SO Loudoun County under its new all-GOP supervisors is too strapped to fully fund the schools, to provide even a few thousand dollars to arts and cultural and community organizations, to keep alive the urban horticulture and master gardeners program, or even to come up with $250,000 to continue the very successful Loudoun Drug Court (despite its being strongly backed by the county’s chief judge), and is on the verge of backing out of its commitment to fund the Metrorail extension to Loudoun—but yesterday the county supervisors were overjoyed to announce that they will be forking out $2 million to keep the Redskins in the county.
Actually, it turns out Loudoun will not be keeping the Redskins in the county, but never mind. Supervisor Shawn Williams (R-Broad Run) is still overjoyed with this triumph of corporate welfare:
today I am very pleased to announce that the Redskins will be keeping their corporate headquarters and training facility in Loudoun County and the Broad Run District. While the coaches made the decision to move training camp away starting next year (for football related reasons), the team will be making a large investment in the county. Keeping this key employer in the Broad Run district has been one of my largest goals since I took office.
Loudoun’s $2 million is part of a $6.4 million in state and local funds that Virginia jurisdictions are forking over to the team, which last time we checked still has its stadium in Maryland, and which as part of the new agreement that Loudoun is helping fund will be moving its training facility from Loudoun to Richmond starting next year.
Yes, we can certainly understand why paying the Redskins to move away was one of Supervisor Williams’s “largest goals,” ahead of maintaining the quality of the schools, preserving the quality of life and environmental and historic heritage of the county, or (perish the thought) even helping those in need.
But, as the inimitable Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) explained in voting to kill the Drug Court, “I need that money for people who are doing well in life.” The perfect motto of the Loudoun Republican Supervisors!
realloudoun 