Washingtonpost.com:

A judge refused Friday to overturn the Prince William County electoral board’s decision to block Republican efforts to hold primary nominating contests for several incumbent members of the Board of Supervisors.

After a court hearing, Judge Paul Sheridan said he doesn’t believe he has the authority to tell the county electoral board to reverse its position on the matter, which began when Republican party officials missed the state deadline for requesting primary elections for Prince William County board of supervisors chair Corey Stewart and three other Republican incumbents who wanted them.

“It’s not for a judge, in light of all this, to tell a political party or state and local agencies how to proceed,” said Sheridan, a retired Arlington County judge brought in to hear the case, which has roiled political waters in Prince William County.

So the incumbents have been screwed.  Perhaps just as important is the fact that the voters have been screwed. For example, I cannot vote for anyone in the fire house primary.  I don’t pass the Republican purity test.  I voted in a Democratic primary in the past 5 years.   I also voted in a Republican primary, being an Independent.  I also cannot vote because I vote absentee.  You cannot vote absentee in a firehouse primary.

It’s a sad day for both incumbents and voters.  I have no idea why the deadline was missed but it just isn’t right.  To the general public, it looks like there is some voter fraud going on.  I am not sure how, but eventually something will leak out.  I just find it incredibly strange and non-random that the targeted people have been boxed in to this situation.  I expect there will be a lot of “pew packing” at the firehouse primaries to make sure that the incumbents are ousted.

I hope if that happens that the incumbents run as independents.  I will set aside a little money to donate to their campaigns should that happen.  Fair is fair.  And this situation wasn’t fair.  I still smell a rat…a big one.

47 Thoughts to “Judge denies the incumbents a primary”

  1. Wolve

    I swear, Moon, you all seem to have more political circus acts over in PWC than ten other counties combined!

    1. I do not disagree with your assessment.

  2. Mom

    No big rats Moon, just bumbling idiots, and more than one.

    1. I agree more than one. I disagree. Definitely rats.

      I hate political parties. They devour their own.

  3. Censored bybvbl

    I have to agree with Mom on this one – even though we’re miles apart on many issues. Bumbling idiots sums it up. I place the blame within the Republican Party, not Henry Wiggins or other Democrats. And I’m the last person who wants to see more Teabaggers on the BOCS. If a seat on the Board is that important to a candidate, he or she should check ahead of time to make sure paperwork is promptly filed.

  4. beeky

    Never ascribe that to malice, etc, etc……yeah, not sure I buy it this time around.

    1. I believe there is a lot of malice involved. I am an old and jaded woman.

      Can I prove malice? Not yet.

  5. BSinVA

    I will suggest that Sheriff Hill, Chairman Stewart, Supervisor Caddigan, Supervisor Nohe, and one or more sitting Democratic Supervisors craft and sign a very public DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. This declaration would state that the endorsers were Prince William County leaders that will not be influenced by political party influence, that they had the best interests of their County at heart, that they were experienced in County governance, that they held Prince William County’s present and future successes first and foremost over any other principles. The signers promise to maturely and without guile or deceit to provide sane and sensible leadership to our County in such a way as to benefit the majority of citizens without harming the minority of its citizenry.

    I expect that such a declaration could begin a severance between political party goals for the parties sake from local jurisdiction goals for the citizens sake. Both political parties have used the people as a croquet ball in order to score wins. It’s time to take the power away from party professionals and return it to the voters.

    1. Those are lofty goals, BS. Actually I think you are on to something. I dislike political parties intensely. They are the pawns of special interest and self-servingness. (is there such a word?)

  6. BSinVA

    Jeez!! After a half bottle of champagne (and one small beer), I poured my heart and soul into my diatribe and I get no response ?? What gives????

  7. The new post on The Sheriff blog pretty much says it all regarding the screwing over of the incumbents. If you are looking for cause/effects and the stench of rat, look no further.

    This is what it has all been about from the very beginning in my humble opinion, starting mid-year 2012.

    The Sheriff (wink wink nudge nudge) has spelled it all out for you.

    I knew it. Others knew it. And now the world knows it.

    http://sheriffofnottinghampwc.blogspot.com/2015/03/judge-slaps-down-stewart-nohe-caddigan.html

  8. Censored bybvbl

    @Moon-howler
    You’re more than likely right which is why the incumbents should have been more careful to watch for any problems – including timely filing of paperwork. They had a preview of things to come during the Brentsville brouhaha.

