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?

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.

Is Chuck Caputo's Ship Sinking?

It appears that when a ship sinks, everyone on board decidedly attacks each other to stay alive. In Chuck Caputo's re-election bid, he has definitely been throwing the attacks against Jim LeMunyon every chance he gets, even after promising to run a positive campaign.

The most recent attack coming from Caputo's campaign claims that a business that LeMunyon co-founded in the 1990s, Sterling Semiconductor, failed to pay taxes, failed to pay bills, and went bankrupt.

Caputo couldn't be further from the truth, and it's time for some clarification. LeMunyon (along with the other business owners) sold Sterling Semiconductor to Uniroyal on May 31, 2000, which was two years before, the new owners encountered financial difficulties, partly due to the losses in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. On August 25, 2002, Uniroyal declared bankruptcy with Sterling Semiconductor. After the August 25, 2002 bankruptcy, Dow Corning bought Sterling Semiconductor.

When LeMunyon was in control of Sterling Semiconductor, bills were paid on time.

“Chuck Caputo has either chosen the deliberately distort the facts, or is sloppy in his research to a point that is beyond embarrassing,” said Tim Edson, LeMunyon’s campaign manager. “In either case, we demand an immediate retraction and an apology.”

“Like many entrepreneurs, Jim has taken significant personal financial risks over the years to get new companies rolling, which have created new jobs and brought new products to market,” said Edson. “Chuck and Jim may disagree on many issues, but it’s a shame that Chuck can’t treat Jim’s business record with respect. Jim has run an honorable campaign, and has only criticized Chuck Caputo’s voting record in Richmond, not the man personally. Jim has publicly said many times that Chuck Caputo is a decent man and a good citizen. It is unfortunate that Chuck has chosen not to follow suit.”

When candidates resort to petty attacks, such as this one, it is a clear indicator that this campaign is sinking at a fast rate of speed.

What's more important? Serving your District or Running for the Next Higher Office

On Tuesday night, there was an important Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, and take a guess who wasn't in attendance.  If you guessed Stevens Miller, you got that right.  Residents in the Dulles district were missing representation, while their supervisor was busy trying to seek the next highest office by participating in a House of Delegates debate.  The funny (and it is might not seem so funny) thing is that Miller is still cashing a paycheck, even though he is not doing any work.

Whatever happened to accountability and doing what's right?