The Atrocity at Silver Lake–

MoonHowler

 

I refer everyone to The Derecho blog spot for the full story.  The Derecho has provided excellent coverage of this horrible event, to take place next weekend.  He has included pictures and has walked the Silver Lake Park for miles, just documenting this bi-partisan outrage.

Most of us hold each of the supervisors responsible for allowing our parkland to be decimated.  (Mr. Victor was not in office when the contract was signed so he gets a pass)

This same county wants to float a bond this year for an indoor sporting area.  I think I will just vote NO.  The county made promises about Silver Lake that they have never kept.  Now, they not only haven’t provided the stewardship for Silver Lake but they also signed a contract for 4 years to allow it to be man-handled and misused.  The Lake area is already being partially destroyed, never to be returned to its pre-tough mudder state.  Trees have been cut down, trenches dug, pits excavated, and land transformed.

To those who loved Silver Lake, the death knell has rung.  Giving the OK to this event has to be just shit-for-brains stupid on every level.  Where is/was the oversight?  Prince William makes no money off of this misadventure.  Just another stupid political move by people who have no understanding of how to treat land designated for public use.  Poor governance.

Bat.Shit.Stupid.

 

Ann Wheeler declares her candidacy for Chairman of the PWC Board of Supervisors

MoonHowler

Election season has jumped ahead a year in Prince William County.  This afternoon, Ann Wheeler declared her candidacy to run for Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.  This is excellent news because Ann will be a strong candidate to run on the Democratic ticket.  The following is her press release announcing her plans to run.

Wheeler Announces Campaign for Chair, Prince William County Board of Supervisors

Haymarket – Community leader Ann Wheeler announced her candidacy Monday for the Chair – At Large, of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

Ms. Wheeler has served the public and Prince William County actively since she moved here in 2001. She has spent the last fourteen years as a NOVEC Board Member and the last two years on the Hylton Performing Arts Center Board. She recently completed a two-year term as President of the Prince William Committee of 100, a non-partisan civic organization that provides a forum to raise awareness of County issues.

During her years as Chair of the Prince William County Board of Social Services from 2010-2011, Ms. Wheeler mastered the operations of the County and its budgeting process. Ms. Wheeler attended the PWC Community Leadership Institute in the Fall of 2004. She then served on various community and civic boards over the years, including the Stonewall Middle School Advisory Council (2010-2011), Board of Social Services (2006-2011), the Shelter Lakes Homeowners Association (2004-2007), the Gainesville District Budget Committee (2005-2007) and the Prince William County School Northern Boundary Committee (2005 2006).

All these positions have all provided Ms. Wheeler with a clear perspective on how our County has tremendous opportunity that has not been realized over the last 12 years. Ms. Wheeler outlined several policy areas on which she would focus on as Chair of the Board of Supervisors to realize Prince William County’s potential: “I will be a Chair who can bring vision, leadership, integrity and inclusivity to the position. Prince William County’s reputation has declined and suffered throughout Virginia and the country with the divisive and embarrassing rhetoric under Corey Stewart’s 12 year tenure. Mr. Stewart’s limited vision and shortsightedness has left our County with some of the most overcrowded schools and worst traffic in the region. The election in 2019 must see a change in the direction we have been heading.”

“I will ensure our school system is adequately funded. The number of schools has not kept up with development. We have the largest class sizes in the state and the lowest paid teachers in the region. The Board of County Supervisors controls the funding for our schools, and they have woefully underfunded them. When elected to the Board, I will make it one of my primary missions to make sure we build the schools we need as well as pay our teachers what they deserve.”

“I will make Prince William County attractive and welcoming to large and small prospective businesses. Every four years we hear candidates’ campaign on bringing more commercial business to the county; yet our homeowners are still paying over 80% of the County real-estate taxes. This needs to change. The Board’s goal of adding only 500 jobs a year, in a county of 458,000, is shortchanging our taxpayers.”