  9. I would think that the directive was to notify the GOP chairman. Funniest thing about that.

    I don’t believe in this kind of randomness.

    The likelihood that this is an accident is about as likely as me winning the big lottery ticket tonight.

  10. @Censored bybvbl
    I would be directing my ire at the party chairman if I had lost my primary option. I promise you though, there would be ire.

    I believe SOP is to notify the party Chair. I think it would be highly irregular to notify individually. It makes sense that he or she should know who is filing for primary.

    Mr. Card needs to start making amends and canceling some of the restrictive rules that give advantage to the special interest wings of the party. In this case, it would be the cheapskate wing of the party–the count every paper clip gang. He needs to relax the rules or the incumbents so that more of their supporters will have a say their government.

    The bottom line is, (regardless of how much people do not like this law) in Virginia a voter does not have to register by party. You can vote in whatever primary you want. (unless there isn’t a primary) Right now most of us have been shut out of the process.

    Bill Card needs to make this as right as he can make it.

    Oh and by the way…the local board of elections passed the buck. the state board of elections passed the buck and the judge yesterday passed the buck. Each said they didn’t feel that they had the authority to undo this mess. Well, someone has the authority.

    One of these entities needs to grow a set and correct a great wrong and stop whimping out and passing the buck.

  11. Censored bybvbl

    I think that independents, such as we are, aren’t having our voices reflected in the choice of people to represent us when we’re shut out of primaries. I’m not interested in having to choose from a fringe group (Libertarian, Green, etc.) in order to be heard. We make up about a 1/3 of the electorate with the other two major parties almost evenly split. A fringe right-wing party, such as the Tea Party, doesn’t represent the majority of voters in the Independent Hill area. Of course, I’ll put some blame on the Dems for not fielding enough candidates and campaigning on their behalves.

    This technical screw-up rests squarely on one person’s shoulders regardless of how anyone may have tried to influence him.

    1. Absolutely. Both parties should be courting us. I don’t want to have to belong to a party of AH’s who are going to tell me who I have to vote for. I have tried that a time or two and frankly, I didn’t like it. I want to vote for who I think is the best person at the time. that may change from time to time. No absolutes here.

      The local Cheapo party is represented by people who have bought huge houses and now don’t want to pay taxes on them. Go to the Valley where things are cheaper. I would rather have decent services and a middle income house, frankly.I resisted the urge at the housing market high tide because I knew that the taxes and insurance would rise and I wanted a larger margin of comfort than buying up would have given me. I didn’t want to have to be perpetually whining about my taxes going up.

      I also want to start hearing about the candidates’ vision for the county. I don’t want to hear about budget. Yawn. Please don’t bore me. We hire number crunchers for that sort of thing.

      I want to take the county slogan: Prince William County-a place to live, work and play and hear a candidate’s vision how this is all going to come together if he or she is elected to office.

      How about the county slogan being the frame work for all campaigns. What a great idea.

      How about it, candidates!

  12. Censored bybvbl

    If I wanted to live cheaply, I’d move to the sticks. I want a good public transportation system, decent schools, access to art venues, etc. I’m willing to pay for it. I live below my means so that I can afford the splurges. I didn’t believe the banksters and mortgage brokers who told me ten years ago that I could afford a house 4 times more expensive than I budgeted for housing. I have siblings who fell for that ruse. Everyone else shouldn’t have to suffer because of the cheapskates – who did manage to splurge on their own toys and McMansions -those awful looking teflon-coated tan boxes.

    1. I didn’t fall for it either. I also know life is fragile. A great job today could go up in smoke. My husband was in sales and I know you can be salesman of the month and get called in to clean out your desk that afternoon. That’s companies for you.

      I think way too many people have out-housed (pun intended) themselves. Otherwise they would not be whining so much and acting like cheapskates.

  13. El Guapo

    This is interesting.

  14. El Guapo

    I stumbled across a new blog today. I found an interesting take on the Republican Party Circus. We can thank Harry Wiggins for outing the Sheriff of Nottingham of Prince William County. If it’s Harry Wiggins, it must be good!

    http://www.bluevirginia.us/diary/13063/pw-county-republicans-screw-up-big-time-pathetically-try-to-blame-democrats-fail

    Now we know! Candland and Lawson have some explaining to do. Those folks they are endorsing might be worth giving a second sniff test also. We don’t need this kind of shit in Prince William County. Now we know!

