Special Election Tues Jan 31

Due to our current State Senator Bill Mims resigning to take a job with the new Attorney General, there will be a Special Election on Tuesday Jan 31 to fill his seat. The candidates are Mark Herring (www.herringforsenate.com) and Mick Staton (www.mickstaton.com). Get informed and vote!


--Joy

 

In this truncated, two week long campaign, there are precious few opportunities to investigate the candidates for State Senate. Mark Herring's campaign just announced that Governor Kaine and Mark Herring will be meeting people between 1 and 3 at the Northern Virginia Community College, Sterling Campus, tomorrow, Saturday Jan 21.

Unlike Staton, it appears Mark wants to discuss his views with all voters. Staton is playing turtle and hiding behind the Dick Black base of voters. Staton declined to accept an offer from the League of Woman voters to debate Herring. Unfortunately, it appears Staton doesn't want to discuss his views with voters, other than voters he can mobilize clandestinely.

 

Mark it is then! We don't need another Dick Black under the name of Staton.

I'm sure Barbara has an opionion on both candidates as she seems to be in the politico scene. These boards are lucky to have two folks like Afgm and Barb to lay it out for those of us who don't care to follow the daily politics here.

 

If I had the chance I would like to ask Staton about his abysmal record on support for Loudoun Schools. It's horrendous. Following is a write up on his lack of support for schools:

On his campaign website, Mick doesn't even bother to mention any plans for supporting and improving public education - the issue that constituents said mattered most to them in the 2005 election. Why? He is playing to an extremely narrow base that doesn't care about it either.

Mick votes in lockstep with Eugene Delgaudio, a known supporter of movements intent on abolishing public education entirely, to deny as much funding to our schools as they can get away with. In 2004, Mick voted against a motion that cut a total of $27 million from the budget proposed by the Superintendent - because the additional cut by the BoS wasn't deep enough.

Also in 2004, Senator Mims and Delegates Rust and May were able to gain General Assembly approval of an additional $6.8 million in funding for Loudoun County, specifically designated for public education. Mick, working with Eugene, tried to prevent Loudoun County Public Schools from receiving this money. (Not coincidentally, Dick Black had opposed the budget that provided this additional education money to Loudoun.)

According to meeting minutes of the Board of Supervisors, Mick and Eugene attempted to amend the chairman's motion to increase the school operating budget by the amount of the additional funding. They tried to reduce the expenditure on education by $3 million and transfer it to the general fund; when this failed on a 6-3 vote, Mick and Eugene refused to vote for the increase in the school operating budget at all.

In July of 2005, after initially supporting it as part of the CIP, Mick flip-flopped and tried to prevent a badly needed new high school from appearing on the November 2005 ballot. He also supported efforts to encourage division between east and west by voting to split the school questions on the ballot. If voters across the county had not rejected this stunt, funding could have been denied to build and renovate schools in the east, including in his own Sugarland Run district.

In this editorial, the Loudoun Times-Mirror asks "Would you pay 33 cents a day to keep teachers' salaries a little ahead of the competition? Maybe even pay them enough to be able to live in the county where they choose to work? Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) won't. And he won't let you."

 

AFGM, I sincerely applaud your efforts to tone down the Blackout rhetoric. Homer, thanks for what seems a compliment.

Both men could be viewed as part of political dynasties, in that Mark Herring is the stepson of former State Sen. Waddell.

Both men are individuals, who will no doubt be painted as one-dimensionally as possible in the short time allowed for a decision to be made.

I like and respect both men personally, but I am going to vote Staton, and not just because I signed a pledge to do so when I voted for Minchew in the primary. (Scott York signed a pledge too. How funny.)

As nice and as intelligent as Mark Herring is, I cannot get around the ideological issues inherent in many of his positions when he was on the last Board. He was one of the VSS candidates, and he supported the Comprehensive Plan struck down at the Supreme Court level.

Friday's Post editorial aside, the prevailing slant of those with a personal stake in no-growth (including the Post--it cannot be considered an objective news source on Loudoun, more's the pity) is that the Comp Plan was "thrown out on a technicality", and nothing could be further from the truth.

