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By O.Hank!, March 12, 2013 7:44 pm

March 12, 2013 — A sad note today, as I write about Duval Dickinson, who passed away this weekend. I know the Dickinson family, and especially like talking to Duval’s son, Clay, who is smart and carried his Father’s joy for people and life. I took my lawn mowers to their shop every late winter for tune-ups, and they were always honest and fair and good.

Honest, fair and good. Those were the values that Duval and his wife instilled in their children. And that was Duval.

Duval was a Republican through and through. But, he wasn’t the kind of extremist, fear and hate, scorched-earth Republican that we see all too often these days.

He was the kind of Republican I grew up with in my family and friendships. To him, being fiscally responsible meant managing your budget in a balanced way by watching spending and yes, if it was called for, appropriate tax hikes and other ways to raise revenue. He believed in a limited role for government without demonizing it, and he believed in individual freedoms that government shouldn’t intrude upon. He was an old-line, true conservative in every way, who espoused the reasonable conservative philosophy we remember in Eisenhower, Buckley, Goldwater and yes, even Reagan, who raised taxes 11 times when it was necessary and didn’t pretend he was the Nation’s preacher by legislating right-wing social issues.

And that is why Duval fell out of favor with today’s new breed of Republicans. Today’s paper recounts the right-wing revolt led by Del. Mark Cole and others that ousted Duval from the Chairmanship of the Spotsylvania Republican Committee:

Dickinson chaired the Spotsylvania County Republican Committee for a decade, until religious conservatives disenchanted with the GOP leadership staged a coup. A major reason for their revolt was the old guard’s opposition to Christian right candidates such as Oliver North, who unsuccessfully sought a U.S. Senate seat in 1994, according to an article that appeared in The Free Lance–Star in 1999.

No, Duval was not one of this new breed. He was not one of them. He was reasonable – and honest, fair and good.

[Image via FLS.]

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By O.Hank!, March 4, 2013 7:04 pm

March 4, 2013 – Once again, because Republicans in Congress would rather play politics and avoid potential primary challenges instead of doing what’s right for America, we are facing yet another crisis of their own making.  Of course, like Pavlov’s dog when that alarm bell rings, they foam at the mouth and blame the President.

They say that this was President Obama’s idea.  They are partly right, because THEY agreed to it during the 2011 Budget Control Act, which incorporated the sequester in case Congress and the President couldn’t agree on a compromise plan to develop a budget while tackling long-term debt.  The thinking of the Administration in suggesting the sequester was that no one in Congress would be so stupid as to let the sequester happen.  They’d HAVE to compromise.

Well, the Administration was wrong.  Evidently, there ARE enough stupid people in Congress to let it happen.  We have a Congress now that is sabotaging the economy because Republican Speaker John Boehner can’t control his unruly House and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell still wants the President to fail.

Just so folks know, in addition to slowing economic recovery and increasing unemployment, this is what we face if the Republicans allow the sequester to happen (White House document):

Impact of March 1st Cuts on Middle Class Families, Jobs and Economic Security: Virginia

Unless Congress acts by March 1st, a series of automatic cuts—called the sequester—will take effect that threaten hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs, and cut vital services for children, seniors, people with mental illness and our men and women in uniform.

There is no question that we need to cut the deficit, but the President believes it should be done in a balanced way that protects investments that the middle class relies on. Already, the President has worked with Congress to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion, but there’s more to do.

The President has put forward a balanced plan to not only avoid the harmful effects of the sequester but also to reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion in total. The President’s plan meets Republicans more than halfway and includes twice as many spending cuts as it does tax revenue from the wealthy.

Unfortunately, many Republicans in Congress refuse to ask the wealthy to pay a little more by closing tax loopholes so that we can protect investments that are helping grow our economy and keep our country safe. By not asking the wealthy to pay a little more, Republicans are forcing our children, seniors, troops, military families and the entire middle class to bear the burden of deficit reduction. The President is determined to cut spending and reduce the deficit in a balanced way, but he won’t stick the middle class with the bill. The President is willing to compromise, but on behalf the middle class he cannot accept a deal that undercuts their economic security.