    1. Good grief. All sorts of sh!t hits the fan while I am out.

  15. Leveleer

    We have suffered too long at the hands of rude men, lies, vile insults, a lack of accountability, low propaganda, and dirty dealings. It is time for justice.

  16. Scout

    Even people like me who live in another county have known the Sheriff’s tie to Candland for a very long time. That can’t be news.

    The complete cock-up on the nominating issue appears to be nothing more nefarious than human incompetence. However, the result shines a light on how the State enables the monopolization of political power to inner circles of two political clubs. The members of these clubs, whether they be the State Central Committee of RPV or the county committees, are generally a bunch to which one wouldn’t delegate decisional authority over significant issues. The narrower they circle the wagons for nominations, the less likely they are to prevail in general elections.

  17. Harry Wiggins

    The bigger problem is that we have the equivalent of John Gotti (Mac Haddow) controlling 2 members of the BOCS (Candland and Lawson) and seeking more, the Haddow approach is to turn PWC in to a wasteland by fear mongering.

  18. Leveleer

    Mr. Wiggins, you need to put forward more quality candidates. I will vote for ANYONE who did not come out of a Republican Firehouse Primary. ANYONE! I don’t want a convicted felon running PWC from the shadows, a co-conspiritor on a Supervisor’s staff, or his anonymous alter ego spreading raw sewage from an anonymous blog.

    1. Leveleer, I understand someone’s legal past is a matter of public record. However, I would like to suggest that maybe “convicted felon” is being over-used. I am a big believer in second chances. As Marty and his wife walk the walk in the pro life department, I believe I walk the walk in the second chances department.

      No, I have never been convicted of a felony but I would and have offered second chances. For me to criticize anyone on that score would be pure hypocrisy on my part. Email me for more details if you are curious. I am just not going to put someone else’s business out there for all to see on this blog.

      [email protected]

      I do agree with you that Mr. Wiggins needs to put forward more candidates. I also agree with you that I will NOT support any of the challengers should they emerge victorious out of a fire house primary. I would support the incumbents…maybe…because I feel they got screwed through no fault of their own, other than by being Republicans.

      My issues here have nothing to do with distant past behavior.

  19. If people allow themselves to be controlled, there is very little the rest of us can do about it.

  20. Pat.Herve

    @El Guapo
    Is that the same name that was ‘officially’ outed as the author of the SoN blog? He is a piece of work and makes me question why Candland would want to associate himself with a couple of such low morals and stature.

  21. Censored bybvbl

    Here’s a blast from the past and the suggestion that a run for higher office (and not necessarily Chairman of the BOCS) may be the primary (er, make that caucus) goal.

    http://www.northernvatimes.com/gainesville/article/hatch-commits-at-least-1k-for-candland

    Does anyone know if the Sheriff is registered to vote in PWC?

  22. Wendy

    Moon I thought it was twice that he had “troubles”. One throwing contracts and another involving a children’s charity program. Could be wrong.

    It looks like a someone is trying to overcome a few failures by reliving life through someone else. That rarely works out. I, too, wonder why any decent person would want that association. May be more to this than what appears? Troublesome for taxpayers and the community to say the least.

  23. Pat.Herve

    @Wendy
    There is much more to the story than just the contracts and the T. Bear foundation. Lots.

  24. Wendy

    @Pat

    ..yet he’s committed to the TRUTH? What a joke.

  25. Mac Haddow

    Moon-Howler; Wendy, Pat, Censored, El Guapo, et.al.:

    After a series of recent comments on another thread on this blog that served as a forum for my critics to use incomplete, inaccurate, and a significant amount of untrue information to engage in vicious personal attacks against me, I made a simple and unambiguous offer.

    I would be open to discuss these issues and answer any questions about my past to anyone who wanted to simply pick up the phone and call me. I provided my telephone number (571-294-5978). That offer stands.

    Not a single person called me. Not a single one of those who continue to engage in the political blood sport of character assassination against me availed themselves of the opportunity to learn the truth, or at least obtain a more accurate accounting of the events they are relying on for their attacks.

    I would also be happy to attend a meeting convened by Moonhowlings for that same purpose at a location of your choice.