The unanimous Court opinion ruled that the notification was "deliberately false and misleading"--which doesn't jibe with the desired fiction that it was some kind of advertising typo. No geographic delineators other than the phrase "most of the western portion" told people what property was up for review. The justices wrote very strongly of how shocking it was to see the zoning map adopted covering two thirds of the county.

An entire section of extremely restrictive policy was not described, either through geographic indicators of the area to be affected, or to summarize in any way the effects of the proposed policy, other than to include the name of the policy in a laundry list of policy items to be discussed.

These policies included so many additional setbacks and exclusions that a significant percentage of existing parcels would have been rendered unbuildable. I attended the public hearings during this time, and it was an eye-opener to see the people who came in and said things to the effect that "My spouse and I bought six acres ten years ago, and we almost have it paid off. Our intention was to build a home there when we retire, but if you adopt these policies our lot will have no place left on it for a home site."

The entire zoning of the Comp Plan was ruled to be invalid from the get-go (void ab initio) because of the extensive "false and misleading" advertising (including a comment that the purpose of a public notice was to give citizens reasonable information on whether they wished to participate in a process, and that a citizen should not need a law degree to decipher the advertisement. NOT a "technicality"!). IOW, the entire term of the 99 BOS was spent on this land use experiment, and the end result was that the highest court in VA ruled that it was as if the policies were never inacted in the first place. Three years of nothing but rural zoning and it might as well have never taken place.

That is what a poor job the 99 Board did in their term. It can be argued till the cows come home what went on in terms of "public input" (much by paid activists, many from other counties--while landowning residents were all shouted down as greedy speculating developers) and the effort that went into crafting the supreme Plan (written before the 99 election--that's been deposed in court too) with this "extensive" public input, but the fact remains that an entire term of office was wasted on an experiment, which lost heavily in court, while a by right land rush gave us years of catchup in infrastructure, and the county credit card was charged to the limit (millions in bonds passed at the ballot box, which were never sold--the 03 BoS came in with almost zero debt capacity). Not to mention the literally millions that were paid directly to many VSS campaign contributors in the form of PDRs, and the thousands in business subsidies (billed as "investment in rural economic development") to other PEC/VSS campaign contributors.

And I just can't get past that.

The colossal waste, the ideologically driven poor planning, the attrition due to lack of planning.

I think it will kill this region if we bump Loudoun "smart" growth to the state level. Kaine's non-plan to create the authority to deny planning is bad enough--if our legislators are in Richmond egging this on instead of getting the roads (and at least some of the years' worth of road money!) up here, we face further years of stagnated garbage.

And the growth will continue anyway, in the only option left available to it: the worst manner possible.

I am tired of being a policy lab rat. I am a real person who wants action, and I vote. I resent the onslaught of ads playing this as purely a growth issue (is anyone else besides me disgusted and amazed that no matter what happens in Loudoun with the thousands of people who live here, ALL WE EVER TALK ABOUT is rural land use? How on earth does 20-30% of the population rate so damned much attention?), because it is a value-for-taxes and "where are our damned roads we've been paying for since God was a boy?" issue.

The last thing we need in Richmond is business as usual (Loudoun no-growth bs) on top of business as usual (Richmond taking our money and p!$$ing it away elsewhere).





Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Quite frankly, the School budgets are out of control, and something needs to be done to reign them in. Lord knows I don't agree with Staton's extreme right social views, but I do agree with some modest cuts and belt tightening in the school budget. After an 8% raise last year, they're looking at a 10% raise this year. How many of you have gotten an 18% raise in the last two years?

 

Here's a scary thought, rumor has it if Staton wins he will endorse his father-in-law Dick Black to take his seat on the Board of Supervisors. Rumor also has it Staton will reward Delgaudio's over the top effort in supporting him, with an endorsement to become Loudoun County Republican Committee Chairman.

For me to even become close to talking about anything good about Staton, he'll need to address this rumor.

