge impact on transportation systems in Northern Virginia. The commission is made up of 20 members from its six jurisdictions (Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Alexandria, City of Fairfax, and Falls Church) and its commissioners come together to make decisions regarding the buses in NOVA such as the Fairfax Connector and Arlington County art, Metro (both rail and buses), and it is a “co-owner” of the VRE. In other words, this provides its members with an opportunity to help craft policy that would greatly improve our transportation system in Northern Virginia and elected officials who are passionate about improving our transportation system try to get a seat on the commission or on the board of the VRE (Herrity gave up both).
What makes Herrity’s desire to no longer serve on these boards really interesting is the fact that he has been telling community members that one of the major reasons he should be elected to Congress is he wants to help address the area’s transportation woes. The fact that Herrity doesn’t even want to remain on these boards not only raises his questions about his interest in improving our transportation system but it really calls into question Herrity’s integrity regarding promises he’s making on the campaign trail.
This lack of enthusiasm about taking the time to set productive transportation policy isn’t a new development. A quick examination of the minutes of NVTC and VRE board meetings shows that Herrity apparently was never really interested in doing the work associated with these posts anyways. Of the 21 meetings that were held between when he was sworn in as a NVTC commissioner on February 7, 2008 and his replacement being sworn in on February 11, 2010, Herrity could only bring himself to attend 13 of them. In other words, he missed 38% of the meetings. That’s simply egregious and in any other job Herrity would have been fired because missing 38% of your work means that you’re not even doing the bare minimum required to perform your duties. What makes it even more outrageous is that the only time that Herrity actually attended four meetings in a row was his last four meetings, which took place when he was deliberating about whether or not he wanted to run for Congress.
Herrity’s attendance at VRE meetings was even worse. Like with the NVTC, he only attended 13 of 21 meetings for the VRE (which means he missed 38%). Of the meetings that he did attend, however, he could only be bothered to show up on time for four of them. This means that he only showed up on time (if at all) to 19% of the meetings. Considering how VRE is a vital part of our public transportation system in the region, Herrity’s attendance record doesn’t fit someone who supposedly is extremely interested in improving our transportation system.
Now when Herrity asked Bulova not to reappoint him to these boards, he claimed that it was so Supervisor Cook, a Republican on the Board of Supervisors who won a special election early last year, could pick up another committee assignment. This reasoning, however, simply doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. If that was truly Pat’s reasoning, one has to wonder why he didn’t give up the committee assignments right when Cook was elected. After all, Herrity missed several meetings after Cook joined the Board of Supervisors so his attendance record definitely suggests that Cook could have done a better job of representing Fairfax County on the boards at the NVTC and VRE.
We get a better glimpse at the potential motivation for Herrity’s request when you look at the political context of the situation. Herrity’s attendance at meetings only really improved when he was considering a bid for Congress and his request not to be reappointed came in the same time frame that he announced his candidacy for Congress. It doesn’t take a political genius to see how this suggests that he was only using the appointments for political gain and now wants to have more time to run his campaign.
By asking not to be reappointed to these posts, Pat Herrity has illustrated that he is not the type of leader that this region needs on transportation related issues. The plain and simple fact that he also never took his commitments serious enough to have even a half way decent attendance record also suggests that he cannot be counted on to take the time to set policy that’s truly in the best interests of his constituents. When you combine that with the fact that many of his decisions here appear to have his own political future in mind, Pat Herrity has proven that is not fit to represent Virginia’s 11th District in the House of Representatives.
Washington Post Endorsed Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate
The special election to fill the seat in the House of Delegates from the 41st District is going to have a very low turnout and will likely be extremely close. The Washington Post's endorsement will likely play a larger role in this race than a newspaper endorsement does in a traditional campaign. If one of the only times someone hears about a race is when the region's major newspaper makes its endorsement, after all, commonsense suggests it would help the candidate who received the endorsement. That is why I was very pleased to see that the Post has endorsed Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate.
It should be noted that in the special election to fill Mason District's seat on the Fairfax County School Board, which will also be held on March 2, the Post endorsed Sandy Evans who received the Democratic endorsement in the race (note that the School Board race is technically nonpartisan, so she received the endorsement of the Democratic Party and not the nomination). With most of the press and local activists spending most of their time on the delegate race, there has really been very little buzz in the community (even among the most involved activists) regarding this school board race. The Post's endorsement will therefore likely remind a large chunk of the community that there's actually a race in going on in Mason District. As a result, it's a very good thing that the endorsement went to Sandy.
Ms. Filler-Corn, who worked as a liaison to Capitol Hill for former governors Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine, would be the more effective delegate. She has a much more fluent grasp of Virginia issues than Mr. Bolognese, having been deeply involved in education issues in Fairfax County. In addition to having served five years on the PTA Board for the county schools, she helps develop after-school programs as a member of the school system's Child Care Advisory Council.I know Eileen's campaign has been working extremely hard to get the word out about the election, so hopefully the Post's endorsement will help as election day (March 2) is now less than a week away. Despite the snow storms that came during the heat of the campaign, for instance, there were a lot of people taking advantage of phone from home programs (which were useful considering that so many people were stuck at home in the snow and were therefore available to talk a little bit about the campaign). As the final GOTV efforts are ramping up, I've been hearing some good things from the campaign and the community about Eileen's chances but the election will still be close. So if you can do anything to help keep this seat in Democratic hands, now is the time to act.
By contrast, Mr. Bolognese's main claim to involvement in state and local issues is that he pays taxes. A higher education lobbyist and former congressional staffer, he has little personal experience in public affairs in Fairfax or Richmond. That shows in his vague pronouncements about state government, which follow a doctrinaire script (cut waste, shrink government) unburdened by facts.
It should be noted that in the special election to fill Mason District's seat on the Fairfax County School Board, which will also be held on March 2, the Post endorsed Sandy Evans who received the Democratic endorsement in the race (note that the School Board race is technically nonpartisan, so she received the endorsement of the Democratic Party and not the nomination). With most of the press and local activists spending most of their time on the delegate race, there has really been very little buzz in the community (even among the most involved activists) regarding this school board race. The Post's endorsement will therefore likely remind a large chunk of the community that there's actually a race in going on in Mason District. As a result, it's a very good thing that the endorsement went to Sandy.
Del. Scott Surovell Calls For Widening of Route 1
Whenever you go to community events in the Mt. Vernon area, there are always people there talking about how horrible the traffic is around the Route 1 corridor. In a region that has a lot of traffic problems, the Route 1 corridor definitely stands out as one of the key places that need attention. With the results of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) calling for an expansion of the facilities at Ft. Belvoir, the amount of traffic on Route 1 near the fort is going to make the situation a whole lot worse. Del. Scott Surovell, who represents the 44th District in the House of Delegates and grew up along the Route 1 corridor, has written a letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh to recommend the widening of US 1 north of Ft. Belvoir.
According to Scott’s letter, “U.S. 1 has not been widened north of Telegraph Road since 1971” and the funding for the project could come from the $150 million secured by Rep. Jim Moran for improving access to Dewitt Hospital. Widening the highway could also have a very beneficial impact on the economy of the local area as the Mt. Vernon Estate is the largest employer in the 44th and, as Scott points out in his letter, “there are already significant backups around the estate” and it is “planning a $38 million library that will attract even more visitors.” Considering the tough economic times that we’re facing, it’s a good thing that one of the largest private employers in the area will be attracting more customers. Having a good transportation in the area, however, will not only make it easier for people to get to work but will also attract more visitors to the estate and the new library that’s being planned.
If you want to see Scott’s letter in it’s entirety, which goes into some details about the changes that he’d recommend, you can see the entire letter by following this link. Furthermore, I’ve posted a map his office sent out below that also illustrates some of the changes that Scott would recommend (continue below the photo for some of my thoughts on Scott’s recommendations).
There are a couple things to note about Scott’s request to widen Route 1. Firstly, this move wouldn’t replace the development of mass transit but would simply be an added step to help ease the traffic situation in the area. I believe this is important to note because while widening the roads would likely help in this situation, widening roads without also improving the mass transit system would force us to only have to revisit the situation in the future as the area continues to grow. I’m therefore very pleased to see that Scott appears to understand this concept as a statement that he released about the letter does highlight how he believes this widening of US 1 would “complement” the “additional mass transit options” that are outlined in “Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan.”