    Here are a few facts:

    * This event occurred 29 years ago in my life. Nothing new in nearly three decades

    * As Pat.Herve observed, “there is much more to the story” — and it is true there is much more, but I suspect it would not be information she alludes to, including the facts rather than inaccurate and incomplete news reports from 1986. No mention by any critic on this blog, by the way, that nationally syndicated investigative reporter Jack Anderson wrote several articles reporting on his investigation of my case and concluding that I had been wrongly convicted.

    * I plead guilty to two violations of the federal conflict of interest statute that does not require any intent to violate that law by the individual accused of violating it. Indeed, the court assigned probation department official who dug into every corner of my life concluded the following in a sworn statement: “In my extensive review of Mr. Haddow’s background in the preparation of the pre-sentence report for the Court, it was my expressed conclusion that had he known his conduct was violative of the statute, Mr. Haddow would not have been before the Court. Indeed, he appeared than and now as a person who meets all of his moral and financial obligations. While it has not been my practice to involve myself in such matters with former defendants, I believe strongly that Mr. Haddow’s case merits a Presidential Pardon in that he has demonstrated exemplary conduct since his conviction. He is an outstanding husband, father and community leader.

    * The issue centered on a single document, called a waiver, that I did not have in my possession at the time I was charged. The government claimed they could not find the document in the files at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where I worked. Given that the charge was a non-intent statute, my only defense was producing a document that I did not have access to. I plead to a narrow window of time of 10 days when the waiver document had been delayed administratively prior to its being signed.

    * After I plead to that charge, the document was produced from an official at HHS, and then subsequently validated by my superior who had signed the waiver in the first place. The Judge in the case then stated, on the record, that the waiver document completely exonerated me of the charges that had been filed against me.

    At that point, the Department of Justice completely abandoned the entire set of charges of the indictment that were based on the waiver document not having been signed, and made the highly technical argument that I had always maintained the waiver had been executed and that I had, in fact, plead guilty only to the 10 day period where the waiver did not cover me. That delay was purely administrative, and had the waiver been provided prior to the plea, the case would have been abandoned completely.

    There is a lot of rich detail that I could offer, but that is the substance of my case.

    All of this twenty-nine years ago. Since then I have worked to live my life the way it was characterized by that court probation officer.

    Repeating inaccurate information, engaging in repeating attacks and character assassination by commenters on this blog is shameful, and that shame is compounded by the fact that not a single one of you was willing to listen to me when I extended the offer to discuss the details.

    So the offer is reiterated. And Moon-Howler is the only one who knows who the rest of the commenters are, so I ask again that the attacks should stop until a meeting is convened to resolve questions that would explain why these vicious attacks should stop, or in the alternative, stop allowing them to be published if there is an unwillingness by commenters to seek the information that would rebut the premise of their criticism.

    Mac Haddow

    1. to Mac Haddow and others:

      Mac, You are mistaken. I do not know who many of my commenters are in real life. Some I do, some I do not. For instance, I know who Harry is. He signed his real name. I know who Censored is. She is a personal friend. The rest of those names you mentioned are monikers and are people who have not revealed themselves to me. If I don’t recognize a name or an email, I have no clue who they are. Hard to believe but people use fake email addresses and IP addresses change because of mobile devices.

      Let me address viciousness. Viciousness is what was done to Elena and Martha Hendley on a blog that no longer appears to exist. Viciousness is what is done on a daily basis on some of the other local blogs to individuals, county employees, elected officials, etc. I am sure you know what I am talking about. We here at Moonhowlings are pretty wimpy in the viciousness department. Check with Mom. He/She gets admonished on a regular basis if he even curls a lip. Your wife has my protection on this blog. She is a county employee.

      Now, let me address “convicted felon.” I don’t really care about Mr. Haddow’s past. I believe I have told him that. That was then, this is now. I am going to ask that everyone drop the “convicted felon” comments. Why?

      Let’s examine convicted felon as an expression. What does it really mean? It means someone who was charged and convicted of a crime that was at the felony level. That can be a lot of things, from forging an rx to being a mass murderer to accepting gifts and not declaring the gift properly, according to guidelines, like our ex-governor. It can be hit and run or manslaughter. It can be all sorts of crimes, depending on the state.

      I have a very good friend who is a convicted felon. He has served his time. It’s done. Over. If we continue to hang labels on people, even after they have repaid whatever debt to society, then why don’t we just take those individuals out in the town square and hang them? The entire convicted felon thing is what we say when we really can’t address the real problem. When does one stop being a convicted felon? Forever is a long time.

