Waldo’s Virginia Political Blogroll

Well I said last week that I hoped to have some good news to report this week and low and behold I do. On Monday of this past week the Senate passed a modified version of the House budget that funds all elements of government and sets aside 567 million dollars for development of a transportation budget to be finished later this summer or early fall. The Senate provided the condition that a transportation budget be developed no later than November of this year with a dedicated source of revenue for statewide transportation funding or the 567 million dollars set aside would go back to the general fund.

This past Thursday the House set in motion the procedure for the Senate budget proposal to go to the budget conference committee. This committee will meet on Tuesday to begin negotiating the details of the final budget to be presented before both the Senate and the House. It is my hope that this process will take place quickly so that we will soon have a final budget.

While it is important that we are well on the way to adopting a final budget it is imperative that we also do the work of addressing our transportation problems. These problems are not just limiting to funding transportation construction but must also include reform of our transportation planning and construction process so we spend your money more efficiently and are held accountable for results.

The solution also must include not just construction of new roads but other forms of transportation such as rail and transit that move people and goods in a more efficient manner. There is a need to use rail and transit to relieve growing urban congestion and to satisfy growing rural transit needs.

We must also combat increasing transportation problems by giving localities more power to control growth and sprawl. As more families move to suburbs and exurbs their commutes increase, increasing the demands on roads as well as congestion. When localities have the ability to set controls on this they have the ability to keep development to a capacity that roads can handle.

On a different note, I have asked the House budget conferees to not agree to proposed cuts in dollars that go towards the Land Preservation Tax Credit program. The program is a highly successful public-private partnership that works to conserve farmland, natural areas, battlefields, and scenic open spaces throughout Virginia.

This program helps to preserve open spaces, supports family farms, and restores the Chesapeake Bay, and it also is a part of the solution to the traffic crisis that this state is facing. This tax credit is a free market tool against sprawl and for land conservation.

Back in the district I have found myself quite busy. While I started my week on the other side of the state for the House Majority Retreat, I returned Monday evening for a busy Tuesday. On Tuesday I joined with Senator Chichester for the Northern Neck Christian Men’s Group. I then rushed to give a legislative update to the Richmond County Democratic Party.

The next morning, Wednesday, I was up and at it again. I had a great time with the Kilmarnock Kiwanis Club at their Community Service Breakfast. After breakfast I went back to work and it has been work, work, work ever since. Although, today I am planning on attending the Strawberry Festival in Heathsville and the Rivah Fest in Kilmarnock, those two events should be great fun.

As always if I can ever be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact me at robwittman@verizon.net or 804-493-0508. I wish you all a happy and safe Memorial Day.

. . . but there seem to be some flaws in Riley Not O’Reilly’s charges against NLS. For those of you who have not been following along at home, Jim Riley insinuated that NLS engaged in voter intimidation and thereby violated the Voting Rights Act.

NLS posted that portion of Art. I, sec. A of The Plan of Organization of the Republican Party of Virginia that will become effective on June 15, 2006 (it apparently already has been adopted). Paragraphs three and four are the relevant bits:

3. In addition to the foregoing, to be in accord with the principles of the Republican Party, unless otherwise stipulated by the appropriate Official Committee, a person otherwise qualified hereunder shall not have participated in Virginia in the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party after March 1, 2004, or in the last five years, whichever is more recent.

4. A single exception to Paragraph 3 shall be approved for a voter that renounces affiliation with any other party in writing, and who expresses in writing that he/she is in accord with the principles of the Republican Party and intends, at the time of the writing, to support the nominees of the Republican Party in the future. Any voter that utilizes the foregoing exception, and thereafter participates in the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party, shall not have the benefit of the exception identified in Paragraph 3 thereafter.

After referring to this piece of the platform, NLS wrote:

“In other words, if a Republican votes in [the upcoming Democratic] primary, [he] might not be able to support George Allen in the 2008 Presidential Primary, [he] may not be able to vote in the Jim Gilmore-Tom Davis primary for Senate in 2008, and [he] may not be able to vote in the Bob McDonnell-Bill Bolling contest for Governor in 2009.

“Do you really want to tell those people you can’t vote for them because you voted for Harris Miller?” (Emphasis mine.)

Jim Riley, a self-styled election law expert who now works for the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, states that NLS’ post “may very well constitute a violation of the law.”

May very well? His support? Pretty slim. Pretty slim indeed.

The VRA states:

“No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose . . .” (Emphasis mine.)

Mr. Riley then cites a web posting from a Prof. Foley at Ohio State (did you have him, Mr. Patton?). Prof. Foley highlights three techniques for voter suppression: “(1) by direct threats of intimidation, (2) by suppressing turnout through disinformation and scare tactics, and finally, (3) by efforts to keep the other candidate’s message from being communicated.”

Now, which provision has Mr. Tribbett allegedly violated? He did not pass out disinformation (in fact, he passed out correct information). No candidate message was at issue. What, then?

Mr. Riley seems to think the title of NLS’ post “Warning to Republicans” is “the sort of red flag ’scare tactics’ language that often triggers investigations and is prima facie evidence of an effort to intimidate or surpress the vote.”

Unlikely.

