Trotting out the Past

MoonHowler

Time to trot out some of the 9500 Liberty videos that document the evil manner in which Chief Deane was treated.   It appears that a few of our contributors have forgotten or never knew what really happened.  Here, irate citizens demand an apology to the chief:

9500 Liberty tried to give Corey Stewart an opportunity to clarify his position on the Chief Deane issue.  To give Corey  the benefit of the doubt, it appears that he wasn’t after Chief Deane’s head; he was only helping his friend Greg go after Chief Deane’s head. (if we take him at his word)

One has to ask the important question:  WHY?  What was in it for Greg to make the ill-advised move  to go after a well-respected community leader?    Why would Corey risk the ire of his colleagues on the BOCS to turn their emails to him over to a blog owner?  Why would Corey alienate his constituents by allowing a popular county icon like Chief Deane to be attacked?  Who was controlling the strings?

 

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Corey Stewart Reinvents Prince William County

MoonHowler

How nice that the Democrats will get some free publicity out of this post. Is Corey willingly helping out the Democrats now? How odd. Strange also that he appears on Channel 5 on Cinco de Mayo. Was that planned?

Corey starts off on a good note and quickly dissolves into the usual exaggerations we have come to know and expect. He speaks of Prince William County as a boom town and touts the housing sales as a plus. He throws the School Board under the bus, again.

The 37% drop in violent crime stated by Corey leaves me speechless. Where is this statistic from?

Supposedly 1,500 illegal aliens have been deported, according to Corey. Where can I verify this statement? Do we know that deportations have taken place? What part of the illegal immigrant resolution provides for removing 1,500 illegal aliens? Isn’t that a seperate program, the 287(g) program at the jail?

How does the immigration resolution relate to illegal aliens leaving or not committing crimes? I haven’t figured out the cause/effect relationship here. Again, help me understand this. Did they leave or did they not commit crimes? If they left, could that have caused the housing foreclosure problem?

I am still trying to figure out how a house selling for 1/3 of what it would have sold for 2-3 years ago helps me and why I should be wildly excited.

After listening to Corey Stewart this morning, I thought that I was no longer living in Prince William County.

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore, I guess.

Maybe there really is a man behind the curtain.

County Eyes Federal Immigration Policies

MoonHowler

 

Apparently Prince William County is keeping a watchful eye on the White House and its policy on immigration, since President Obama took office, according to the News and Messenger.  What is being specifically watched is whether the 287(g) program will continue to be supported under the department of homeland security.  Certain supervisors fear that the program will lose its federal funding and basically cease to exist.  And if 287(g) is no longer funded as part of ICE, that leaves PWC without its program. 

 

The article includes a brief explanation of how the county partners with the federal government:

 

The 287(g) program is how the county jail and police partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to apprehend and process those with criminal backgrounds. Since July 2007, ICE has issued 1,606 detainers for those arrested in the county and 1,506 have been processed, according to county statistics received last week.  

The two supervisors who are most tied to the federal program are Chairman Corey Stewart and Gainesville supervisor John Stirrup.    Stewart explained the possible ramifications: 

 

“This is what I think is going to happen,” said Corey Stewart, R-at large, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, looking at the national scene. “I think the administration is going to shift its enforcement focus from illegal immigration to the employer.”

Moreover, he continued, depending on federal budget decisions, the 287(g) program could lose funding. And if that happens, its fate in Prince William is jeopardized.

“If they defund it, it stops our program dead in the water,” Stewart said, rating the chances for such to occur at 50 percent. “It’s just based on the budget and the [actions of] Democrat members of Congress.”

