Saturday, October 29, 2011

Janet Howell for State Senate

Hello,

The redrawn 32nd Senate District includes ten precincts in North Arlington. The 32nd includes Rt 50, I-66, Washington Boulevard, and Rt 29. The district also includes Metrorail's Orange Line and the East Falls Church Metro station. So transportation decisions made in Richmond have and will have a significant impact on the quality of life on Arlington residents who live in the 32nd District.

We blame bi-partisan Rail-to-Dulles, BRAC, and high-growth boosters for Arlington's infrastructure problems. That includes the leaders of the major political parties. They want growth, but they don't want to pay for sufficient infrastructure concomitant with growth. We fault both Janet Howell and Patrick Forrest for their immature and irrational approach to transportation funding. Not surprising since their fellow Republican and Democratic legislators exhibit the same behavior.

We, therefore, endorse Janet Howell based upon her concerns for human needs and human rights. Patrick Forrest has a lengthy resume' based on assignments and junkets during his service with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard in the Bush Administration. He opposes women's rights to make their own healthcare decisions. He opposes organized labor. He is not only anti-privacy, he supported the worst abuses of the Patriot Act by the Bush Administration, abuses that only ended when President Obama took office.

Consequently, we endorse Janet Howell for re-election to the Virginia State Senate.

Cindy and Susan

Friday, October 28, 2011

Ebbin vs. McGhee - No Endorsement

Hello,

The redrawn 30th Virginia State Senate District runs along the Potomac River from I-395 to Ft. Belvoir. The 30th District now includes, Crystal City, Pentagon City, Potomac Yards, much of Mark Center, I-395, I-495, Wilson Bridge, National Airport, Route 1, Route 7, and Mt. Vernon Highway. So it would be appropriate for Democrat Adam Ebbin and Republican Tim McGhee to focus on what's important to residents and voters in the 30th. But that's not what their campaigns are about. They're about Tim McGhee and Adam Ebbin and their interests and a few special interests. It's good that Delegate Ebbin was able to obtain a solar energy tax credit for homeowners. But in the context of Virginia being so far behind in renewable energy the legislation was long overdue.

Consequently, we are not endorsing either candidate.

Susan and Cindy

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Janet Murphy for Delegate in 48th District

Hello,

We would have endorsed Delegate Bob Brink for re-election, had the 48th District included only North Arlington and McLean. We would have also endorsed Delegate Brink had his Independent Green opponent, Janet Murphy, based her campaign solely on the Independent Green mantra "more trains, less traffic".

However, the 48th District now covers a huge swath of Arlington, and as a country club Democrat Bob Brink does not represent the views of many of his new constituents.

To her credit, Janet Murphy did not base her campaign solely on trains, but also on issues that concern progressive Arlingtonians in the 48th District, like vastly more renewable energy and imposing a renewable portfolio standard on Dominion. She's also concerned about issues like human needs and human rights.

Kathy Gillette-Mallard is a nice Neo-Con from McLean. But her conservative views are out of touch with at least 75% of 48th District voters.

We are disappointed that none of the candidates running in the 48th has yet proposed strategies to deal with infrastructure needs resulting from Virginia's population growth.

Susan and Cindy

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Favola vs. Merrick - No Endorsement

Hello,

We attended several candidate debates, and we were not impressed by most of the candidates. We were especially unimpressed by candidates for Virginia State Senate Barbara Favola and Caren Merrick.

It's become obvious that the election for State Senate will the prelude to a culture war in the next session of the General Assembly, with guns and abortion becoming the main battlegrounds.

So we were disappointed that neither Barbara Favola nor Caren Merrick has yet uttered the words "family planning" during a debate.

We also heard no reasonable discussion about firearms. Yes, there are too many firearms inside the Beltway, where the police arrive in minutes after a 911 call. And yes, there is a lot of hunting, fishing, and sport shooting done outside the Beltway. There was no mention of the biggest danger Northern Virginia residents face - injuries from traffic accidents.

And neither candidate has a comprehensive plan for dealing with Virginia's population growth, typically 90,000 - 100,000 more people each year (Virginia's population grew by 927,000 between 2000 and 2010).

So, AY makes no endorsement for Senator for Virginia's 31st District.

Cindy and Susan