City Council elections: Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

MoonHowler

damn witch pic

I guess it’s time for me to dig out my bard hat for a few comments about the council election.  Manassas City elections are upon us and the usual actor are ….well, acting out.  As usual, my city owls are flying out to the county with election info.  Whhhoooooo is going to win?  There seems to be little eye of newt in this one.

flying owl 2

Apparently several someone’s are pissed off because all over town people are supporting Ken Elston(D) and Patricia Richie-Folks(D) along with Sheryl Bass(R).  It appears that the City folks are really bi-partisan in their sentiments this year.  Perhaps it is about ideas rather than party?  Meanwhile, “the other Republican” and his buddies are calling people liars and barbs are being thrown on several different facebook pages.

Apparently the guy who isn’t even running,  Mark Wolfe, is getting the blame for all the Republican discontent.  When in doubt, blame Mark.  I seem to remember clearly that “the other Republican” supported an independent last time, rather than Wolfe.  If you have forgotten, check it out here on The Conscience of a King link.  So I have to ask…why is it OK for Mr. Aveni to support someone off the R ticket and it’s not OK for Mr. Wolfe to do it?  Are there two sets of rules?

I have even heard some Republicans have advocated bullet-voting for “the other Republican.”   Does that sound like someone is running scared?   Bullet voting would be only voting the  one  candidate, rather than for a slate of 3 candidates.

Marc, what goes around, comes around.  Maybe you just brought yourself some bad Karma   last election cycle.   I expect Mark Wolfe is supporting you like you supported him.  I distinctly remember an all-out effort to railroad Mark Wolfe off the council.  It just didn’t work.  If memory serves me, Mark Wolfe captured the most votes of all three candidates.   That fact alone speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, I think I will weigh in on the Bass/Elston/Richie-Folks card.  That seems to be the winning moderate ticket.  I have pretty much had it with extremists.  Extremists don’t make very good neighbors.

Manassas City Theater in the Round: Epilogue

MoonHowler

Manassas City Theater in the Round: Epilogue

The election has come and gone, but the theater continues. Those who have lost the most, try not to “wawl and cry” nor “mewl and puke” and instead have chosen to spin with much “pride, pomp , and circumstance,”  the post-election eulogy of their effort.  Much mirth we draw (not to mention laughter) in watching those who made such a noise for their chosen slate, try to salvage a faux victory from what is in fact a stunning defeat.

In some ways, the silence is deafening so, again, rather than charge into the fray, we have chosen to give our “ thoughts no tongue” for a time, let the dust settle, gather numerous perspectives on the election results, and develop what we believe to be a much clearer picture of what happened, and, what it all means.

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Spotlight on the Lady: Class Act

MoonHowler

 

 

Much has been made of the intrigue the past few weeks on the various alliances and coalitions in the city election process.  Now that the dust is settling, we would like to salute the hot pink campaign, run by supporters of Sheryl Bass.  Actually, Ms. Bass didn’t run.  Her friends ran her as a write-in campaign.  Sheryl Bass supported the Republican ticket.   At last count, Ms. Bass received 1052  997 [Ed. Note:  correction given this afternoon]  votes and her name didn’t even appear on the ballot!  That means that Ms. Bass came in 4th without her running and without her name appearing on the ballot.

Ms. Bass should be proud.  She has good friends, the support and respect of  her community, and the friends of Ms. Bass did things the right way.  Several movers and shakers of this campaign had to resign from their political party to run the campaign.  THEY did the right thing.  Will they be readmitted?  Time will tell.  They knew the rules.  They followed them.  The Sheryl Bass campaign made a fine showing at the polls and everyone  showed a lot of class.

Ms. Bass has served her community and will be an invaluable resource for all the elected officials to turn to when they need advice and help.  A toast of our finest ale to Lady Bass and her ever- classy campaign.

 

The Conscience of a King, Act IV

Angelina_Apr

The Conscience of a King, Act IV:     The Final Act?

As we enter act IV of our play, a few minor happenings in the wings are worth noting. Please consider these, as we make a few scenery changes behind the curtain, in preparation for act IV.

Late yesterday, we received reports from our ever vigilant roving ‘Howlings reporters. First one in was a report of hot pink flyers being delivered to homes and handed out at spots throughout the city. These flyers encouraged voters to “Write-In Sheryl  Bass” on the front, and gave a very detailed listing of her very impressive record of service to the citizens. No attacks on the other candidates. Just a positive plea by the campaign to consider Bass, as they head to the polls. We Howler ladies have to say, the way this campaign has been conducted reflects the grace and poise that Bass herself has exhibited over the years. Classy. Very Classy.  

Contrast this with a very nasty piece put out by some anonymous pitchfork bearer (or would that be pitchforker?)   that was delivered to other residents of the city. This nasty piece, full of errors and negative-spin, did nothing but attack Mark Wolfe. What we find downright hilarious is the flyer asked voters to pull the lever for Lovejoy, “Carnahan”, Way. (Is this like pull the joystick for the non-existent candidate?)

Last up, a flyer we assume was produced by Doug Brown, because it is being distributed by ABTF and linked to at bvbl, while better written, has its own bit o’ spin: Jerry Carman’s business experience has risen from that of middle management to the “corner office with a view”: He claims Carman “Managed a Fortune 500 Company”.  And what company might that be, that he was president or Chief Executive Officer of? But when you are nothing but the “Alleluia Chorus” for the House Aveni, credibility and intellectual honesty are minor considerations.