“I will bring inclusiveness for all citizens to Prince William County. As Chair of the Board of Social Services, I developed a clear sense of the key challenges facing our large and diverse county and the issues that must be addressed. I am running for Board Chair to make sure our future for all areas of the county are bright and prosperous.”

Before moving to Prince William County with her husband, John, and their two daughters, Ann spent fifteen years working and consulting in the energy industry. She graduated from Tufts University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, specializing in Finance.

Stay tuned. We will be hearing a lot more from Ann Wheeler in the next 13 months, before she grabs her gavel and puts Prince William squarely on the map.

It looks like Corey bet on the wrong horse, he got Trumped…errrr dumped

MoonHowler

ManassasPatch.com:

WOODBRIDGE, VA — Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign is ending its relationship with state chair Corey Stewart following a Monday afternoon protest event at the RNC headquarters.

Stewart was promoting his busy day just minutes before news broke that the campaign would replace him over the event.

“Tons of interviews today on behalf of Mr. Trump,” Stewart wrote on Facebook on Monday afternoon. “Then, I went to start a rebellion against GOP establishment pukes who betrayed Trump.”

It wasn’t long after that post that news broke of his exit from the campaign.

“He is being replaced, effective immediately,” said Trump Deputy Campaign Manager David Bossie in a campaign statement. “Corey made this decision when he staged a stunt in front of the RNC without the knowledge or approval of the Trump campaign.”

It sounds like Corey was being a good soldier and he got dumped.   I don’t feel sorry for him at all.

Now the Republicans should dump him for excusing horrible behavior and for staging a rebellion of sorts. What is going on here?  Stay tuned.

Read more from  Washingtonpost.com.

Corey Stewart: You will never get the Stench of Trump off you

MoonHowler

stench2

RichmondTimesDispatch.com:

Corey Stewart, chairman of Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign and a 2017 GOP hopeful for governor, stood by the Republican presidential nominee Friday night after his crude comments about women provoked a firestorm.

Stewart’s defense of Trump stood in stark contrast to the condemnation from two other 2017 GOP hopefuls for governor, Ed Gillespie and Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st.

Asked about the condemnation of Trump by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Stewart, called them “establishment pukes” and said they want Democrat Hillary Clinton to win.

“What do you expect from the Republican establishment,” said Stewart, a Prince William County supervisor. “They want him to lose and they want the other establishment candidate — Hillary Clinton, to win.”

Stewart said the economy “is heading into the gutter and we’re supposed to vote for president based on some locker room statements by Mr. Trump? I think people are smarter than that.

“He’s not an angel — he’s not a pope. We’re voting for president of the United States. When we nominated him we knew he wasn’t a saint, but he’s probably the only person who can change its direction.”

 

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Maureen Caddigan: The adult in the room

MoonHowler

2012 Official Portrait Supervisor Caddigan

Bristowbeat.com:

When the Prince William Board of County Supervisors meet again on Aug. 3, they will vote on whether or not to grant the school board $1 million for class size reduction.

The agreement is contingent upon the school division matching that $1 million with its own $1 million for class size reduction, but not signing upon the school board signing a memorandum of agreement.

Potomac Supervisor, Maureen Caddigan, who proposed the legislation, is willing to approve it even without the MOA. She hopes it will gain support of enough supervisors to pass next week.

At the July 12 Board of County Supervisors meeting, Caddigan withdrew the motion to vote on the $1 million for class size reduction after supervisors disagreed on whether the grant should be accompanied by a the signing of the MOA.

Supervisors Jeanine Lawson (Brentsville-R), Peter Candland (Gainesville-R) and Ruth Anderson (Coles-R) said the supervisors should require the school board put the agreement in writing. With Chairman Corey Stewart (R) and Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi (R) absent, it would have likely been a tie vote.

 
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PWC Schools turf wars

MoonHowler

From Prince William Times:

Issue leads to turf war among board members

By Hillary Chester
© Prince William Times / Apr. 13, 2016

Prince William County School board members fight over who calls the shots when it comes to visiting another member’s district.