I can't imagine the shambles our two party system would be in if these rumors are true.

 

Barbara, there is a big difference between a lineage of Waddell and a lineage of Black.

Staton is tied at the hip with Black and his legacy of extreme, exclusionary, and ineffective politics.

 

AFGM, you're getting closer to the edge with the Blackout sloganeering and rumors. You've already posted the link elsewhere, and people can go read their dirt if they want.

Staton nominating, and the board approving, are two very different things. And the Blackout crowd has some pretty over the top loonies in it too: Eileen Levandoski supposedly moved to VA Beach, but on election day (a week after a letter appeared in the paper from her, signed Purcellville) she told me her family was there, and she was just here working to sell the house in Pville.

And working on Blackout.

And, I would strongly bet given her union background, getting the AFL-CIO pac established in Loudoun for the purpose of winning elections for Democrats. You should have met some of the kids they had paid to work S Riding. I will truly miss her when she really does go, because she is so extreme the Republicans will miss her.

Also humorous to me (and I'm betting this might be Ms. L) is the person posting on both Blackout and the Pville forum as "not" me. What a broad category!

Cliff has a point about the school budget--I want to know why everything my kid brings home that is ostensibly a language exercise is about foxhounds, or has the PEC subset Coalition for Smarter Growth in it. What does that cost to "enhance" our experience in school?

I'm not going to dis Mark Herring ad hominem. But do talk to some of the old timers about the Waddell legacy. He may indeed be a much beloved grand old man, but around here in good ole boy land there are always two sides to a story.

I still can't see how an intelligent land use lawyer voted for something that was so poorly crafted, and so dishonestly implemented that the Supreme Court ruled that it should be considered to have never occurred. Three years of wasted time and tax dollars, while eastern Loudoun went to hell in a by-right handbasket, and lo and behold, the election is really all about rural ambience and how growth will threaten it, all tied up in a bow of "traffic" yeah-yeahs.

Sorry, but I just can't see it--and I'm not buying the Mick-is-Dick-clone stuff either.

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

I think people here in Loudoun, that one time were for more growth are becoming very disenchanted with what is happening these last few years. That is why we are seeing more and more democrats getting elected. The growth of Loudoun over the last few years has been a dismal failure from overcrowding schools to the roads. Taxes are rising and we not getting a better quality of life for the extra money being spent. Out teachers and police etc cannot even afford to live here.

Personally I think we need to build more projects such as Loudoun I, Loudoun station, Science city (the Moore property) etc where true urban living can exist and less of these sprawling subdivisions where we get more overcrowded roads, schools the same ugly strip centers with the same stores and restaurants just repeating themselves over and over. Few work centers built near this sprawl so traffic just gets worse and worse. At least these urban centers are a better model to live near work shopping etc and with rail coming to the door steps of Science City and Loudoun Station you have a better chance to have growth with less congestion and better services then your typical sprawling subdivision.

Loudoun is at a crossroads of what it wants to be, more of the same sprawl with more congestion and overcrowded schools or growing with urban villages that are more self contained.

This talk of what to do about growth may become a non issue soon anyway when people stop wanting to live here because of high costs and the impending recession stops the growth anyway.

I can tell you there is not a chance in hell this board will approve anything in the transition area as is being proposed, and the large Centex property near Leesburg is a good example of what is going to really happen and is what the real future is in store for western Loudoun. I rather see 191 by right homes then several thousand homes that will put a further strain on the roads and schools in spite of the meager proffers. Besides they will still be required to build the side roads and other things just wait and see.

Besides these large urban centers also generate large tax dollars in a small area which would help the offsite road problems to a greater degree then another huge national builder sprawled out development with little or no work centers and more boring large strip centers. I really don't see any benefit from more suburban sprawl. I see more over crowded schools and roads how do we that live here gain from these large developments. Nothing that I can see!!!!

Show us the benefits if you want to sprawl!!!!

Lee J Buividas

Lee J Buividas

 

Yep Lee--10, 20 and 40 acre lots coast to coast (with two careers driving east on inimproved roads) is certainly the antithesis of sprawl!