A GAO report and Congressional testimony call for tighter control over the 287(g) program.  According to the written testimony of March 14 of Richard Stana, director of Homeland Security and Justice, to the House Committee on Homeland Security:

Specifically … guidance on how and when to use program authority is inconsistent, guidance on how ICE officials are to supervise officers from participating agencies has not been developed, data that participating agencies are to track and report to ICE has not been defined and … taken together, the lack of internal controls makes it difficult for ICE to ensure that the program is operating as intended,”

Stana’s statements were linked to a January GAO report entitled, Immigration Enforcement: Controls over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws Should Be Strengthened

John Stirrup also expressed his concerns to the News and Messenger:

“I’m hearing the administration is going to use these [GAO] studies as a basis for defunding or reducing the 287(g) program locally,” said Supervisor John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, who was the original author of the county’s immigration enforcement policy. “We could seek assistance from the state … but it could be problematic.”

Meanwhile, county elected officials will probably have to take the wait and see approach.  Many local government people have quietly suggested that the problem with these federal programs is the very thing these 2 supervisors seemed to fear.  PWC has put much time, money and reputation into these programs.  At any minute, the Feds could pull the plug.  Should that happen, everything goes up in smoke.  All the training and county resources dry up and there is not plan to deal with criminal illegal immigrants.  Manassas City, who also participates in 287 (g) at the jail, was not quoted. 

Perhaps this county ought to look at a new motto:  Only fund and pay for that over which you have total control.

 (Just a thought….)

 

 

 

 

Corey Stewart Scoffs at Stimulus Money

MoonHowler

Stimulus money is beginning to arrive in Prince William County thanks to the efforts of Congressman Gerald Connolly. So far, $1.1 million dollars has been secured for the Greater Prince William Community Health center. $19.1 million has also been designated for Prince William County Schools. $530,000 in additional law enforcement funding is also slated to come our way.

Supervisor Frank Principi elaborated that the center treated 4,000 patients in 2008, 75% of whom were uninsured. This year, if trends continue, the clinic will see 7,000 patients. Principi is executive director of the clinic.

Officials in Prince William County have a long laundry list of needs drawn up to help offset the economic crunch which threatens to cripple the county. County legislative affairs director Dana Fenton indicated that his office has a list of priorities totaling $371 million. This wish list contains requests for money for law enforcement, roads, and neighborhoods impacted by foreclosure issues, to name a few projects that will go unfunded without stimulus money.

Chairman of the BOS, Corey Steward, has dismissed the incoming money according to the Washington Post:

But Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said he wasn’t impressed, dismissing the stimulus money allocated so far as “a drop in the bucket.” Residents will be shortchanged if Connolly, who entered Congress two months ago, doesn’t secure at least $50 million for county schools, he said.

“Our county is the ninth wealthiest in the country and pays a lot of income tax,” Stewart said. “This is going to be a test as to how much pull Gerry Connolly has inside his own party.”

Stewart didn’t spare Connolly criticism for the allocation to Principi’s health center, either. “It looks suspicious that his friend and ally has been given $1.1 million in federal money to help pay his salary,” he said.

But Connolly said Stewart “can’t have it both ways.” His office provided a copy of a Feb. 9 letter from Stewart thanking Connolly for working to relieve traffic congestion through stimulus funding.

“I think Mr. Stewart’s time would be better spent writing my Republican colleagues and urging them to vote for a stimulus bill he now wants me to bring home the bacon from,” Connolly said. The former Fairfax County chairman was the only Prince William representative to vote for the stimulus, as Reps. Frank R. Wolf, Robert J. Wittman and every other House Republican opposed it.

A “drop in the bucket?” Is Stewart serious? Stewart has always shown himself to be the quintessential opportunistic politician but this is a bit much. That cool $19.1 million to the schools will provide just under 300 new teachers, just as an example of what Stewart thinks is a drop in the bucket is.

He also implies that Frank Principi is profiting from the federal money. This is the first time I have ever heard of obtaining what is the equivalent of grant money being a bad thing. Perhaps Corey Stewart should consider that every penny that comes into the country from the state of federal level pays HIS salary. Wasn’t he looking for grant money this time last year? Let’s see…something about dashboard cameras?