Our economy is continuing to strengthen but we cannot afford a self-inflicted wound from Washington. Republicans should compromise and meet the President in the middle. We cannot simply cut our way to prosperity, and if Republicans continue to insist on an unreasonable, cuts-only approach, Virginia risks paying the price.

VIRGINIA IMPACTS

 If sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on Virginia this year alone are:

Teachers and Schools: Virginia will lose approximately $14 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 190 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 14,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 40 fewer schools would receive funding.

•  Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, Virginia will lose approximately $13.9 million in funds for about 170 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.

 Work-Study Jobs: Around 2,120 fewer low income students in Virginia would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 840 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.

 Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 1,000 children in Virginia, reducing access to critical early education.

Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: Virginia would lose about $2,997,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Virginia could lose another $826,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.

Military Readiness: In Virginia, approximately 90,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $648.4 million in total.

o Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $146 million in Virginia.

o Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Virginia would be cut by about $8 million.

o Navy: Cancel the maintenance of 11 ships in Norfolk, defer four projects at Dahlgren, Oceana, and Norfolk, and delay other modernization and demolition projects.

 Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: Virginia will lose about $276,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

 Job Search Assistance to Help those in Virginia find Employment and Training: Virginia will lose about $348,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around 18,390 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.

Child Care: Up to 400 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

 Vaccines for Children: In Virginia around 3,530 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $241,000.

Public Health: Virginia will lose approximately $764,000 in funds to help upgrade its ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, Virginia will lose about $2,140,000 in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 1,700 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. And the Virginia State Department of Health will lose about $337,000 resulting in around 8,400 fewer HIV tests.

STOP Violence Against Women Program: Virginia could lose up to $172,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 700 fewer victims being served.

 Nutrition Assistance for Seniors: Virginia would lose approximately $1,215,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.

I would close by urging you to contact our Congressman, Republican Rob Wittman, who is a smart man.  But, it’s no use.  Sadly, it seems that he has put those smarts and commonsense in a blind trust in order to tow the Party line dictated by Republican Leader Eric Can’t-or and to avoid a primary challenge.  Profiles in courage?  Doing what’s right for America?  Not here in the 1^st and 7^th Congressional Districts.

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By O.Hank!, March 4, 2013 10:26 am

March 4, 2013 — Today’s Fredericksburg Freelance Star has a piece on Dawn Shelley, Republican on the Spotyslvania County School Board, asking the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors for more money in the upcoming budget.  Going further, she asked the public to “beg” for more money.  As we know, that Board is now run by a Republican majority that ran on the same ticket with Shelley…. This will be interesting to watch.

Shelley was responding to the budget proposed by Spotsylvania County Administrator Doug Barnes, who was given instructions by his Republican Board not to raise taxes.  In order to do that, Barnes’s proposed budget recommends a school budget $7 million less than what the School Board requested.

To make things more interesting, the Republican Board of Supervisors imposed categorical funding on the schools last year, which means that they have the authority to fund school programs they deem important and cut those they don’t.  According to a member of the School Board, this has reportedly outraged them – although you’d never know it because they have been extremely silent – because they have the Constitutional authority to manage those funds.  This can and will be debated – and has been in years past – but the fact of the matter is that most residents believe that the School Board is the elected body responsible for schools, including the management of their budget.  Like Supervisors, School Board members are elected by the people to manage our schools, and they can be held accountable.  Pretty simple proposition.

But, what makes the pleas by Shelley interesting is that in the 2011 elections, she sought, and received, the endorsement of the Spotsylvania Republican Committee.  In doing that, she ran on a ticket who ran on a platform and promise to cut taxes while fully funding education and strengthening public safety.  So, if they promised these things, especially the full funding of education, then why ask the public to “beg” for something they said they would do?

