realloudoun

Pardon us for being quaint and old-fashioned, but why is it not an issue that the all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors will be voting this evening to approve a sweeping exception to zoning and planning rules for the direct financial benefit of a project whose backers gave tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to the very officials who will be voting to approve their project?

The investors behind the proposed entertainment and sports complex at One Loudoun — excuse me, the wholesome American baseball stadium, even though the baseball team does not exist and if and when it does exist it will be so minor league as to be uaffiliated with Major League Baseball and barely distinguishable from a high school team — gave at least $67,000 to the members of this Board for their election.

Chairman Scott York (R), who has dropped all pretense of being an objective judge of the proposal Continue reading →

Our all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors, elected with a half million bucks from developers and Chamber of Commerce types, has been reminding us ad nauseam for the past year not only how “business-friendly” they are (example: giving away $2 million of your tax money to the Washington Redskins to help them leave the county) but also how “businesslike” they are in running government.

But in fact, their idea of running something “like a business” actually in practice means running it like a cartoon version of a business: making decisions in secret and on the fly; cutting backroom deals that benefit cronies; spending huge amounts of time and money inventing a “brand image” for themselves; and punishing subordinates who tell the truth. Continue reading →

In most people’s idea of a functioning democracy, government officials are allowed to tell the public what is going on. This is based on the startling notion that they are conducting the people’s business, and only in narrowly prescribed and exceptional circumstances is it justifiable to keep information secret from the public.

But not in Loudoun County!

Since taking office a year ago, the all-Republican Board of Supervisors has consistently taken the view that the public should butt out, that dissenting views should be stifled, and that anyone who dares to speak out of turn and express a view not sanctioned by the Loudoun Republican Cabal be subject to swift retribution: Continue reading →

Our completely impartial Loudoun Board of Supervisors has set April 3 for a final vote on approving the One Loudoun pseudo-baseball-stadium entertainment complex. Had the Board thought it worth their while to adopt the same ethics policy the previous Board had, Chairman Scott York (R-At Large), the major cheerleader for the project, would have to recuse himself from the vote, having taken a cool 25,000 smackers from the stadium’s backers.

But having conveniently declared that ethics policies are unnecessary and unenforceable, York avoids that little embarrassing fact and  is free to vote to approve the multiple zoning changes and exceptions required for the project to go ahead at its new location.

Actually, the entire all-Republican Board would have to recuse itself on the vote if they had adopted any kind of a standard ethics policy, since every single one of them took a pile of cash from the project’s investors, more than $67,000 in all. (Presumably, a on a 0–0 vote a motion fails?)

At a final public hearing on the plan Monday night, Continue reading →

As predicted, your very fiscally prudent all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors — except when it comes to throwing away millions of tax dollars on pet GOP projects like handouts to sports teams, faith-based initiatives against Lyme disease, and road projects and tax breaks for major campaign contributors, that is — whacked $20 million out of the school budget on a 5–2 vote on Monday. This was after the almost all-Republican School Board had already whacked $25 million off of next year’s budget. Continue reading →