Bah Humbug Greetings from Loudoun Supervisor Jim Burton

Thankfully, there were seven members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors who had the guts to overrule the decision to ban religious displays on the grounds of the county courthouse by the Courthouse Grounds and Facility Task Force. The decision of these seven members allowed a nativity scene, as well as a Menorah to be displayed on the grounds of the county courthouse. 

However, there was one member who voted against this effort, and that was Blue Ridge District Supervisor Jim "Bah Humbug" Burton.  Burton voted against this bill.  According to Leesburg Today, Burton voted against overruling the decision, because this issue needed more study and that the decision was hastily made. Another supervisor almost voted against this as well, and that was Dulles District Supervisor, Stevens Miller, who said, "if you're going to have free speech then you have to make sure everyone has it" and that he believes "we are going to find that this has undesirable consequences."

The question now becomes: Whatever happened to having Christmas (or Holiday) spirit? I guess seven members have it, while one has contracted Bah Humbug-itis.

You're a mean one, Mr. Burton!

Some GOTV Humor

Wow, just when I thought things could not slip to a new low.  Stevens Miller not only sucked up money from the Democratic Caucus from Poisson, Vanderhye, and Caputo, but he also took literature from them.  Case in point, Miller used Chuck Caputo's doorhangers on Election Day, and just stuck a sticker over Caputo's face.

Door Hanger-Gate

Door hangers are an essential part of every get out the vote effort, and Stevens Miller's campaign is breaking the law by placing door hangers for a precinct in Herndon with the wrong polling location.  Too Conservative has more on this...is it me or do I sense trouble?

Loudoun Chamber of Commerce still outraged by Stevens Miller

Last Thursday, I wrote about Stevens Miller getting called out on using autism as political grandstanding by a fellow Supervisor.  Well, it looks like there has been clarification on how Miller was trying to block Mindy Williams' appointment to the Loudoun Health Council.  The Loudoun Chamber of Commerce sent this memo out to its members highlighting their disappointment with Miller's actions to block Williams from retaining her seat on the Loudoun Health Council.

I guess the only accomplishment of Miller's service on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is political grandstanding.

A BLT Doesn't Add Up to the Costs of Obama's Stimulus

In politics, there are always attacks on someone for doing something right. Well, Stevens Miller feels compelled to attack Tom Rust for standing up against Obama's stimulus plan, in order to protect the taxpayers in the 86^th District and the Commonwealth.

It's a pathetic attack on Rust, as he was standing up for taxpayers and reducing government waste. Rust realizes that the taxpayers will be the ones hurt from the stimulus, as future generations will be paying this debt off for a long time.

Meanwhile, what has Stevens Miller done for those in the Dulles District, who elected him to serve as their supervisor on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors? Nothing.

Craziness ala Loudoun Style

Well, it is always fun when you read a newspaper on your way to work in the District that comments about your county's craziness. So, imagine my delight when I was reading The Washington Examiner, and found an op-ed that focuses on Stevens Miller's carpetbagging stunt to run for the House of Delegates in the 86^th District. If that doesn't sound crazy enough, how about this?

The schools in Miller's magisterial district are bursting at the seams. So in July 2008, the Loudoun School Board signed a $20 million contract to purchase 99 acres on Lenah Road near several hundred existing homes (later negotiating the price down to $18 million) for two new voter-approved schools. The developer promised to provide roads and utilities. All that was needed to start building was approval by the County Board.

But even before the county staff could finish its report on the Lenah property, Miller declared the process "broken" and initiated his own unprecedented school-site search. Three months later, Miller and Realtor Kathy Worek, daughter of Del. Chuck Caputo, D-Fairfax, came up with a plan for Loudoun to buy the undeveloped 190-acre Lambert property on Bull Run Post Office Road for the low, low price of $14 million. The county could then sell a 30-acre parcel to Worek's client for $2 million for a privately built sports complex and Olympic swimming facility.

Alas, the "deal" was too good to be true.

Reality check No. 1: School officials said that using the sparsely settled Lambert site would add at least two years to the already late construction process and cost taxpayers another $16 million, thus making it more expensive than Lenah in the long run.

Reality check No. 2: Lenah was already in compliance with the county's Comprehensive Plan. Lambert contains wetlands and is not zoned for recreational use.

Reality check No. 3: At a Sept. 10, 2008, public hearing, Worek told planning commissioners that she and Miller negotiated a purchase price for the Lambert property. However, neither is empowered to negotiate for school sites. That's a school board prerogative.

Reality check No. 4: The low-density Lambert property can't accommodate two schools, much less three schools, a soccerplex, and a swimming facility.

Nevertheless, on Oct. 21, 2008, on a motion by Miller, Loudoun supervisors killed the purchase of the Lenah property, delaying construction of an already two-year-delayed middle school one more year and setting the high school back a year as well.

If Miller can't even manage his own district's school overcrowding (let alone do the job, in which he was originally elected), then why should the residents of the 86^th district elect a carpetbagger to represent them, then consider leaving for another job a year later.

Stevens Miller Got Served...By a Fellow Loudoun Supervisor

The Washington Post, during a recent Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, there was a contentious vote in deciding whether or not a lobbyist would be appointed to a third term in the Loudoun Health Council. This lobbyist worked against autism legislation outside her capacity on the Loudoun Health Council (rather, she was working on behalf of a professional client, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, who knew this legislation would hurt small businesses, as they do not have the funds to help pay for what was covered in this bill), while the bill was being debated in Richmond (note: Richmond, not Loudoun County). Mindy Williams works for a professional lobbying firm in Fairfax, and she was not required to disclose her work with other clients.

Guess who decided to speak up to flaunt his race for Delegate and call for the ouster of this member of the Loudoun Health Council? Stevens Miller. Miller actually did more than call for the ouster, rather he tried to block her appointment.

"Parent after parent of autistic children have come to me, asking for us and the Chamber to some gesture of compassion and send someone else to Richmond," Miller said Tuesday before the vote. "In my view, this person had a conflict of interest...It's an egregious insult and, if this person is confirmed, I will seek to have this seat removed from the Health Council."

Miller said he met with Williams as a supervisor last year to discuss autism legislation without her telling him she was a paid lobbyist against the bills.

"Had I known that, I would have chosen my words very differently," he said.

Miller has also used autism legislation as a chief component of his campaign for House delegate.

Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg) said Williams's re-appointment to the volunteer position was "being used to raise an issue that's not there." She bluntly said Miller was using the debate as a political tool.

"This item uses the autistic community in a cruel and selfish manner," she said.

So...Miller was using this as a political tool. At least, Supervisor Burk had the guts to call him out on playing politics, rather than leading. In fact, I am curious if Miller will use this tactic, if elected as a Delegate in Richmond.