Overstepping and a lack of interest by Prince William County School Board members regarding the Godwin Middle School name change were addressed at the board’s April 6 meeting.

Following the March 2 vote to rename Godwin after George M. Hampton, PWCS Chairman Ryan Sawyers, PWCS Occoquan Representative Lillie Jessie, and PWCS Neabsco Representative Diane Raulston met with Godwin faculty. The March 10 meeting focused on the name change and implementation. No information from that meeting has been released.

Godwin is in the Neabsco district and is represented by Raulston.

Community member Diana Allen spoke during the school board meeting’s Citizen’s Time on April 6. She said Raulston did not serve the Godwin community.

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Candland aligns himself with the hector, heckle and harass blog

MoonHowler

Pete Candland needs to not try to peddle the notion that he doesn’t have anything to do with the Sheriff of Nottingham blog. His guest editorial certainly tips his hand.

He never asked me for guest editorial space. I would have probably said yes. I would think if he wanted to get his message out he would have asked Al, Greg, Derecho and me for guest privileges.

While I don’t agree with him on many things and I would put the usual disclaimer, I think it’s important as an elected official not to align one’s self with a blog that is critical of so many local officials and public servants in such an unkind and cruel way.

Pete, ask the next time.  You might be surprised at what we actually do agree on.   (hint:  when are we getting supervisors’ votes  recorded online???)

It’s important that we work together as a community.

 

A fond farewell to Supervisor Mike May

MoonHowler

mike may
Supervisor Mike May will be leaving the Board of County Supervisors. His colleagues and other members of the community spoke highly of Mike, some tearfully.

Mike will be sorely missed. I might not have always agreed with him about every issue but I can never criticize the quiet, thoughtful demeanor he exhibited on the board.

Mike was not always predictable. Sometimes you didn’t know how he was going to vote on an issue. You could always be assured that he put great thought into each issue. He will be missed and hopefully his replacement will come to the table ready to serve the county as well as Mike May has.

Greg Reynolds gets it right!

MoonHowler

Greg Reynolds called out Pete Candland and Jeanine Lawson over their budget machanations. How many more times are they going to waste valuable staff time by “tweaking” the budget?

The majority of people in PWC approve of the 3.88% budget. Pete and Jeanine, give it up. Listen to Greg. He has been around a long time and is a very wise man.

The BOCS needs to pass the 3.88% budget without further ado.

Where were the thundering hordes?

MoonHowler

As I watched speaker after speaker go to the podium in the Supervisors chambers last night, requesting that the BOCS advertise a tax rate high enough to support the 5 year plan, I questioned my own sanity.  Where were the thundering hordes of people I had heard about?  You know, those people who wanted the tax rate frozen at some ridiculously low figure that would pretty much halt most progress in Prince William County.

Our house-mate suggested that I must have been listening to talking hand  sock puppets–that old propaganda trick of making people think that there were a lot more people out there than really exist.  Sometime after 9 pm, a lone man got up and asked for a 1.3% rise in taxes.  Actually, I think he thought that was even too much.  He was also plenty irate about the budget sheet that got sent home with each school kid.  I wonder if he got irate last year and the year before that?

Sending materials home with students is the main way the school system communicates between school and home.  It always has been.  Just because we live in an age of technology doesn’t mean that all parents have computers.  Even in households with computers, often the computers were bought for the kids to help them with their studies (forget enhancing their social life).  I don’t think some of our middle and upper middle class residents understand that everyone isn’t just like them.

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Lawson and Candland: F in diplomacy

MoonHowler

Insidenova.com:

A weekend meeting between the Prince William Board of Supervisors and school board to discuss budget challenges devolved into bickering over a flier about the school division’s “current budget challenge,” sent home with students last week.

The meeting, held Saturday at the Buckhall Volunteer Fire Station in Manassas, was called ahead of Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting, when the board will vote to advertise a tax rate for fiscal year 2016, which begins July 1.