Always makes me laugh (in an amazed and saddened way) when people who live on their own sprawl lot (that wouldn't exist in estate land if someone hadn't had the ability to carve out a parcel) calls people who want to live on a quarter acre greedy.



Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

All I can say Barbara the party is over and you all had your chance the last couple of years to give us regional solutions and build a better Loudoun County, all I have seen is lip service and the real greed is in the developer who only wants to address a very small part of a bigger picture.

I am not anti development just realistic about what it has brought us when we don’t address the entire region. I would rather see several high density urban cores built that is more or less self contained connected by mass transit and beautiful parkways lined with, beautiful buffers of landscaping rather then lined with one strip center and gas station after another. The Greenway is starting to get lined with walls of block and concrete as we see another warehouse built right on the Greenway by the main toll plaza coupled with the existing warehouses and the data centers and home depot we are rebuilding the Berlin wall that we fought so hard to tear down at least aesthetically horrible looking these new structures look onto the Greenway. Yep Barbara this is your real new Loudoun County you are fighting so hard for.

I come from a architecture and design background as well as a building background so I am someone very knowledgeable about the development business.

I like our new governor and I am sure we will have another ally elected at the end of month to help his policies go forward. These people are not against growth they just want it done smartly and take a little breather and just see what is good for all of Loudoun and Virginia not just for a greedy few.

Sorry Barbara your developer spin does not work on me. We are not saying no growth but we want beautiful growth with smart growth these national builders are just giving us greedy growth. They don’t care what happens except the bottom line and most don’t even live around here.

I sure remember Til Hazel putting up quite a stink when he built his country estate out in Fauquier County back in the late eighties and someone wanted to build a housing development near his country estate and he sure went ballistic and fought it with everything he had.

Barbara don’t you find that quite odd one of the largest developers of Fairfax county doesn’t want the same kind of development around his own country estate.

Something is odd about you too, that you fight so hard for growth yet you say you are not in the pockets of these developers. I saw some very interesting payola going on in Fairfax County during the eighties to certain people that seemed to have no agenda except to fight hard for growth. I am not saying I saw anything illegal but when someone fights as hard as you do for growth I am always curious about the hidden agenda. [}]

Lee J Buividas

 

...and it's because of zoning like that, limiting supply, that the teachers and police officers can't afford to live here. Economics 101. And Lee, you should know about the dozens of proffered projects developers had shot down in the last several years that would have been a benefit to the county. How can you expect developers to pay for infrastructure when they weren't getting the approvals? Yeah, sure would be nice to have your Greedway a scenic route, but that's never going to happen with this by-right only attitude.

 

Barbara,

I stated them as rumors, and I didn't post it lightly. They are rumors because I've not heard Staton confirm or deny them. I DO state them because I've heard two different elected County Republican officials state the possibility. They stated it independently and at different times. Until Staton address the thought, they linger as unsubstantiated possibilities. Frankly, one I believe.

I am curious how you know so much about BlackOut. Some of what you say is true, but some of your conclusions seem to be baseless "sloganeering". In fact, some of the conclusions you've mentioned are repeats. BlackOut has become a lightening rod for the dislike of Black et al politics. Frankly, BlackOut gets WAY to much credit. The Black Brigade attempts to use BlackOut, and their twist of what it is, as an antidote to sooth the patriarch's bruised ego.

So be it, but don't spread things you don't know. If you'd like specifics I'd be glad to speak with you off line.

 

Dutchml you are quite right about this by right crap too. That also needs to go and the whole issue needs to be rethought just how to grow.

A lot of the by right stuff is where most of the crap looking buildings are coming from.

BTW can anyone teach me how you all do that quote thing??
thanks
Lee J Buividas

 

I saw this review of today's events and thought it appropriate to post due to the lack of information about this race. (Barbara, it's not from BlackOut) Use your own judgement to evaluate the accuracy of the post.