Secondly, I think it’s important to note that after the economy, “the future impacts caused by the BRAC process was the number one issue on people’s minds as I went door-to-door last summer and fall.” I bring this up because as I have attended community events and talked to voters across the Northern Virginia region, I have also run into a whole lot of people who list traffic as one of there major concerns. In other words, the BRAC process isn’t the only situation that is causing people to be concerned about traffic. Since individual communities in Northern Virginia have their own twist on what makes traffic bad in their area, it is extremely important that we have the leaders who are willing to take the time to really examine the hyper-localized issues and see what can be done to improve the overall traffic situation in the region. I’m glad to see that Scott is taking the time to really study where some changes could be made and I look forward to seeing him continue his work on this topic in the future.
According to Scott’s letter, “U.S. 1 has not been widened north of Telegraph Road since 1971” and the funding for the project could come from the $150 million secured by Rep. Jim Moran for improving access to Dewitt Hospital. Widening the highway could also have a very beneficial impact on the economy of the local area as the Mt. Vernon Estate is the largest employer in the 44th and, as Scott points out in his letter, “there are already significant backups around the estate” and it is “planning a $38 million library that will attract even more visitors.” Considering the tough economic times that we’re facing, it’s a good thing that one of the largest private employers in the area will be attracting more customers. Having a good transportation in the area, however, will not only make it easier for people to get to work but will also attract more visitors to the estate and the new library that’s being planned.
If you want to see Scott’s letter in it’s entirety, which goes into some details about the changes that he’d recommend, you can see the entire letter by following this link. Furthermore, I’ve posted a map his office sent out below that also illustrates some of the changes that Scott would recommend (continue below the photo for some of my thoughts on Scott’s recommendations).
There are a couple things to note about Scott’s request to widen Route 1. Firstly, this move wouldn’t replace the development of mass transit but would simply be an added step to help ease the traffic situation in the area. I believe this is important to note because while widening the roads would likely help in this situation, widening roads without also improving the mass transit system would force us to only have to revisit the situation in the future as the area continues to grow. I’m therefore very pleased to see that Scott appears to understand this concept as a statement that he released about the letter does highlight how he believes this widening of US 1 would “complement” the “additional mass transit options” that are outlined in “Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan.”
Secondly, I think it’s important to note that after the economy, “the future impacts caused by the BRAC process was the number one issue on people’s minds as I went door-to-door last summer and fall.” I bring this up because as I have attended community events and talked to voters across the Northern Virginia region, I have also run into a whole lot of people who list traffic as one of there major concerns. In other words, the BRAC process isn’t the only situation that is causing people to be concerned about traffic. Since individual communities in Northern Virginia have their own twist on what makes traffic bad in their area, it is extremely important that we have the leaders who are willing to take the time to really examine the hyper-localized issues and see what can be done to improve the overall traffic situation in the region. I’m glad to see that Scott is taking the time to really study where some changes could be made and I look forward to seeing him continue his work on this topic in the future.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
House of Delegates Blocks Insurance Coverage for Children With Autism
Shortly after Del. Bob Marshall declared that disabled children are god’s punishment for abortion, the House of Delegates defeated a bill that would have required insurance companies to cover the treatment of children with autism. Think about this. In less than a week’s time we have one Republican delegate declaring disable children to be God’s punishment and others caving into the insurance companies when it comes to potentially providing children treatment that could greatly improve their lives.
It’s also important to note that this bill, SB 464, wasn’t going to drive insurance companies out of business (or even cut into their enormous profits too much). What the bill would have done is require insurance companies to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autistic children between the ages of two and six years old. Studies have shown that this treatment would allow nearly 50% of children with autism to function successfully in the classroom with about another 40% improving their ability to function.
The bill was going to provide so much benefit to the community at such a relatively little cost to insurance companies that it had already passed the Senate with bipartisan support. Apparently the Republican members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee were so against taking this small step toward progress, however, that the bill was defeated in committee on a voice vote. That is such a shame and upon learning that the bill didn’t pass in the House, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Howell, made her disappointment known.
“This bill was a small step, but an important step in providing desperately needed services,” said Sen. Howell. “This was a very limited bill crafted specifically to minimize impact on insurance premiums. I am very disappointed that so many children and families are going to have to wait another year for the treatment they need and deserve.”
“This bill would have provided therapies to help these children have a successful life, in addition to reducing long-term costs to the state,” said Senator Howell. “I simply cannot understand why the House of Delegates would choose special interests over the best interests of children.”
It’s also important to note that this bill, SB 464, wasn’t going to drive insurance companies out of business (or even cut into their enormous profits too much). What the bill would have done is require insurance companies to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autistic children between the ages of two and six years old. Studies have shown that this treatment would allow nearly 50% of children with autism to function successfully in the classroom with about another 40% improving their ability to function.
The bill was going to provide so much benefit to the community at such a relatively little cost to insurance companies that it had already passed the Senate with bipartisan support. Apparently the Republican members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee were so against taking this small step toward progress, however, that the bill was defeated in committee on a voice vote. That is such a shame and upon learning that the bill didn’t pass in the House, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Howell, made her disappointment known.
“This bill was a small step, but an important step in providing desperately needed services,” said Sen. Howell. “This was a very limited bill crafted specifically to minimize impact on insurance premiums. I am very disappointed that so many children and families are going to have to wait another year for the treatment they need and deserve.”
“This bill would have provided therapies to help these children have a successful life, in addition to reducing long-term costs to the state,” said Senator Howell. “I simply cannot understand why the House of Delegates would choose special interests over the best interests of children.”
Republican Calls for Pat Herrity to Resign From Board of Supervisors
Yesterday I wrote a post that highlighted how the Republican primary in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District is getting rather nasty. Part of the reasoning for that is the fact that a lot of Herrity supporters thought that Fimian would drop out the race once Herrity declared his candidacy. Setting aside the fact that there is already a lot of bitterness among Republican activists over this race, it now appears as though a new layer has developed as there are calls for Pat Herrity to resign his position on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Alan Moore has written a piece for the Examiner, which is a conservative paper, that argued that Herrity’s repeated runs for other offices has made it clear that he’s not interested in remaining Springfield’s supervisor. Moore therefore suggests that Herrity “resign his seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors so that someone more interested in the job can take his place.”
With potential supporters calling for Herrity to resign from the Board of Supervisors and Republicans in the district already going after one another, it’s safe to say that this is going to be an extremely bloody primary that could potentially do a lot of damage to the candidate that eventually emerges.
Alan Moore has written a piece for the Examiner, which is a conservative paper, that argued that Herrity’s repeated runs for other offices has made it clear that he’s not interested in remaining Springfield’s supervisor. Moore therefore suggests that Herrity “resign his seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors so that someone more interested in the job can take his place.”
If Pat Herrity truly believes that Congress is where he needs to be then by all means he should continue his campaign and end his term as supervisor. Unfortunately, based on his history there is no telling if he even wants that seat, perhaps he is trying once again to build up his profile to run for an even higher office in the near future. One thing is for certain though; he absolutely does not want to be the Fairfax County supervisor from the Springfield district. If he does then why is he running for Congress?What makes Moore’s comments noteworthy is that he has actually volunteered for Herrity in the past and thinks he might make a decent Congressman. The problem is, Herrity’s history has Moore questioning if he would grow tired of the House of Representatives and then want to run for something else. In other words, someone who might support Herrity wants him to resign from the Board of Supervisors and isn’t sure if he would remain committed to serving in the House (is this making anyone else think about Sarah Palin?)
With potential supporters calling for Herrity to resign from the Board of Supervisors and Republicans in the district already going after one another, it’s safe to say that this is going to be an extremely bloody primary that could potentially do a lot of damage to the candidate that eventually emerges.