Prince William County needs to grab up every penny of federal stimulus money it possibly can. Corey Stewart needs to stop with the political shenanigans and just act like an adult without political motive every time a microphone is shoved in his face. He appears to be rude and ungrateful. Congressman Connolly needs to be thanked both in writing and in general conversation. He is dismissing this money much the same way he dismissed the millions he planned to spend on the Immigration Resolution.

Prince William County Foreclosure Rates in Comparison to Surrounding Jurisdictions

Alanna

According to this chart from the George Mason Regional Analysis Center, Prince William County Foreclosure Rates are OFF THE CHART in comparison to surrounding jurisdictions. WTOP news is reporting Prince William property values have dropped more than double of Fairfax County and slightly more than double of Loudoun County.
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Corey, now is your opportunity to put your “money where your mouth is” , I know you want to!

Elena

Here is the perfect opportunity, for Corey, to implement his new found direction, away from the divisiveness of immigration and towards rebuilding our community.  In the Washington Post today, the article focuses on the business license requirements in Prince William County.

Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles), a small-business owner who expressed reservations about the business license requirement last year, said it could put Prince William at a competitive disadvantage because people in other counties can apply for their certification online or by mail.

“Anything that makes it harder to do business or adds an additional burden to small-business owners is fundamentally unfair,” he said.

Prince William’s ordinance went into effect July 1. The county issued 286 licenses last year. In January, it issued 148 licenses.

Mark Klein, another accountant whose clients are upset about the new law, said the policy strikes him as anti-business and is inconsistent with the county’s objective to promote economic growth.

As we can so easily recall, only yesterday, Corey was sharing his new found direction for the county.

Stewart’s approach is to push Republicans away from their emphasis on social issues and back in the direction of pocketbook concerns. Stewart, once the leading voice on tackling immigration, now carries a mantra of lower taxes to gatherings of statewide Republicans, to lawmakers in Richmond and to the board chambers where he helps guide county policy. And he has championed it in a manner unfamiliar to many who clashed with him on immigration.

You know the old saying Corey, ” you can’t turn the page, until you’ve read the one you are on”. It will be impossible to “turn the page on immigration”, unless and until, you deal with the consequences the various policies and your rhetoric have reaped upon our community. Repealing this measure is your chance to demonstrate your intentions to lead this county in a new direction, focusing on the issues that most of us care about–our long term fiscal health, our schools, and our ability to attract a great commercial base so that we are not dependent on our real estate taxes to thrive.

Stewart Softens Tone, Part 2

MoonHowler

Consider the following quote from the Washington Post:

 

Stewart’s approach is to push Republicans away from their emphasis on social issues and back in the direction of pocketbook concerns. Stewart, once the leading voice on tackling immigration, now carries a mantra of lower taxes to gatherings of statewide Republicans, to lawmakers in Richmond and to the board chambers where he helps guide county policy. And he has championed it in a manner unfamiliar to many who clashed with him on immigration.

“Some people like a combative politician,” Stewart said. “More like the politician who gets things done. That’s the superior qualification. That’s what I want to be known for.”

Last year, Stewart boasted that statewide and local lawmakers needed someone to “beat up on them.” That tone is gone.

“I’ve gradually learned that the role of the chairman is as consensus-builder, and that’s something that has not been a strong suit for me,” said Stewart, 40, who represented the Occoquan District on the board before being elected chairman. “My mind-set has changed a little bit. When you are a district supervisor, it’s easy to be a bomb-thrower and not worry about the consequences.”

 

 

Did he say consequences?  What consequences have happened to our county since Corey Stewart ran for office? 

 “Beat up on” the local lawmakers?   He has to be kidding.  I remember the chest-thumping and knuckle dragging from the video where he speaks to HSM.  He was a real tough guy.  Was that all an act?  Or did he want to gather in some new Republicans and get their votes? 

BVBL reports that Corey is not a liberal and it is all Washington Post spin.  Is there anyone who walked away from that article thinking Kirsten Mack was implying Corey had become a liberal?