Again, elections matter.  Promises matter.  Honesty and integrity matter.  Will the people of Spotyslvania County remind Shelley and her Republican allies of their promises?  And if they break those promises, will the people hold them accountable?  Perhaps, but only if the people are reminded; but unfortunately, there is no real reporting in the local paper, and no real loyal opposition in the County keeping people informed.

To fill that vacuum, I created this blog, and it is my hope that through this, we can leverage our voices to keep facts alive and keep our elected officials honest.

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By O.Hank!, February 20, 2013 8:18 pm

February 18, 2013 — In an op-ed in yesterday’s Fredericksburg Freelance Star, Alfred King, Spotsylvania Republican money man, perennial candidate and budget advisor, admitted that math, not ideology, is the driver behind budget making and praised former Spotsylvania County Board members for sound fiscal stewardship.

In his piece, King concluded that the current Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, headed by the new Republican majority, has to decide between cutting services or raising taxes when formulating the County’s upcoming budget.  As a wise man once said, “No sh***, Sherlock…!”

Now, most rational people understand that this is pretty much always the case when formulating budgets.  But the new Republican majority, like their brethren at the state and federal levels, promised no new taxes!  That they would take this pledge is nothing new, but they also promised to fully fund education, strengthen public safety services, particularly fire and rescue, return to taxpayers the $9 million surplus built up by the previous Board AND cut taxes!  Alfred King, running for Commissioner of Revenue, was right there with them.

It will be interesting to see how they tap dance their way through this budget and hold onto their promise.  They spent a lot of time and money in 2011 lying about how the old Board and County Administrator mismanaged budgets and other services.  However, now that they are in charge of a growing County with a growing appetite for good schools and safe streets, they are finding out that governing is hard work and not something you can do with bumper sticker slogans and empty pledges.

I fully expect them to walk back their promises by blaming the old Board or announcing something unforseen that they just learned!  No matter what they do, it will be interesting to see if the people of Spotsylvania County – and the Spotsylvania Democratic Committee – hold the new Republican majority to the bold promises they made in 2011.

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By O.Hank!, January 7, 2013 7:00 pm

Happy New Year…especially to Mark Cole, who starts his new job this month as Spotsylvania County’s deputy administrator. I wish him much luck, for he will soon find himself frustrated with the inadeqacies of the General Assembly, where Mark Cole also starts his other job this month as Delegate.

Mark Cole, deputy county administrator…. Meet Mark Cole, member, House of Delegates (R-88). I don’t know what kind of administrator Mark Cole will make, but I do know what kind of Delegate he has been, and other than advancing a right wing social agenda, putting guns in bars and churches, and making laws that keep people from voting, Mark Cole has done nothing to help counties and local governments with managing their affairs, especially budget and transportation issues. Nothing.

Delegate Mark Cole knows how to say, “No!” very well, which seemingly appeals to the majority of people in the cushily-gerry-mandered 88th district, who keep sending him to Richmond. It will be interesting to see how that stingy, paternalistic attitude appeals to deputy administrator Mark Cole.

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By Marc, May 15, 2012 8:26 pm

Glad to see that SOMEONE is getting help from VDOT. Yes, that’s Mark Dudenhefer’s (R-VA-2nd) (a.k.a. Mudslide Mark) house on Legal Court in North Stafford (the one with the car backed into the driveway). And yes, he got VDOT to completely repave the area in front of it. As you can see, VDOT also paved a small portion in front of his next door neighbor’s property. But still…

Between having the 2^nd house district line drawn less than 30 feet from his property line—to getting VDOT to spend money it doesn’t have budgeted to completely repave the part of the street in front of his property—we know at least one person is benefiting from Mark Dudenhefer’s incumbency…MARK DUDENHEFER!

And OBTW, nice vote last night Delegate Dudliness.