LCV Releases National Environmental Scorecard; Virginia's Democrats Mostly Score Well
The League of Conservations Voters (LCV) is one of the leading environmental groups and it released its National Environmental Scorecard yesterday. As they pointed out in a statement, over the last 30 years this has become the “nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues.” This year’s ratings were based on 11 votes in the Senate and 13 votes in the House. The two big votes were the American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed in the House by a vote of 219-212 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which included investments in energy related fields and public transportation.
You can see below that the rankings for Virginia’s Congressional delegation was split essentially along party lines regarding how well they did in regards to their voting on these issues. Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello both have some work to do, but the rest of the Democrats all scored above a 93%. I strongly believe that Gerry Connolly’s 100% here represents a continuation of the leadership he’s shown on environmental issues ranging back to his days on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. I’m glad to see that he’s taking leadership on these issues and is standing up for what he believes in while serving in Congress.
In sharp contrast to the Democrats from Virginia, the Republicans had horrible scores as Wolf and Witman lead the way with 21%. Although all of the Republicans had a horrible voting record, it’s worth noting that Rep. Eric Cantor came in with a 0% voting record that is actually extremely hard to do. It essentially means that Cantor did whatever he could to vote against legislation that would actually benefit the environment. Another interesting aspect of these ratings is that the leading Republicans are also the ones that will have the closest races among the Republican incumbents.
Here are the scores:
Sen. Mark Warner 100%
Sen. Jim Webb 100%
Rep. Rick Boucher (D VA-9) 100%
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D VA-11) 100%
Rep. Jim Moran (D VA-8) 93%
Rep. Bobby Scott (D VA-3) 93%
Rep. Tom Perriello (D VA-5) 71%
Rep. Glenn Nye (D VA-2) 64%
Rep. Frank Wolf (R VA-10) 21%
Rep. Rob Wittman (R VA-1) 21%
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R VA-6) 14%
Rep. Randy Forbes (R VA-4) 7%
Rep. Eric Cantor (R VA-7) 0%
You can see below that the rankings for Virginia’s Congressional delegation was split essentially along party lines regarding how well they did in regards to their voting on these issues. Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello both have some work to do, but the rest of the Democrats all scored above a 93%. I strongly believe that Gerry Connolly’s 100% here represents a continuation of the leadership he’s shown on environmental issues ranging back to his days on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. I’m glad to see that he’s taking leadership on these issues and is standing up for what he believes in while serving in Congress.
In sharp contrast to the Democrats from Virginia, the Republicans had horrible scores as Wolf and Witman lead the way with 21%. Although all of the Republicans had a horrible voting record, it’s worth noting that Rep. Eric Cantor came in with a 0% voting record that is actually extremely hard to do. It essentially means that Cantor did whatever he could to vote against legislation that would actually benefit the environment. Another interesting aspect of these ratings is that the leading Republicans are also the ones that will have the closest races among the Republican incumbents.
Here are the scores:
Sen. Mark Warner 100%
Sen. Jim Webb 100%
Rep. Rick Boucher (D VA-9) 100%
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D VA-11) 100%
Rep. Jim Moran (D VA-8) 93%
Rep. Bobby Scott (D VA-3) 93%
Rep. Tom Perriello (D VA-5) 71%
Rep. Glenn Nye (D VA-2) 64%
Rep. Frank Wolf (R VA-10) 21%
Rep. Rob Wittman (R VA-1) 21%
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R VA-6) 14%
Rep. Randy Forbes (R VA-4) 7%
Rep. Eric Cantor (R VA-7) 0%
Monday, February 22, 2010
Video: Gerry Connolly Discusses Health Care Reform on Hardball With Chris Mathews
Gerry Connolly was on Hardball with Chris Mathews discussing the latest developments in health care reform.
Republican Primary in VA-11 Is Getting Nasty
When Pat Herrity decided to enter the Republican Primary in the 11th, a lot of people were hoping that Keith Fimian would simply drop out of the race and let Herrity have a clear path to campaign for his third different office in just a few years. The fact that Fimian didn’t drop out, however, has caused people supporting both candidates to give us examples of how this will truly be a bloody Republican primary.
In a post that he wrote last week, Brian from “Too Conservative” slammed Fimian as a candidate who appears to spending most of his time “railing against ‘career politicians.’” While he tried to argue some local Democrats as “career politicians,” Brian seemed to be awfully offended that Fimian would try to lump Pat Herrity into that category even though Pat isn’t even halfway through his first term in office and is already running for his second different office since being sworn in and 3rd different office overall.
Still fuming, Brian highlighted how he didn’t like Fimian’s “temper tantrum” after Herrity announced his candidacy, claimed “he hasn’t demonstrated is that he can beat Gerry Connolly” while outlining how he thought the numbers proved how poorly Fimian did in 2008, and mocked the fact that Fimian has loaned his campaign $100,000 and is likely to self fund his candidacy.
Now Herrity supporters aren’t the only ones attacking their fellow Republicans. Even though Brian from Too Conservative would like us to believe that the only people who support Fimian online are part of the “hired Fimian blogging brigade,” it’s worth noting that Fimian supporters aren’t letting their candidate be bashed without making sure their own side of the story is being heard. In an interview he did with Red Nova, for instance, Fimian himself knocked Herrity for not being “able to beat Sharon Bulova in a low turnout special election.”
Chris over at Mason Conservative has also weighed in by claiming that Fimian is winning the message battle and that “the best Herrity's backers can do is shout their righteous indignation.” Perhaps hinting at the animosity that Fimian supporters have felt after so many people assumed that Fimian would simply drop out of the race, Chris also claimed “Herrity is low on issues and high on party support.”
Since the primary is still months away, the fact that the Republicans are already splitting into factions and bitterly attacking each other suggests that it’s going to be a very tough primary. Whoever wins is going to emerge from the race bloodied and having already spent a lot of money trying to win the Republican nomination. When you consider that both candidates have already lost at least one race in a large portion of the district, things are not off to a good start for the Republicans in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
In a post that he wrote last week, Brian from “Too Conservative” slammed Fimian as a candidate who appears to spending most of his time “railing against ‘career politicians.’” While he tried to argue some local Democrats as “career politicians,” Brian seemed to be awfully offended that Fimian would try to lump Pat Herrity into that category even though Pat isn’t even halfway through his first term in office and is already running for his second different office since being sworn in and 3rd different office overall.
Still fuming, Brian highlighted how he didn’t like Fimian’s “temper tantrum” after Herrity announced his candidacy, claimed “he hasn’t demonstrated is that he can beat Gerry Connolly” while outlining how he thought the numbers proved how poorly Fimian did in 2008, and mocked the fact that Fimian has loaned his campaign $100,000 and is likely to self fund his candidacy.
Now Herrity supporters aren’t the only ones attacking their fellow Republicans. Even though Brian from Too Conservative would like us to believe that the only people who support Fimian online are part of the “hired Fimian blogging brigade,” it’s worth noting that Fimian supporters aren’t letting their candidate be bashed without making sure their own side of the story is being heard. In an interview he did with Red Nova, for instance, Fimian himself knocked Herrity for not being “able to beat Sharon Bulova in a low turnout special election.”
Chris over at Mason Conservative has also weighed in by claiming that Fimian is winning the message battle and that “the best Herrity's backers can do is shout their righteous indignation.” Perhaps hinting at the animosity that Fimian supporters have felt after so many people assumed that Fimian would simply drop out of the race, Chris also claimed “Herrity is low on issues and high on party support.”
Since the primary is still months away, the fact that the Republicans are already splitting into factions and bitterly attacking each other suggests that it’s going to be a very tough primary. Whoever wins is going to emerge from the race bloodied and having already spent a lot of money trying to win the Republican nomination. When you consider that both candidates have already lost at least one race in a large portion of the district, things are not off to a good start for the Republicans in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
Del. Bob Marshall Claims Disabled Kids Are God's Punishment
In case you needed a reminder of why Del. Bob Marshall needs to be defeated in his next election, he has once again proven that his social beliefs are extremely out of touch with mainstream Virginia values. In a statement made at a press conference on Thursday, Marshall claimed that disabled children are God’s way of punishing women who have abortions.
UPDATE: Lowell has a post up over at Blue Virginia where he points out that these comments are just some in a long line of extremist rhetoric that Bob Marshall has been using over the years.