Let’s continue yesterday’s conversation.

 

Stewart Calls for Fire Department Audits

MoonHowler

Many of us were left confused and baffled by the recent events with the Gainesville Fire Department several weeks ago. Most of us, unfamiliar with the hierarchy involved with the Prince William County hybrid system of firefighter, were left scratching our respective heads over how a chief could move his family into the firehouse, set up his own fiefdom, use county funds to support the fiefdom, and basically have no accountability to the taxpayers via the county employees or BOCS.

Similarly, some of us wondered how the BOCS could not have known about the apparent violations of power and authority going on at Gainesville Fire Department. How accountable are they for this mess? How come the Gainesville Supervisor knew nothing about these rather unconventional practices, or did he?

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Robb Pearson Joins AntiBVBL Discussion of Anti-immigrant Psychology — Rick B. and Michael Beg to Differ

Elena

Update: Today Robb Pearson, featured in the videos below, joined the conversation and answered a host of questions and comments from Anti posters. Thanks Robb for your insights into anti-illegal immigrant psychology.

For those not familiar with Robb Pearson’s story, you should watch the Part 1 before Part 2.  In Part 1 Robb tells us how a hunger for attention prompted his transition from popular blogger to infamous anti-illegal immigrant activist.  His honesty here sheds some light on the psychology of Greg Letiecq, whom he briefly references in this part of the interview.

But Part 2 contains a surprising revelation about the anti-illegal immigration mindset.  If you think you understand the mindset now, you will understand it differently after watching this.


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“The High Cost of Harsh Words” a NYTimes editorial

Elena

Recently, a tragic story, has come to epitomize the need to find common ground and solutions for comprehensive immigration reform. There has been talk on AntiBVBL, round and round, about what constitutes hate, how racism is defined, and how words contribute to hate and a growing sense of anger and resentment toward Latinos as an immigrant population. This editorial from the New York Times sheds some light on a community, enveloped by fear and anger until the final culmination, an innocent man’s death, requires us all to acknowledge the truth.  There is a dangerous outcome that lurks beneath the surface of misleading people believe that Hispanics are somehow deserving of punishment.

I am sad to say the description below of Suffolk County executive Steve Levy reminds me of our own Corey Stewart and his rhetoric — rhetoric I urged him numerous times to alter, and bring some healing to our community. He ignored me, as he ignored many others during the most volatile times in Prince William County.

Words have consequences. Steve Levy, the Suffolk County executive, is learning that the hard way during a horrible week. Seven teenagers were arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing last Saturday of Marcello Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, on a street in the Long Island village of Patchogue.

Mr. Levy’s past harsh words and actions against undocumented workers have now left him cornered with a tragically limited ability to lead the county in confronting a brutal act that surely pains him as much as anyone.

Local lawmakers often complain about immigration, but Mr. Levy went much farther than most. He founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns. He went on “Lou Dobbs.” He tried to deputize county police to make immigration arrests and to rid the county work force of employees without papers. He sought to drive day laborers from local streets, yet rigidly opposed efforts to create hiring sites. Even as tensions simmered in places like Farmingville, a hot spot for anti-immigrant resentment, Mr. Levy would not budge.

He parroted extremist talking points, going so far as to raise the alarm, utterly false, that illegal immigrants’ “anchor babies” were forcing Southampton Hospital to close its maternity ward. He denounces racist hatred, yet his words have made him a hero in pockets of Long Island where veins of racism run deep.

All that came back to haunt Mr. Levy this week, when an evil act underscored the need to draw together. Immigrant advocates assailed him for having poisoned the atmosphere. Some called for his resignation. With tactless self-pity, Mr. Levy complained to Newsday that the killing would have been a one-day story anywhere but his home turf. He laments that people overlook his recent, far more measured tone on the issue. He insists that people have a distorted picture of him. Mr. Levy needs to realize that distortions cut both ways.

