You won’t hear any of our stalwart local or state GOP politicians mention this amid all of their political posturing over Metro to Dulles, but didn’t there used to be something known as (a) civic duty and (b) living up to your word and promise?
The Washington Post has an illuminating article today reporting an e-mail trail that documents our Republican governor and attorney general’s trail of broken commitments over the Metro project. Continue reading
As noted yesterday, it’s already been entertaining, re the upcoming Metro-to-Loudoun decision, to see how the all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors proposes to get out of this one, given the warring constituencies within the local GOP machine on the issue.
The simplest approach for a politician who is cornered, of course, is simply to lie. A hint of what we can expect a lot more of is being provided by Supervisor Geary Higgins (R-Catoctin) who has now suddenly developed a case of raging amnesia regarding his statement of support for the Metro project when he appeared, during the election campaign, at a candidate forum sponsored by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce (a GOP faction that strongly favors Metro).
Higgins now claims he doesn’t remember ever saying he supported Metro during that event. Continue reading
Up until now, being a Republican Loudoun County supervisor has been a remarkably undemanding job. Short hours, no acrimonious debates, no need to listen to constituents and their annoying problems, thinking strictly optional (especially so in Ken Reid’s case).
All you have to do is vote along with your eight fellow Republican supervisors 9–0 on whatever prearranged goodies come up from the local GOP machine (getting rid of annoying regulations on developers; allowing big box stores without a special exception; appointing prepicked slates of campaign contributors and commercial real estate reps to the water, zoning review, and government “reform” boards; killing off programs to protect Loudoun’s scenic and cultural heritage; approving electronic billboards for your friends).
But the upcoming vote on whether to back out of Loudoun’s previous commitments to fund the Metrorail extension to Dulles and Loudoun has put them in an uncomfortably tight spot. Continue reading
Our all-Republican board of supervisors, you will recall, as one of their first legislative acts upon taking office in January, voted with virtually no notice and minimal discussion to eliminate the highly effective volunteer program to clean up illegal signs blighting Loudoun’s roadways.
The explanations offered for killing the program ranged from the comical (it was so unfair that illegally posted signs were being removed in some cases right after they were posted) to the idiotic (courtesy—who else—deep-thinking Supervisor Ken Reid, who expressed great concern about the environmental hazard created by all of that paper, plastic, and printing “chemicals” winding up in the county landfill).
Now the board has followed up, Continue reading
Welcome to Loudoun
While they were busily killing off programs that actually make Loudoun County an attractive place for businesses and residents the past few months (cutting the school budget, killing cultural and arts programs, killing the volunteer illegal-sign cleanup program), the newly ensconced all-Republican Board of Supervisors was making lots of noise about how they were going to invest in promoting the county with all sorts of very business friendly initiatives.
They certainly have the noise down pat: you can read all sorts of stuff on the very exciting new county website about “branding” and turning the Economic Development department into a “sales force.”
Pardon us for mentioning that it sounds an awful like old-fashioned government pork, goodies for friends and campaign contributors, and just plain old bureaucratic and political empire building. Continue reading
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