"The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children," said Marshall, a Republican.Abortion is always a controversial issue, but this simply takes it to the extreme. Instead of promoting ways to educate the public about how we can work to limit abortions (educate people about safe sex, help make birth control available, etc), Marshall has decided to use this type of extremist rhetoric that should offend everyone. That is not going to help limit the numbers of abortions and might even make it harder for other elected officials and community leaders to actually form coalitions across party lines that could help address the issue. In other words, these remarks weren’t only offensive but were damaging to the anti-choice agenda as well.
"In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."
UPDATE: Lowell has a post up over at Blue Virginia where he points out that these comments are just some in a long line of extremist rhetoric that Bob Marshall has been using over the years.
Lessons Can Be Learned From Documentary on Prince William County's Illegal Immigration Debate
Last week I attended a Brigades meeting in Vienna where there was a showing of the documentary 9500 Liberty. For those of you who don’t know, the documentary was produced by Annabel Park and Eric Byler and chronicled the debate in 2007 and 2008 surrounding illegal immigration in Prince William County. It was a great film and I highly recommend people watch it if they get the opportunity to do so.The film focuses in on a few central characters that played key roles in local elected officials adopting a law that said police officers had to question anyone who they have “probable cause” to believe is an undocumented immigrant. As the film shows, “probable cause” is a very broad term here and after this policy was adopted people of Hispanic descent in Prince William would often be pulled over for things such as their license plate being a little bent.
The policy backfired as the community was rather disappointed in the clear racial profiling used to enforce the policy. Furthermore, there were clear economic repercussions behind the policy as it cost millions of dollars to enforce and people began moving away because they no longer wanted to live in a community that was going to be so unwelcoming to a large portion of its population. The policy was therefore eventually reversed, but only after a long fight.
While the movie focuses on the storyline surrounding the policy, I think there is a very important lesson in there for people to pay attention to. Throughout the movie, Greg Letiecq plays a central role as the person who is the prime supporter of the discriminatory policy. It becomes painfully obvious that Greg is a person who is willing to make up facts, go after anyone who disagrees with him, use scare tactics to hind the fact that he doesn’t have any evidence to support his claims, and isn’t ashamed of the fact that he’s a racist. In fact, at one point in the movie he even speaks proudly about how so many people think he’s a racist.
Greg comes across as such an extremist that it’s hard to think that he was able to get a relatively large following. The plain and simple truth is, however, that he did. Despite the fact that the actual numbers show that crime was done and that the vast majority of immigrants simply wanted to give their families a good life, Greg was able to convince people that immigrants were at the root of all evil and were responsible for an increase in crime. The fact that Corey Stewart (the Republican chairman of the Board of Supervisors) saw a political opportunity in Greg’s bigotry only helped to increase the extremist’s baseless claims. In other words, the extremism and bigotry of a small extremist minority was able to get grow to a point where it ruined the lives of so many people in the community.
After people continued fighting for the truth and against bigotry, however, the extremists were eventually defeated on this measure. It’s extremely important to note, however, that it was only after a long and hard fought struggle that they were able to expose Greg Letiecq, Corey Stewart, and others for the bigots and political opportunists that they are.
As there are now many similarities between the anti-Immigrant movement and the Tea Party activists (Greg Letiecq’s group has actually joined up with the tea party folks), it’s important to look back on the situation in Prince William County that’s discussed in 9500 Liberty. The truth only won out when people continued focusing on the actual realities on the ground and exposed Greg and his allies as what they were – extremists who were willing to do anything it took for a victory. Once this was exposed, moderates fled the ranks of the extremist organizations and worked to rectify some of the damage that was done. I strongly believe that through working to expose the Tea Party leaders as the extremists that they are and educating the public about the realities of the current situation will have a similar impact.
Thank You to the Democratic Women of Clifton
I want to take the time to thank the Democratic Women of Clifton. I was one of several young Democrats who were honored yesterday for the work that we have done for the Democratic Party. As the recognition came during an event celebrating the organization’s 5th anniversary, I am humbled to have been part of the celebration and to have had the opportunity to work with many of the DWC’s members over the years.
Those of us who are from the Clifton/Centreville area are well aware of the fact that it’s one of the few parts of Fairfax County that can still be considered heavily Republican. Nonetheless, we’ve seen a lot of progress in recent years and I think that’s in large part to the work that the Democratic Women of Clifton have done. Whether it’s through working the polls on election day, taking action on important issues, or canvassing precincts in the area, the members are DWC are always active in the community and are most definitely making a difference.
I also think it’s important to note that while the organization was celebrating it’s fifth anniversary yesterday, they were taking the time to focus on young Democrats. Whether it was through elementary and middle school students who have performed some volunteer duties, high school students who have already shown leadership and active participation in campaigns, or activists who have begun their adult lives by giving back through working for campaigns or other community organizations, it was clear that even in the group of people honored yesterday there was a fair amount of diversity which I think shows some promise for progressive activists in the area. I also think that the DWC’s decision to focus on the group of younger people also goes to show that the organization is interested in standing up for the best interests of everyone in the area. It is this type of action that I think will not only making the organization stronger in the future, but will also mean good things for the community at large in coming years.
So with all that being said, as I was one of the people being honored yesterday, I simply want take the time now to publicly say thank you to the Democratic Women of Clifton and to commend them for all the work they’ve done over the last five years. I most definitely look forward to seeing the great work that the organization will continue to do as it continues to grow.
Those of us who are from the Clifton/Centreville area are well aware of the fact that it’s one of the few parts of Fairfax County that can still be considered heavily Republican. Nonetheless, we’ve seen a lot of progress in recent years and I think that’s in large part to the work that the Democratic Women of Clifton have done. Whether it’s through working the polls on election day, taking action on important issues, or canvassing precincts in the area, the members are DWC are always active in the community and are most definitely making a difference.
I also think it’s important to note that while the organization was celebrating it’s fifth anniversary yesterday, they were taking the time to focus on young Democrats. Whether it was through elementary and middle school students who have performed some volunteer duties, high school students who have already shown leadership and active participation in campaigns, or activists who have begun their adult lives by giving back through working for campaigns or other community organizations, it was clear that even in the group of people honored yesterday there was a fair amount of diversity which I think shows some promise for progressive activists in the area. I also think that the DWC’s decision to focus on the group of younger people also goes to show that the organization is interested in standing up for the best interests of everyone in the area. It is this type of action that I think will not only making the organization stronger in the future, but will also mean good things for the community at large in coming years.
So with all that being said, as I was one of the people being honored yesterday, I simply want take the time now to publicly say thank you to the Democratic Women of Clifton and to commend them for all the work they’ve done over the last five years. I most definitely look forward to seeing the great work that the organization will continue to do as it continues to grow.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
McDonnell's Proposal to Close Mason Neck Park Would Have A Negative Social and Financial Impact
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to close down Mason Neck State Park has a lot of people very upset. At a meeting I attended this afternoon, for instance, there were people who had been extremely active in the Fairfax community for decades who were strongly urging everyone to tell the their representatives in the General Assembly that they strongly oppose the park’s closure. They were very quick to point out that thousands of people visit Mason Neck every year because it’s the only state park in Fairfax County and it’s a Bald Eagle habitat. Furthermore, there are educational programs such as the Elizabeth Hartwell Eagle Festival.
In addition to the fact the park provides great services to the thousands of people who visit the park, closing the park would actually have a negative impact on the state’s finances. As Gerry Connolly pointed out in a letter he sent to Gov. McDonnell, the revenue that the state would lose is actually five times greater than the money it would save by closing the park.
In addition to the fact the park provides great services to the thousands of people who visit the park, closing the park would actually have a negative impact on the state’s finances. As Gerry Connolly pointed out in a letter he sent to Gov. McDonnell, the revenue that the state would lose is actually five times greater than the money it would save by closing the park.
Last year, more than 88,000 people paid fees to visit the park’s day use area, and that figure does not include countless numbers of people who parked along High Point Road to explore other sections of the park abutting the day use area.In other words, this park is a prime example of how a government program can provide a valuable social resource to the local community at the same time that it helps the local economy. The fact that McDonnell’s proposal would so clearly have a negative impact on the community both socially and economically also highlights how the GOP simply is out of touch with reality when it comes to the budgetary process. Fortunately, we have leadership from some of our other elected officials like Connolly to help stand up for what’s right.