      You all might want to thank my convicted felon for his help keeping this blog running, by the way. I am flying solo now except for him. When things crash on the blog, I shoot him a text and ask him to go in and fix things. He does

      My felon, or ex felon is adored by my family and is trusted with my dogs and gkids. He is like a son or a favorite nephew to me. So let’s cut Mac a break on the convicted felon thing. Plus whatever happened (it actually sounds rather unexciting and uneventful) happened over a quarter of a century ago. I don’t blame him. I would be tired of hearing about it also. Hell, I AM tired of hearing about it and it doesn’t even have anything to do with me.

      There are so many other issues that deal with the here and now in Prince William County. Mac, some of those issues are very close to all of us, especially those of us living in the Gainesville District. Your behavior as far as budget chairman, Pete’s advisor, and dealings with county officials as an adjunct to Pete very much concern people in the county. You are a public figure. If people on this blog want to discuss anything surrounding those issues, they may have at it.

      I hope you feel that I have been fair. As long as you deal in politics in this county you are fair game, for nays and praise. Convicted felon is old news. Let’s give everyone a break on that one. That isn’t even the issue.

  26. Lyssa

    I would like to see all bloggers cease vicious personal attacks. Debating local issues is healthy. The rest isn’t. And it’s simply not nice and unflattering.
    So maybe we could agree to not call people, liars, criminals, tutu wearers, fat, and so forth. Let’s debate the issues.

    There are many who have cited local bloggers for engaging in repeated attacks and character assassination to no avail. I agree with you it’s wrong, especially where there are no records and it’s based on opinion.

  27. El Guapo

    @Lyssa, I hope you told “the Sheriff” that.

  28. El Guapo

    @Mac Haddow,

    Harry Wiggins shouldn’t be hard to find. He is the one who raised this issue. You might want to have a chat with him.

  29. Censored bybvbl

    @Mac Haddow

    Most of my comments were in reference to the PWC incumbents who desired a primary – with a bit of meandering into what I thought of suburban architecture and a news article about Hatch’s support of Candland. I then asked if the Sheriff is registered to vote in PWC. Are you saying that you’re the Sheriff?

  30. Lyssa

    El Guapo :
    @Lyssa, I hope you told “the Sheriff” that.

    I’ve tried. Several times. For well over a year now. The very few times my comments made it through I was ridiculed or called a Cory/Melissa/Marty lover. I gave up.

  31. El Guapo

    @Mac Haddow

    Mr. Haddow,

    Regarding, “So the offer is reiterated. And Moon-Howler is the only one who knows who the rest of the commenters are, so I ask again that the attacks should stop until a meeting is convened to resolve questions that would explain why these vicious attacks should stop, or in the alternative, stop allowing them to be published if there is an unwillingness by commenters to seek the information that would rebut the premise of their criticism.”

    I wish “the Sheriff” would make the same offer. There are a number of people who would like to talk to him in person about a few things he’s accused them of over the years. Can you arrange that?

    Thanks a bunch!

  32. Wendy

    I’m good. No need to meet. I can read. I never did care for either Jack Anderson or his “moral leader” Drew Peterson. Their methods were unscrupulous to say the least. Talk about an unpleasant blast from the past.

  33. LLAP

    seems to me, the real problems about this guy Mac isn’t that he’s is an ex felon from many years ago, seems more like his influence now you guys are most concerned about.

    You give him a pass if you all you do is worry about events from 25 years ago.

  34. Pat.Herve

    There are many other issues with this couple – not from 25 years ago – although the older stuff was more covered in the news. I will not go into them – but I will not be surprised if someone’s opposition research team uses the info to their advantage.

    If he wants to talk about personal attacks – maybe he can go to the SoN blog and complain over their to see if he gets more air cover.

  35. Wendy

    @LLAP

    Great point but let’s put it into perspective “…attempts to influence.” Let’s be real. Of the 400,000 or so PWC residents minus 80,000 kids, how many do you think know of him. No one showed up at the board meetings parroting the SoN. And more frequently than not on stage, the Sheriff of Nottingham has been portrayed as a cowardly schemer.

  36. Lyssa

    Moon-howler :
    I would think that the directive was to notify the GOP chairman. Funniest thing about that.
    I don’t believe in this kind of randomness.
    The likelihood that this is an accident is about as likely as me winning the big lottery ticket tonight.

    Back to the topic. I agree with your observations. Truth will out.

    1. Right wing nut jobs.

      Dear God, let the clown show begin.

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