By law, once supervisors approve an advertised tax rate, they can vote to reduce the rate but cannot raise it.

The vote is important for Prince William County’s 95 public schools, which receive about 45 percent of their funding from local real-estate taxes.

Under controversial “budget guidance,” approved by supervisors in December, local tax bills would rise 1.3 percent next year – or the inflation rate as defined by the Consumer Price Index. The move would mean an $11 million reduction in expected revenue to the school division for the 2015-16 school year.

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Pre-election prognostications

MoonHowler

This upcoming supervisors race is getting increasingly amusing.  Some of it is very predictable.  Some of it, not so much.

I hear things. I never tell names and tales in the same breath.  It cuts off your source of information.  Information is gold to a blogger.  You can use it wisely and prudently or you can shot-gun it all over the place and blow folks out of the water.  I have seen both.  I try to follow the former rather than the latter path.

I find it laughable that the same person ran his own strong-arm candidate acquisition scam.   I think about 20 people got strong armed.  Not many people have the stomach for this game so many just said no.

It appeared that there would be one Republican candidate and one Democratic candidate for the BOCS chair.  Then along came a rival, yapping at Corey heels.  I question the wisdom of  Candland support so early in the game.  That sends a clear message to the current chairman that Pete Candland is an adversary and doesn’t plan to work with Corey at all.  Candland might as well have declared war.  Why would you want to send that message, just out of curiosity?  Is that smart to show your cards that early in the game to someone of the same party, sitting on the same board?

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Budget work session part 2: untelevised at Buckhall Fire Department

MoonHowler

buckhall

The next budget work session will be this coming Saturday at the Buckhall Fire Department on Yates Ford Road.  It will probably be a  lot more comfortable and a lot more homelike for the supervisors and staff.  I am not so sure it will reach more people.  In fact, I am betting it reaches fewer.

The session cannot be broadcast.  The only possible broadcast must be from the board chambers.  The meeting cannot be changed back to the chambers because it has already been advertised for the Buckhall Fire Department.

I felt the session last Saturday was very informative.  Even though the session ended early because of the horrible weather, I felt like I was coming away with a lot better knowledge of how the county worked.  I am so sorry the decision was made to hold part 2 in another location.

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BOCS budget work session: Saturday February 21, 2015

MoonHowler

This budget work session is extremely informative about the various county initiatives.  It is important enough that it deserves its own thread.

Why are these programs essential?  Which programs have perhaps outlived their usefulness?

First, the BOCS should be commended for sitting in the board room to do this exercise, even though there were more comfortable places to hold this session.  The board room is the only place to have the meeting televised.

I am very disappointed that Supervisors Candland and Lawson aren’t voting on line items.  They disapproved of the process so they are currently abstaining from voting.  They didn’t get their own way.

The budget work session is preliminary screening.  It isn’t a forever vote.   I feel not voting is obstructionism.  Let’s all see how EVERYONE votes.

Hopefully we will keep getting reports from inside the meeting. The board room is not packed to the gills.  (from what I can tell.)  Good crowd but I see several open seats.

WTF? 1.3% –The shame of Prince William County

MoonHowler

Or let’s put it another way–Prince William County, you cheap bastards.

Today I listened to the budget presentation from the  Tuesday night BOCS meeting. I was appalled.  Tonight I looked at it online.   The new budget sickened me.

Prince William County is not a poor county made up of poor folks.  It is quite wealthy and has a lot going for it.    It’s also, by Northern Virginia standards, a fairly affordable place to live.  So why are some people, especially those in my district, clamoring for lower taxes?

For that matter, why would our Board of Supervisors agree to make libraries the untouchables in a draconian budget slashing caper?  Why would money be taken away from the performing arts? Why would poor children be denied dental services and drug rehab programs be eradicated?  It isn’t even our poor and most vulnerable who will lose services.  It’s everyone.

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