Furthermore, closure of the park will not save money for the Commonwealth. The negative economic impact of lost revenue to area businesses and lost sales tax and income tax payments to the Commonwealth is five times greater than the $101,904 the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation estimates the state will save by closing the park.
Visitors to the Mason Neck State Park last year spent more than $500,000 at local businesses in the area, generating approximately $27,500 in state sales tax revenue. That does not take into account additional revenue from the state income tax paid by those business owners and the day use fees paid by visitors to the park.
Sunday Morning Talk Show Lineup
On the political talk shows this morning there appears to be three big themes that are emerging. Perhaps the topic that’s most on the mind of so many Americans – the economy. Since it’s been one year since the stimulus bill was signed by Obama, one of the big topics will be whether or not the stimulus bill is working.
With the National Governor’s Association meeting, there are also several governors who will be appearing on the Sunday talk shows this morning. The theme of discussion with them appears to be the partisan gridlock that is currently taking place in Washington.
Finally, as Hillary Clinton is now returning home after a trip to the Middle East and a lot of national security issues arising recently, another topic that will be discussed is national security and foreign policy.
With that in mind, here is the lineup of guests that will be making the rounds this morning.
Meet the Press: General David Petraues (Commander, US Central Command), Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN, Chairman, House Republican Conference), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD, chairman of DCCC)
Face the Nation: Colin Powell (Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff)
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY, Senate Minority Leader), Gov Haley Barbour (R-MS), Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI)
This Week: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA)
State of the Union: Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA), Gov Jim Douglas (R-VT), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), former Rep. Susan Mollnari (R-NY), former Gov. and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
With the National Governor’s Association meeting, there are also several governors who will be appearing on the Sunday talk shows this morning. The theme of discussion with them appears to be the partisan gridlock that is currently taking place in Washington.
Finally, as Hillary Clinton is now returning home after a trip to the Middle East and a lot of national security issues arising recently, another topic that will be discussed is national security and foreign policy.
With that in mind, here is the lineup of guests that will be making the rounds this morning.
Meet the Press: General David Petraues (Commander, US Central Command), Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN, Chairman, House Republican Conference), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD, chairman of DCCC)
Face the Nation: Colin Powell (Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff)
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY, Senate Minority Leader), Gov Haley Barbour (R-MS), Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI)
This Week: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA)
State of the Union: Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA), Gov Jim Douglas (R-VT), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), former Rep. Susan Mollnari (R-NY), former Gov. and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll
One of the biggest parts of the CPAC conference is the presidential straw poll. Although straw polls are unscientific and don’t always give a very accurate reading of the general electorate (especially this far out from the election), they can be momentum builder and can give a reading of where the most loyal activists stand. At the end of the CPAC conference, one of the biggest conferences for conservative activists, it appears as though Ron Paul has a following among the conservative activist crowd as he received 31% of the vote.
Rep. Paul tried to get the Republican nomination in 2008 and did have a very loyal following, but his poor performance in the primaries and the fact that most people outside of the Republican base think he’s crazy suggests that he probably doesn’t have much of a chance of actually winning the presidency. It is very interesting, however, to see that the candidates who attract the attention of the conservative base are fringe candidates who don’t really have a chance of becoming president.
Looking at the other people who did reasonably well, however, some of the people considered potential Republican frontrunners also received a large portion of the vote. Mitt Romney, who won the straw poll at the conference for the last three years, for instance, was the only other candidate who received a double-digit percentage when he came in at 22 percent.
The full results of the straw poll are as follows:
Ron Paul 31%
Mitt Romney 22%
Sarah Palin 7%
Tim Pawlenty 6%
Mike Pence 5%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Mike Huckabee 4%
Mitch Daniels 2%
John Thune 2%
Rick Santorum 2%
Haley Barbour 1%
Rep. Paul tried to get the Republican nomination in 2008 and did have a very loyal following, but his poor performance in the primaries and the fact that most people outside of the Republican base think he’s crazy suggests that he probably doesn’t have much of a chance of actually winning the presidency. It is very interesting, however, to see that the candidates who attract the attention of the conservative base are fringe candidates who don’t really have a chance of becoming president.
Looking at the other people who did reasonably well, however, some of the people considered potential Republican frontrunners also received a large portion of the vote. Mitt Romney, who won the straw poll at the conference for the last three years, for instance, was the only other candidate who received a double-digit percentage when he came in at 22 percent.
The full results of the straw poll are as follows:
Ron Paul 31%
Mitt Romney 22%
Sarah Palin 7%
Tim Pawlenty 6%
Mike Pence 5%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Mike Huckabee 4%
Mitch Daniels 2%
John Thune 2%
Rick Santorum 2%
Haley Barbour 1%
Eileen Filler-Corn Up With New Television Commercial
In case you haven't seen it already, EIleen Filler-Corn is up on cable with a new commercial that focuses on education. I've seen it on MSNBC a few times and I've been told that it's been on a few other channels as well.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Video: Del. Charniele Herring Speaks Out Against Budget Cuts To Homelessness Prevention Programs
On the floor of the House of Delegates yesterday, Delegate Charniele Herring gave a extremely passionate and emotion speech speaking out against the budget cuts to homelessness prevention programs. We need to see more of this type of leadership on fighting poverty from our elected officials.
Gerry Connolly Spoke About Economy Situation (With Video)
There’s no denying that we still have a ways to go before we are really out of economic tough times. Nonetheless, there are some folks who try to claim that Obama and the Democratic Congress haven’t helped the situation. While I might disagree with some of the details of their decisions, I think most of Obama’s harshest critics simply aren’t looking at the context in which the president and Congress were making these decisions. Based upon what he said when speaking earlier this week at Greenspring Village, it appears as though Rep. Gerry Connolly aggress looking at the context for these decisions is extremely important.
When Gerry began speaking about the economy, for instance, he drew attention to the fact that when he was sworn into office in January of ’09 the country was facing the highest unemployment rate it had seen since 1982. To make it worse, we were losing 700,000 jobs a month and if that pace had continued we would have been at unemployment rates similar to the Great Depression (he did point out that some communities are seeing those type of numbers). As I have seen him do on several occasions beforehand, Gerry also highlighted how the single largest bank failure wasn’t in1929; it was in 2008. And the largest single quarterly loss wasn’t in 1929; it was the last quarter in 2008.
All of this meant that economists from both sides of the aisle were advising Gerry and other members of Congress that action absolutely had to be taken to simulate the economy. If nothing was done, then the recession would have turned into a depression could have potentially taken a decade or more to recover from. Despite the fact that the Republicans in the House of Representatives decided to unanimously vote against the stimulus bill in hopes of gaining some political points, the state of the economy made Gerry feel as though he had a duty to support the legislation since it would greatly benefit the general public.
Here’s the video of Gerry giving the background information:
I thought it was very smart of Gerry to provide the context information because there are some people who feel as though Congress hasn’t done enough. Of course, the Republicans who don’t want Obama to have any legislative victories push this concept along. Unfortunately, the rhetoric pushed by the Republicans also frequently makes it way into newscasts which means its easy for the public to look past the progress that already been made. Explaining the contextual information then makes it easier to understand how the stimulus bill and other legislation have actually helped the American people.
In looking at some of the good things that have resulted from the stimulus bill, Gerry noted that unemployment rates are usually the last thing to improve. With that being said, however, he highlighted how we just saw a sharp drop in new unemployment claims which is a very good sign. Furthermore, the banking sector is stabilizing (although the flow of credit could still improve), consumer spending is up 2%, which indicates an increased amount of confidence in the economy, and the housing market has stabilized. With all that being said, Gerry did also highlight that “we didn’t get into this ditch over night and we’re not going to solve it over night.” He continued by saying, “but I think we have stabilized the situation and put ourselves back on a path for serious sustained growth. I think you’re going to see that in 2010.”
Here’s the video of Gerry speaking about the impact of the stimulus.