"I went out to Harry Byrd Highway today for two competing events. From 1-3 was the Mark Herring rally at NOVA with Tim Kaine. From 3-5 was the Mick Staton house party with George Allen. Only a few miles apart, the events and the candidates couldn't be much different.

Herring's event was a rally, and he got a rally crowd. About 350-400 people came into the Charles Waddell building to hear him and Tim Kaine speak. Waddell the former Loudoun Senator and Herring stepfather, was also there,

The crowd at the Herring event was really enthusiastic, but included a large group from Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. I'd say only about half were from this district, maybe 200 in, and 200 out. Other Democratic Senators also were absent which seemed strange for such an important special election.

One source close to the Senate Democratic leadership who was present told me Herring was "fully funded" and that the Democratic Party was "All In" for Herring.

I also saw some very strong Republicans at the Herring event who are active in the smart growth community. They were very happy with Tim's growth proposals and think Herring will be a strong supporter of those.

Delegates Chuck Caputo and David Poisson were there. They seem to be putting a lot in this race for Herring.

Mick Staton's event was a very different affair. The Staton event was held in a very nice, private home. The crowd was smaller then the Herring event, looked like about 100-150 people there.

This was the very conservative crowd of the Republican Party, and was almost totally from within the Senate district. Dick Black and Eugene Delgaudio and Lori Waters were some of the locals I spotted. Ken Cuccinelli was the only State Senator to attend."...

This was posted by a conservative blogger: http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/

Read the whole post by following the link, it's too long to post hear. It goes on to state how George Allen was at Staton's event.

 

Oh by the way, Eileen thinks your pretty loonie too. I am sure that doesn't surprise you.

Eileen is one of our more colorful researchers at BlackOut. Frankly, we 86 about half of what she writes.

We have over 25 research and content providers at BlackOut. Not surprising about half are Democrats. What is illuminating is that the other half are Republicans.

 

Lee-
I agree with you about a lot of your growth arguments, but I don't find life here in Loudoun nearly as bad as you portray it.
I have lived in 6 different states (MI, IN, OK, NH, MA, VA) and have travelled to dozens more. I can't think of a place I'd rather be (except maybe CO).

I have never found the schools to be overcrowded. There's a lot of schools and the schools have a lot of kids in them, but the class sizes my kids are in are much smaller than I've experienced elsewhere.

I find the strip shopping centers around here to be significantly more attractive than most other places I've been, and the roads, particularly throughout Ashburn, are nicely landscaped and attractive.
Even the interstates are nicer to travel on in VA due to the fact that the billboards are kept off of them.

When we have family and relatives come visit, primarily from Midwest states, they all comment on how nice and beautiful it is around here.
I tend to agree.

 

vacliff, you are absolutely right and I do agree and we have some of the most scenic drives in America. George Washington Parkway skyline drive and our interstates are very nice. Select roads through Ashburn are beautiful. My concern is what is starting to happen the ugly shell by the skating rink the new warehouse by the main toll booth the data centers on the toll road the "on the run exxon just built on loudoun parkway and the toll rd could be much better designed to fit in, are just a few examples of the by right stuff that is starting to uglify the area. As said before it is how the dots will be connected that will in the years to come that worries me. I have worked with developers on many occasions to help come up with creative and beautiful designs so these kind of buildings can co-exist nicely with the area. Vadcliff the new brambleton town center is a great example of how centers can be intergrated successfully into the area. A wonderful addition to our community. Even the Safeway center in the broadlands is not badly done except the gas station there could of been done much better. Of course that other gas station in the broadlands is hideous even with the colors toned down. I think these large selfcontained urban centers being proposed throught out the area can be wonderful additions to Loundoun if placed right and the transportation issuses are handled correctly. The claude moore piece and loudoun station are could be excellent examples of urban centers especially with the subway proposed there. These urban villages are esscentially self contained cities if designed and built right. Hughes Medical complex at Janelia Farm is an excellent piece of architecture that blends in with the natural landscape. I just hope the development around it doesn't just become more junk architecture to make a fast buck.

Lee J Buividas