Stewart’s Sabotage of McCain in PWC

Alanna

Chairman Stewart,
It was not the illegal immigration issue that hurt John McCain in Prince William County it WAS YOU. You were unable to set aside your differences with McCain and work for the common good of the party. You were supposed to be campaigning for McCain, instead the day before the election you’re tearing him down talking about his mistakes and what he should have done. In fact, you sounded defeated in the comments that you made on TooConservative.net. I’d suggest watching what the Democrats were doing on Monday night. They obviously energized their electorate. Guess what, that was your job to do but nothing that I’ve seen remotely suggests that you even attempted to do that.

Republicans should be asking themselves whether or not Chairman Stewart worked on behalf of the Party to elect John McCain or if his disagreement with him on the issue of ‘illegal immigration’ caused him to sabotage McCain’s campaign in Prince William. Personally, I tend to believe this argument holds some credence and apparently I’m not the only one.

From TooConservative.net, we have the following:

First,

As a PWC Republican I’ve been dismayed at your failure to show the level of support for the McCain-Palin Ticket that is so vital in PWC.
If McCain doesn’t Win PWC why shouldn’t us Republican’s in PWC not hold a Recall?
– PWConservative

And secondly,

Mr. Stewart-
I have to say I agree with PW Conservative. Although I have never met you personally, every quote I have seen from you lately in the press has been negative about our ticket i.e. McCain hasn’t focused enough on illegal immigration and it will hurt him and McCain didn’t give me a big enough role at his rally. How can you justify such tepid support? As “The Preiminent Northern Virginia Republican” (I believe this is also a self-appointed title by you), we need your full support, not your snipping and backbiting. Please take the opportunity to defend yourself if I am being unfair here.
– Huh?

Followed by Chairman Stewart’s responses:

Gus,
I believe the McCain campaign could have piggy backed on that success by more closely aligning itself with the PWC Board and our crackdown on illegal immigration. It chose not to do so. I think that was a mistake given that the local voters rewarded the Board with reelection after we imposed the crackdown. I understand that McCain has a national electorate and has decided to avoid the illegal immigration issue on a national level. This will, however, hurt him in PWC tomorrow.
– Corey Stewart

All Eyes are on the PWC Budget

MoonHowler

The BOCS Halloween Financial Retreat begins today. Instead of going to some swanky place to convene, to their credit, the PWC BOCS are staying put and doing their work right at County Complex.

Their task is daunting. Running a county on a $190 million dollar shortfall is not for the faint of heart nor for one with a personal agenda. Pre-released agenda documents pretty much spelled out how dire the situation is.

At root of the financial problem is the huge, disproportionate amount of foreclosures in PWC. Each foreclosure lowers the property values of the houses around it. Many people have seen an almost 50% drop in the value of their home in the past 2 years.

The loss of value of the homes naturally changes the property tax assessments. As if things weren’t bad enough, sales tax receipts have dropped for 5 months in a row. The county is hurting.

Each county department was directed to create a budget with 10%, 20%, and 30% cuts. Looking through the documents, there were some extremely severe cuts. All eyes will be on the public safety departments first.

According to the Washington Post:

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Finally, Corey speaks his heart, it’s about ethnicity, NOT illegal

adultgirl

“The resolution is clearly working,” said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. “It is driving down the non-English-speaking portion of the schools and saving us millions of dollars. They’re going to other jurisdictions and costing them money.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702432.html?hpid=topnews

So, Corey finally speaks his mind!  How does he know who is “illegal” and who is “legal”?   But one thing we know for sure, we sure are happy to be rid of THOSE children!

How does he factually arrive at his number of saving millions?  Has the school system given him that number of 6 million saved, or wait, let me just throw this nugget out, maybe, just maybe, it was his buddy Greg whispering in his ear.  

What I wonder is though, why isn’t Corey also taking responsibility for the added financial stress this county is in compared to surrounding counties?  I guess all these families must have been homeless and never bought any good or services in Prince William.