When Gerry began speaking about the economy, for instance, he drew attention to the fact that when he was sworn into office in January of ’09 the country was facing the highest unemployment rate it had seen since 1982. To make it worse, we were losing 700,000 jobs a month and if that pace had continued we would have been at unemployment rates similar to the Great Depression (he did point out that some communities are seeing those type of numbers). As I have seen him do on several occasions beforehand, Gerry also highlighted how the single largest bank failure wasn’t in1929; it was in 2008. And the largest single quarterly loss wasn’t in 1929; it was the last quarter in 2008.
All of this meant that economists from both sides of the aisle were advising Gerry and other members of Congress that action absolutely had to be taken to simulate the economy. If nothing was done, then the recession would have turned into a depression could have potentially taken a decade or more to recover from. Despite the fact that the Republicans in the House of Representatives decided to unanimously vote against the stimulus bill in hopes of gaining some political points, the state of the economy made Gerry feel as though he had a duty to support the legislation since it would greatly benefit the general public.
Here’s the video of Gerry giving the background information:
I thought it was very smart of Gerry to provide the context information because there are some people who feel as though Congress hasn’t done enough. Of course, the Republicans who don’t want Obama to have any legislative victories push this concept along. Unfortunately, the rhetoric pushed by the Republicans also frequently makes it way into newscasts which means its easy for the public to look past the progress that already been made. Explaining the contextual information then makes it easier to understand how the stimulus bill and other legislation have actually helped the American people.
In looking at some of the good things that have resulted from the stimulus bill, Gerry noted that unemployment rates are usually the last thing to improve. With that being said, however, he highlighted how we just saw a sharp drop in new unemployment claims which is a very good sign. Furthermore, the banking sector is stabilizing (although the flow of credit could still improve), consumer spending is up 2%, which indicates an increased amount of confidence in the economy, and the housing market has stabilized. With all that being said, Gerry did also highlight that “we didn’t get into this ditch over night and we’re not going to solve it over night.” He continued by saying, “but I think we have stabilized the situation and put ourselves back on a path for serious sustained growth. I think you’re going to see that in 2010.”
Here’s the video of Gerry speaking about the impact of the stimulus.
Republican Jim Dillard Endorsed Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate
In a statement released today, former Republican Delegate Jim Dillard endorsed Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn in the special election for the 41st district House of Delegates seat. Jim represented the district that Filler-Corn hopes to represent from 1972 to 2005 and was highly respected as a moderate Delegate who could actually get things done. Since he chaired the education committee, it's also worth noting that he highlighted Eileen's commitment to public education as one of the reasons he's supporting her candidacy.
“As a Republican I am willing to cross party lines to support a moderate who cares strongly about providing excellent educational opportunities for our children in our public schools and institutions of higher learning. Unlike her opponent, who believes we spend 'excessive' amounts on public education, Eileen will fight to get our fair share of education dollars to maintain our superior schools in Fairfax County. That is why I am proud to support Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate,” Dillard said.
With the way things are going in the House of Delegates, there are so many people who are frustrated with the partisanship of the Republican caucus. In a time when we need our elected officials to help make crucial decisions regarding our budget and other issues during an economic downturn, the Republicans have placed their own political agenda above the needs of their constituents. I think the disgust with the behavior of the Republican caucus is one of the major reasons that we have seen Republicans like Dillard give their support to moderate Democrats. During his over three decades in the House of Delegates Dillard learned a thing or two about how to get things done in Richmond and it's important to know that he clearly believes Eileen Filler-Corn is the better candidate in this race.
As far as the current state of the race, it's worth noting that this is the seat vacated by Dave Marsden after he just won the special election in the 37th Senate District. During that race, Dave performed well in the precincts that overlap with the 41st Delegate district so that is a good sign for Eileen. Nonetheless, one of the major reasons he able to win that race was the ground game (especially the GOTV and absentee ballot efforts). Based upon what I'm hearing from community members and people close to Eileen's campaign, these ground efforts are doing extremely well in her campaign too. As the election date (March 2) is rapidly approaching, however, it is extremely important to get out there and knock on doors and make phone calls on behalf of the campaign. This especially the case when you consider that there was some precious canvassing time that was diminished due to the blizzards that hit the area. I therefore encourage you to get involved with Eileen's campaign during these final weeks if you are able to volunteer some time.
“As a Republican I am willing to cross party lines to support a moderate who cares strongly about providing excellent educational opportunities for our children in our public schools and institutions of higher learning. Unlike her opponent, who believes we spend 'excessive' amounts on public education, Eileen will fight to get our fair share of education dollars to maintain our superior schools in Fairfax County. That is why I am proud to support Eileen Filler-Corn for Delegate,” Dillard said.
With the way things are going in the House of Delegates, there are so many people who are frustrated with the partisanship of the Republican caucus. In a time when we need our elected officials to help make crucial decisions regarding our budget and other issues during an economic downturn, the Republicans have placed their own political agenda above the needs of their constituents. I think the disgust with the behavior of the Republican caucus is one of the major reasons that we have seen Republicans like Dillard give their support to moderate Democrats. During his over three decades in the House of Delegates Dillard learned a thing or two about how to get things done in Richmond and it's important to know that he clearly believes Eileen Filler-Corn is the better candidate in this race.
As far as the current state of the race, it's worth noting that this is the seat vacated by Dave Marsden after he just won the special election in the 37th Senate District. During that race, Dave performed well in the precincts that overlap with the 41st Delegate district so that is a good sign for Eileen. Nonetheless, one of the major reasons he able to win that race was the ground game (especially the GOTV and absentee ballot efforts). Based upon what I'm hearing from community members and people close to Eileen's campaign, these ground efforts are doing extremely well in her campaign too. As the election date (March 2) is rapidly approaching, however, it is extremely important to get out there and knock on doors and make phone calls on behalf of the campaign. This especially the case when you consider that there was some precious canvassing time that was diminished due to the blizzards that hit the area. I therefore encourage you to get involved with Eileen's campaign during these final weeks if you are able to volunteer some time.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A Frontline Perspective of SB 329
This is a guest post written by Dan Kalbacher. I always appreciate Dan's point of view on the important issues, especially those relating to the law enforcement community, and this is certainly no exception.
Prior to leaving office Governor Tim Kaine had to issue a budget for the Commonwealth and given the financial difficulties faced throughout the Commonwealth that is a task that very few people would like to have. There are no real ways to hide the fact that nearly all areas would have to face serious cuts and be on the receiving end of some very tough decisions by legislators. There has always been talking about what services government should and shouldn't provide and I really have not seen many who advocate that public safety should be privatized. A key responsibility of government is to ensure that their constituents are safe in their everyday lives and first responders like police, sheriff and fire do that job. The proposed budget offered by Tim Kaine would have cut funding to Sheriff's Offices through the Commonwealth with nearly 20% of their budgets disappearing. Unlike police departments Sheriff's Offices are found in every jurisdiction in Virginia through Constitutional authority and often times are the only law enforcement agency in the respective county. Recently, the Washington Post had an article about a way to provide funding to Sheriff's Offices by increasing filing fees in civil court cases. As a deputy, some may question my partiality towards this piece of legislation but as someone who is moving to a jurisdiction that is serviced by only a Sheriff's Office I am completely in support of this. As a deputy in a county with a police department is primarily responsible for patrol this is so necessary because localities are facing equally difficult budgetary decisions themselves.
Sheriff's Offices receive a majority of their financial funding from the state and in some jurisdictions, specifically Northern Virginia the localities supplement that themselves as cost of living is outrageous and without it would severely hinder the respective agency's ability to hire the highest quality applicants. However, once your leave Northern Virginia many jurisdictions do not supplement the pay of their deputies and rely solely on state funding and those are the jurisdictions where these cuts are going to be felt the most. Nearly all jurisdictions outside of Northern Virginia only have a Sheriff's Office as the individual law enforcement agency and the cuts to state funding will have serious affects of their abilities to effectively keep their streets safe. Lack of funding means cuts in personnel, services and training which prior to this has already been significantly reduced in order to make ends meet at their levels. People expect public safety to be there no matter what but without the necessary funding the level most people expect will be significantly reduced.