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The Conscience of King: Act III

MoonHowler

The Conscience of a King, Act III: The Campaign

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts….

                                                              WS

In today’s act, we hope to bring you to present day. After all, We appreciate your rapt attention as we’ve recounted the events leading up to this act, and we held a brief intermission to let Saturday’s retail politicking occur. We’re glad we did! ‘Moonhowlings reporters delivered a trove of info, which shoned a fair bit more light upon the stage.  Just a little bit more recounting, and perhaps a flash-back or two and we promise you quite an entertaining Act 3 of this play. We think a line from Hamlet, Act II, Scene II best describes today’s performance: 

The Play’s the thing! Wherein we’ll catch the conscience of a King!

Flashback to the beginning of February.  Rewind time.  The Carman campaign explodes on the scene, and his signs are first to appear on the set. No one seemed to notice that his signs violated the “30 days prior to the general election” law, or that they lacked the “paid for any authorized by” statement required on each sign, both minor breaches of election law. (Do any rules matter to this crowd?) What people noticed was how many sprang up in a matter of days, like dandelions,  and in whose yards they were now prominently displayed. Reports flowed in to ‘Howlings from far afield. Many were in the yards of known uber-conservative activists,  most of whom we believe attended the convention. Of particular note, we had a report that Dan Arnold, founder of the Manassas Tea Party, had a sign in his yard. We know he attended the convention: he delivered candidate Ian Lovejoy’s nomination speech.  

The speed in which the Carman camp became organized was surprising, especially when you consider his complete lack of previous engagement in local city politics. He must have had one fine handler.  Was he provided very targeted lists? Were introductions and meet-and-greets being held? It certainly would appear so. Could this support be coming solely from the Tea Party, or was he receiving help from some members of the political nobility?  Perhaps his campaign was a joint effort of nobility and tea. 

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The Conscience of the King, Act II: The Convention

MoonHowler

 

“Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,–
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Conscience of the King, Act II: The Convention

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”.  MacBeth, Act IV, Scene I

Yesterday, we Howlets set the stage for what may well prove to be the greatest community (political) theater we’ve seen in years. Just to recap:

-Jerry Carman, Independent uber-conservative materializes out of the mist, and begins a shadow campaign.

-Doug Brown launches “A Bridge Too Far” (ABTF) and begins catapulting [Rhetorical and Theatrical license here] everything from “severed heads” to “diseased cattle” over the MGOP castle walls, and engages in verbal sword-play with GOP chairman Steve “By the Books”Thomas.

-Baroness Aveni,  inadvertently exposes her husband’s support of the usurper, Jerry Carman. (Out, out damn spot!)

So let us now take you back to the convention held on January 28th, 2012. Before doing so, we need to say that neither of us is a member of either party’s “machinery”.  Some of the “in’s and out’s” of convention politics are very difficult to decipher, and it took quite a bit of research to figure out just exactly what happened. That said, we feel pretty confident that our account is fairly accurate.   The up side is that, we have the scenarios from so many sources.

The way a convention works is people sign up to be “delegates,”  by filling out a form.  My dog Stoney used to get one in the mail each year.  Often those who want to run for office will get his or her supporters to fill out the  convention form so they can go vote for that person.  This form is returned by a specific date, and the MGOP checks the applicants to make sure they are eligible to vote in Manassas elections. That’s it.  Anyone who is an eligible City of Manassas voter can attend, according to the laws of Virginia. Once all the forms are collected and checked, a list is compiled and given to each campaign.

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The Little City Theater in the Round: The Conscience of a King, Act I

Angelina_Apr

There’s a city election on Tuesday, May, 1st, and it may well prove to be one of the most interesting city elections any of us can remember.  This one might even out-do the ill-fated Steve Chapman challenge to Rep. Harry Parrish, about 7 years ago, as far as high political drama goes.

We here at Moonhowlings have been watching the developing political drama from the audience, rather than leaping into what is proving to be “Theater in the Round”.   We did have a guest post, but that was not our observations, but theirs.  We chose to observe, gather facts and opinions and wait until we had a clear picture of not only what is playing out on the public stage, but a good understanding of the “backstage dynamics” that are driving this political theater….and theater it is:

Current Mayor Hal Parrish is running unopposed for reelection. All of the excitement in this race was settled at the GOP convention, when Hal held off a challenge for the nomination from Andy Harrover.  We like both of these public servants, as it is clear to us that they place the best interests of the entire community as priority, rather than bowing to the pressure of a very vocal few.   Neither one of them carry pitchforks or torches.

The real excitement is in the city council race. Much more so than may be apparent to the casual observer…or even to those who consider themselves “informed.”   We would like to present a clear picture of what appears to really be going on, and we promise that our dear (and not so dear) readers will not be disappointed.   This “play” has intrigue and double-dealing, willing and unwilling and even unknowing participants.  Basically, it’s a “play” about power and retribution, pure and simple.  We here at ‘Howlings will narrate this from stage right (or left, depending on where you sit in the audience). So let’s get to it, shall we?

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