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By Marc, November 4, 2011 11:01 pm

In case you missed it earlier today, the petition for a Writ of Quo Warranto by David Johnston, challenging Eric Olsen’s residency, was dismissed on procedural grounds by Judge Ferris. It wasn’t dismissed because it lacked merit, as some sources wrongly reported. It’s a BIG distinction!

Olsen’s legal residency was not decided in today’s hearing. The judge did not make a finding that Olsen was a legal resident of Stafford. You can read more about today’s hearing here.

In this post, I want to address the hypocrisy that is Eric “Law & Order” Olsen. At today’s hearing, Judge Ferris advised Olsen that he had a right to a jury trial if he so wished. Olsen said that he didn’t want a jury trial and that he was fine with a bench trial, before launching into a challenge of the whole hearing on procedural grounds.

This is the same guy that had the following to say, when he announced his run for Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney:

I’ve tried many jury trials ladies and gentlemen. I can tell you that there is no better arbiters of justice then twelve citizens chosen at random, asked to come into court and take a day off and decide the facts of the case and administer justice. I believe in the jury system.

What a hypocrite! This is just another example of how duplicitous Olsen can be.

The topic of jury trials is somewhat complicated for the average person, but it’s an important one to understand. The Commonwealth of Virginia is part of a minority of States that allow the Government to force a jury trial. If the Defendant wants a jury trial then under the Constitution he/she can have one, but the Defendant also has the right to waive that right. If a Defendant waives their right to a jury trial, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office does not need to insist on a jury. Why you ask?

First and foremost, jury trials are slow and expensive. Every other jurisdiction in the Commonwealth understands that fact. So they have jury trials about 15 percent of the time while Stafford has them about 95 percent of the time.

As the Free Lance-Star previously reported:

Olsen and Chichester have relied heavily on jury trials throughout their careers. In fact, Stafford was second only to the massive Fairfax County in the number of juries convened in 2010. Stafford had 79, according to figures compiled by the state Supreme Court.

Spotsylvania County, with a population similar to Stafford’s, had 13 jury trials last year.

This is a point of pride for Olsen, who prefers to let county residents determine the outcome of trials.

Yeah, Olsen takes pride in jury trials as long as they don’t involve him. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Fairfax County is massive and Stafford has the second most jury trials to them?!

Jury trials are typically very slow and it could take an entire day to try a jury case. In Fredericksburg, where bench trials are the rule, Judge Willis can knock out six trials to Stafford’s one. Plain and simple, jury trials just clog up the entire system. As Independent Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Tim Barbrow puts it,

In addition to the cost of a jury trial to the taxpayer, the policy of requesting a jury trial in nearly every criminal case puts a strain on the entire judicial system. The Circuit Courts also hear a wide variety of civil cases including divorce, child support, custody, adoption, lawsuits between private parties, condemnation, and personal injury and medical malpractice. By tying up the Court’s docket with unnecessary requests for jury trials in the majority of criminal cases, most of which never go to trial, the citizens of Stafford County often have to wait months if not years to have their civil cases heard.

Jury trials are incredibly expensive. Each jury costs the taxpayers of Stafford County about $2,300. That doesn’t sound like much for one trial, but Olsen and Chichester ask for a jury trial in nearly every case. The Clerk of the Court spent ¾ of a million dollars on jury trials last year. That is money coming directly from the taxpayers of Stafford County.

Olsen likes to say that the money is from Richmond and not Stafford, but he is flat wrong. Go ask the Clerk of the Court!

I’ve said it time-and-time again, we need to start making smarter fiscal decisions in the county; otherwise, we will continue to divert funds away from education, transportation and public safety (e.g. see the wasteful public radio communication system). If a Defendant doesn’t want a jury trial, don’t force one on taxpayers!

This is another example of Olsen saying one thing and doing another. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

On November 8, let’s vote for a new direction by casting a vote for Tim Barbrow!