The legislation that was introduced to help fill this void is SB329 which would help raise money to fund local Sheriff's Offices who are facing draconian level budget cuts this cycle. While many will argue that these increases will hurt the ability of businesses to file court cases we really need to look at the core functions of government which is to keep the public safe. In a debate, I remember Creigh Deeds stating that the highest responsibility of the government is to keep its citizen safe. In the end, people call the government, i.e. local law enforcement when they need emergency help.
In both criminal and civil court proceedings, deputy sheriffs provide a critical level of protection to those in the courtroom as well those individuals doing business in the courthouse such as filing paperwork, legal documents or anything else that they may need to do. A courthouse is obviously where criminal proceedings take place and after the very recent violence in the Fauquier County Courthouse where two court security deputies were shot in an attempted prisoner escape attempt it serves as a solid reminder that the courts in our Commonwealth are an extremely volatile environment where violence can happen without warning. While this escape attempt failed one can only imagine if it were successful how a small for could have responded to the incident and if the lives of those civilians in the area could have been jeopardized..
In addition to protecting the courts, deputy sheriffs are also responsible for serving court orders on the street such as evictions for landlords who have come to the courts for a legal recourse against tenants who have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations as tenants. While many view these instances as "routine" often times people hear about eviction process where tenants refuse to level or have essentially barricaded themselves within. Unlike civilian counterparts, sheriffs possess the legal authority to ensure the eviction process is carried out in a safe manner for everyone involved.
Finally, in jurisdictions like Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria for example, deputies are responsible for maintaining the detention facilities which house criminals with offenses as simple as failure to pay child support all the way to capital murder. For every violent, uncontrollable inmate someone has seen on any documentary each and every one of them has passed through a local detention facility or jail prior to their arrival at a Department of Corrections facility. Many times, especially in Virginia it is deputy sheriff's who are responsible for managing those inmates and ensuring they cause no further harm to themselves, other inmates and most importantly staff members.
It should also be noted to opponents of SB 329 that per the state Constitution the Sheriff of a locality is not legally required to provide security in civil court proceedings and this increase in filing fees would help ensure that those courtrooms are manned with the security that is necessary. For anyone who argues those civil court proceedings do not have the same potential for violence as a criminal court I challenge them to remember the tragedy in Fulton County Georgia where a judge was killed by an escaped prisoner while hearing a civil proceeding. All court proceedings can be extremely volatile and security is absolutely necessary. Those jurisdiction that are "full-service" Sheriff's Offices would have to cut services such as community based relation programs, DARE, School Security/Resource Officers, possibly SWAT positions (And rely on State Police assistance) and other area which residents enjoy receiving. While some could argue that these positions aren't necessary to the "core function" of public safety everything has a purpose in one way or another which is not always apparent on its face.
This bill will not solve all the problems that Sheriffs throughout the Commonwealth are going to face once the budget is finalized but without a doubt it will help immensely, especially to those jurisdictions without the luxury of their localities supplementing their pay. While many legislators are upset about these increased filing fees they must remember that some services cannot be privatized or even looked at in terms of what is going to save them money. These men and woman risk their lives everyday to do what the government is responsible for which is to keep it's residents safe in their everyday lives and this bill will help those men and women in uniform continue in that quest.
Prior to leaving office Governor Tim Kaine had to issue a budget for the Commonwealth and given the financial difficulties faced throughout the Commonwealth that is a task that very few people would like to have. There are no real ways to hide the fact that nearly all areas would have to face serious cuts and be on the receiving end of some very tough decisions by legislators. There has always been talking about what services government should and shouldn't provide and I really have not seen many who advocate that public safety should be privatized. A key responsibility of government is to ensure that their constituents are safe in their everyday lives and first responders like police, sheriff and fire do that job. The proposed budget offered by Tim Kaine would have cut funding to Sheriff's Offices through the Commonwealth with nearly 20% of their budgets disappearing. Unlike police departments Sheriff's Offices are found in every jurisdiction in Virginia through Constitutional authority and often times are the only law enforcement agency in the respective county. Recently, the Washington Post had an article about a way to provide funding to Sheriff's Offices by increasing filing fees in civil court cases. As a deputy, some may question my partiality towards this piece of legislation but as someone who is moving to a jurisdiction that is serviced by only a Sheriff's Office I am completely in support of this. As a deputy in a county with a police department is primarily responsible for patrol this is so necessary because localities are facing equally difficult budgetary decisions themselves.
Sheriff's Offices receive a majority of their financial funding from the state and in some jurisdictions, specifically Northern Virginia the localities supplement that themselves as cost of living is outrageous and without it would severely hinder the respective agency's ability to hire the highest quality applicants. However, once your leave Northern Virginia many jurisdictions do not supplement the pay of their deputies and rely solely on state funding and those are the jurisdictions where these cuts are going to be felt the most. Nearly all jurisdictions outside of Northern Virginia only have a Sheriff's Office as the individual law enforcement agency and the cuts to state funding will have serious affects of their abilities to effectively keep their streets safe. Lack of funding means cuts in personnel, services and training which prior to this has already been significantly reduced in order to make ends meet at their levels. People expect public safety to be there no matter what but without the necessary funding the level most people expect will be significantly reduced.
The legislation that was introduced to help fill this void is SB329 which would help raise money to fund local Sheriff's Offices who are facing draconian level budget cuts this cycle. While many will argue that these increases will hurt the ability of businesses to file court cases we really need to look at the core functions of government which is to keep the public safe. In a debate, I remember Creigh Deeds stating that the highest responsibility of the government is to keep its citizen safe. In the end, people call the government, i.e. local law enforcement when they need emergency help.
In both criminal and civil court proceedings, deputy sheriffs provide a critical level of protection to those in the courtroom as well those individuals doing business in the courthouse such as filing paperwork, legal documents or anything else that they may need to do. A courthouse is obviously where criminal proceedings take place and after the very recent violence in the Fauquier County Courthouse where two court security deputies were shot in an attempted prisoner escape attempt it serves as a solid reminder that the courts in our Commonwealth are an extremely volatile environment where violence can happen without warning. While this escape attempt failed one can only imagine if it were successful how a small for could have responded to the incident and if the lives of those civilians in the area could have been jeopardized..
In addition to protecting the courts, deputy sheriffs are also responsible for serving court orders on the street such as evictions for landlords who have come to the courts for a legal recourse against tenants who have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations as tenants. While many view these instances as "routine" often times people hear about eviction process where tenants refuse to level or have essentially barricaded themselves within. Unlike civilian counterparts, sheriffs possess the legal authority to ensure the eviction process is carried out in a safe manner for everyone involved.
Finally, in jurisdictions like Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria for example, deputies are responsible for maintaining the detention facilities which house criminals with offenses as simple as failure to pay child support all the way to capital murder. For every violent, uncontrollable inmate someone has seen on any documentary each and every one of them has passed through a local detention facility or jail prior to their arrival at a Department of Corrections facility. Many times, especially in Virginia it is deputy sheriff's who are responsible for managing those inmates and ensuring they cause no further harm to themselves, other inmates and most importantly staff members.
It should also be noted to opponents of SB 329 that per the state Constitution the Sheriff of a locality is not legally required to provide security in civil court proceedings and this increase in filing fees would help ensure that those courtrooms are manned with the security that is necessary. For anyone who argues those civil court proceedings do not have the same potential for violence as a criminal court I challenge them to remember the tragedy in Fulton County Georgia where a judge was killed by an escaped prisoner while hearing a civil proceeding. All court proceedings can be extremely volatile and security is absolutely necessary. Those jurisdiction that are "full-service" Sheriff's Offices would have to cut services such as community based relation programs, DARE, School Security/Resource Officers, possibly SWAT positions (And rely on State Police assistance) and other area which residents enjoy receiving. While some could argue that these positions aren't necessary to the "core function" of public safety everything has a purpose in one way or another which is not always apparent on its face.
This bill will not solve all the problems that Sheriffs throughout the Commonwealth are going to face once the budget is finalized but without a doubt it will help immensely, especially to those jurisdictions without the luxury of their localities supplementing their pay. While many legislators are upset about these increased filing fees they must remember that some services cannot be privatized or even looked at in terms of what is going to save them money. These men and woman risk their lives everyday to do what the government is responsible for which is to keep it's residents safe in their everyday lives and this bill will help those men and women in uniform continue in that quest.
Gerry Connolly Spoke At Town Hall Meeting At Greenspring Village
On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Gerry Connolly spoke to a crowd of about 200 people in Greenspring Village, a retirement community in Springfield. I will be posting about some of the specifics policy issues that were discussed tomorrow, but I did want to take the time today to provide some of my reaction to the over all event.
Although I knew Gerry had attended several events at Greenspring during his time as an elected official, I was very impressed to see how many people that he knew there on a first name basis. What was even more impressive to me, however, was the plain and simple fact that several of the people in attendance spoke about how responsive they thought Rep. Connolly had been to their community over the years. As someone who has heard Gerry talk about his desire to give back to the community during both public speeches and private conversations, this was yet another example of how he actually follows through on this concept and doesn’t just use it as part of his stump speech.
As people gathered in the auditorium, I heard multiple community members speaking about their disappointment around the non-stop campaigning and the huge amounts of money needed to run a successful campaign. With the country facing the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, these residents were making it perfectly clear that they’d like to see move forward on actual legislation that could help the American people and listening to the concerns of their constituents instead of spending all their time campaigning.
The frustration surrounding the enormous amount of money being spent on campaigns manifested itself in opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision that ruled corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money either for or against certain candidates. When it came to the Q & A portion of the meeting, several Greenspring residents wanted to know what Gerry thought about the decision.
I thought Gerry was right on with his answer when he pointed out this was a decision that reversed 80 years of settled law. He really went after both Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts because they had told the Senate Judiciary Committee that they would be respecting established law. Although there isn’t necessarily anything he could do as a member of the House since it’s the Senate that confirms Supreme Court justices, Gerry thought it was wrong that Alito and Roberts were able to so blatantly break the promises they made during testimony to the Senate.
Another interesting aspect of the event was that Gerry spoke out on several occasions during the meeting about how he was extremely disappointed with the pace of how things were moving in the Senate. There are many pieces of important legislation that have been passed by the House, only to be sitting in the Senate and waiting to be acted upon. Like I have heard from the offices of several other Members of the House of Representatives, Gerry was clearly advocating that the Senate should be picking up the pace. What makes Gerry’s remarks noteworthy is that he spent several years as a Senate staffer and understands the process through which that body works. I sincerely hope that the Senate leadership therefore listens to Gerry’s comments and actually begins to take some action on the legislation and appointments that need to be approved as soon as possible.
All in all, I thought the town hall meeting went very well and the residents who were in attendance appeared to be very appreciative of the opportunity to once again take part in a conversation with Rep. Connolly. As one woman pointed out, Gerry has been the most responsive elected official that she has ever encountered (a sentiment with which many people in the crowd agreed). Tomorrow I’ll be posting about what Gerry specifically had to say about a few topics including the economic situation we’re currently facing and the state of health care reform.
Although I knew Gerry had attended several events at Greenspring during his time as an elected official, I was very impressed to see how many people that he knew there on a first name basis. What was even more impressive to me, however, was the plain and simple fact that several of the people in attendance spoke about how responsive they thought Rep. Connolly had been to their community over the years. As someone who has heard Gerry talk about his desire to give back to the community during both public speeches and private conversations, this was yet another example of how he actually follows through on this concept and doesn’t just use it as part of his stump speech.
As people gathered in the auditorium, I heard multiple community members speaking about their disappointment around the non-stop campaigning and the huge amounts of money needed to run a successful campaign. With the country facing the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, these residents were making it perfectly clear that they’d like to see move forward on actual legislation that could help the American people and listening to the concerns of their constituents instead of spending all their time campaigning.
The frustration surrounding the enormous amount of money being spent on campaigns manifested itself in opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision that ruled corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money either for or against certain candidates. When it came to the Q & A portion of the meeting, several Greenspring residents wanted to know what Gerry thought about the decision.
I thought Gerry was right on with his answer when he pointed out this was a decision that reversed 80 years of settled law. He really went after both Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts because they had told the Senate Judiciary Committee that they would be respecting established law. Although there isn’t necessarily anything he could do as a member of the House since it’s the Senate that confirms Supreme Court justices, Gerry thought it was wrong that Alito and Roberts were able to so blatantly break the promises they made during testimony to the Senate.
Another interesting aspect of the event was that Gerry spoke out on several occasions during the meeting about how he was extremely disappointed with the pace of how things were moving in the Senate. There are many pieces of important legislation that have been passed by the House, only to be sitting in the Senate and waiting to be acted upon. Like I have heard from the offices of several other Members of the House of Representatives, Gerry was clearly advocating that the Senate should be picking up the pace. What makes Gerry’s remarks noteworthy is that he spent several years as a Senate staffer and understands the process through which that body works. I sincerely hope that the Senate leadership therefore listens to Gerry’s comments and actually begins to take some action on the legislation and appointments that need to be approved as soon as possible.
All in all, I thought the town hall meeting went very well and the residents who were in attendance appeared to be very appreciative of the opportunity to once again take part in a conversation with Rep. Connolly. As one woman pointed out, Gerry has been the most responsive elected official that she has ever encountered (a sentiment with which many people in the crowd agreed). Tomorrow I’ll be posting about what Gerry specifically had to say about a few topics including the economic situation we’re currently facing and the state of health care reform.
Rich Anthony, Candidate in Democratic Primary in the 10th, Provides Context for His Congressional Bid
The Brigades is a group of progressive activists based in Northern Virginia who frequently have Democratic candidates speak at their events. At this month’s meeting, which also featured a screening of Liberty 9500, Rich Anthony spoke to the group as we gathered in Vienna on Tuesday evening. Rich is one of three candidates running in the Democratic primary in the 10th Congressional District and I’ve heard him speak several times and have been able to talk with him at several events we’ve both attended throughout the Commonwealth. Although I’m still undecided about who I’ll support in the primary (if anyone), I have to admit that I really like what I’ve heard so far from Rich.At the Brigades meeting on Tuesday Rich diverted from the usual stump speech that activists have become so accustomed to hearing at events. Instead, Rich spent a little more time giving us some background information about his life and what motivated him to run for office. Using his self described “dry sense of humor,” he spoke about how growing up in Ohio his family grew out of the house they were living in but his parents couldn’t afford to buy a new house in the area. They therefore decided to expand upon the house and did most of the work themselves. Rich says that it was through this process that he learned a lot about the value of hard work and making the best out of what you have.
He then went on to talk about how he became interested in workforce development issues when he was in graduate school and did an internship with a program at a local community college that helped to make sure that there was an educated workforce in the community that had the skill sets that would be attractive to businesses. This not only helped workers obtain well paying jobs, but also helped the local economy in general by attracting good companies to the area. Highlighting the need for community college funding, there have been a number of similar programs popping up throughout the country in recent years. Right here in Virginia, for instance, I toured the building used for a workforce development program in Danville that was helping to provide skills to workers in the Danville area (an area which has been severely impacted by the economic downturn).
It was the talk about workforce development that really seemed to resonate with members of the Brigade, which could be a very good thing for Rich because he has made a career of working in the field. Since the economy is one of the major issues facing Congress – especially the need to create more jobs – his background not only resonates with people like those gathered in Vienna on Tuesday, but it also gives him the skill set to hit the ground running if he were to be elected. In a time when there are also so many people who try to spin their careers in big business as meaning they know about jobs when that isn’t really true in many cases, there were several people at the meeting who highlighted how it was good to see that there are some people running for office who truly have the experience necessary to help build policies that will spur job creation.
There’s no way of denying the fact that it will be very difficult to beat incumbent Republican Frank Wolf in November, but many people walked away from the Brigades meeting thinking that Rich might be able to give Wolf a run for his money. Above all else, however, it was simply good to hear from a candidate who wasn’t afraid to stand up for Democratic values and fight for the working class residents of Virginia’s 10th Congressional District.
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