Let us first look at what Mr. Tribbett did. He posted a portion of the Platform. He then noted that some Republicans might be restricted in their voting practices in the future if they participate in the 2006 Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate. What part of that is intimidating, threatening, or coercive?

According to the Platform, Republicans get one “freebie,” that is, they can vote in GOP primaries in the future as long as they vote in no more than one Democratic primary in the preceding 5 years. Perhaps some will choose 2006 as their “freebie.” However, those, say, who participated in the 2005 Democratic Primary rather than the GOP one, for whatever reason, would be precluded from participating in the GOP selection processes in 2008.

Does quoting the GOP Platform constitute voter intimidation? Does that mean that the GOP Platform is intimidating, threatening, or coercive? It is important to note that Mr. Riley is not guaranteed to be incorrect - his phrases are too couched for that - but the odds are quite in Mr. Tribbett’s favor that he did not violated federal law with his post.

Warning to Democrats! I am not a very good cook!

I eagerly await the Attorney General’s Voting Rights Enforcement staffers . . .

The big news in the blogosphere today is the bruhaha surrounding a letter received by Black Velvet Bruce Lee. In the letter, a person named Jad N. Sarsour from Gill & Gallinger, Counselors at Law, “demands an immediate apology” to the “illegal action” of defaming Mr. Steve Chapman, a candidate for the GOP nomination in the House of Delegates race for the 50th District (Manassas, Manassas Park, parts of Prince William County).

Interesting issues abound.

Quite aside from the merits of the suit (which appear to be slim), the players seem to be the most fascinating aspects of this little drama.

Has anyone heard of the law firm of Gill & Gallinger? Googling the phrases “Gill & Gallinger” and “Gill and Gallinger” return no hits. Googling “Gill Gallinger” without quotes does not seem to return any relevant hits. Odd, since this firm states in the footer of its letter that it has offices in Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and New York.

Their letterhead has other anomalies. First, the font for their Washington contact (small caps) info is different from the font for their Tysons Corner info (italics). Above, they give their “Tel.,” below, they give their “Phone.” The area code on this phone number has a closed parens, “),” but not an open parens. Sloppy!

Even stranger, the fax numbers are the same - and it has a 703 area code. One cannot fax the Washington office? How odd!

What happens when you google the DC phone number? You get hits for Georgetown Business Center, which appears to be an office rental organization located at Gill & Gallinger’s address. Fine. Perhaps the firm rents space there (although GBC has a fax number, unlike Gill & Gallinger DC).

The top of the page has the word Sapentia printed by the fax. Googling “sapentia” returns numerous hits. The two most interesting hits, however, are to misspellings of sapentia, (such as Sapetina) on VPAP. “Sapetina LLC” gave Redskins tickets worth $800.00 to Del. Lingamfelter in 2005.

A search on the State Corporation Commission’s website reveals that the office address of Sapentia LLC is the same as Gill & Gallinger’s Tysons Office. The registered agent? None other than Faisal Gill.

Finally, there is the person who signed the document, Jad N. Sarsour, Esq. A “Jad N. Sarsour” took the Virginia bar in February 2006. He or she would have known that he or she had passed in early May, most likely. Now, M. Sarsour could be a 2005 graduate from law school or an attorney who practiced in another jurisdiction and, for whatever reason, could not waive into Virginia and needed to sit for the Virginia bar in order to practice here. Questions questions . . .

Anyone have any answers?

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself,” artist Andy Warhol once said. When using this quote in reference to the current budget standoff no truer words have been spoken. A large amount of time has been invested in creating a budget; unfortunately time alone can not bring us closer to a budget. I have spoken with a number of folks in the district and the consensus is that it is time for the members of the General Assembly to step up to the plate and produce a budget. There was a meeting of a small group of budget conferees this week. They had some very positive discussions on the education elements of the proposed budget. There were no final agreements reached on this part of the budget but they did agree to meet again this Wednesday as a small group and then for all budget conferees to meet after the small group adjourns. This is one of those small steps that gets us closer to producing a budget. I am anxious for a leap to be taken this in the budget negotiations. I have expressed my desire to quickly pass a budget to other legislators and leadership from both the House of Delegates and the Senate.

On Thursday, May 18th, the House of Delegates held a pro forma session in which no new legislation was discussed. These pro forma sessions take place when there is no new legislation to discuss and they only require the presence of the Speaker and one other Delegate. Hopefully the next legislative update you read will be reporting on changes in this standoff.

Although I have not had to go to Richmond this week for session I have managed to make my way around the district pretty successfully. Last Saturday, May 13th, I had the opportunity to speak at the Colonial Beach Yacht Club Flag Raising Ceremony before joining Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis for a BBQ at her home in Gloucester. Both events were great opportunities to mingle and get feedback on the state of affairs in Virginia.

On Monday, May 15th, I was pleased to attend the King George County Business Celebration. This event was a great opportunity to honor local businesses and all that they do for our communities. The next day, Tuesday, I spent the evening at the Northern Neck Regional Jail dinner and spoke with many fine folks who keep our jail running. Regional jails have a partnership with the state where the state grants them money to operate based upon the number if individuals housed there. This partnership makes it important to keep communication lines open.

On Thursday, May 18th, I attended the 48th Annual Meeting for the Foundation for Historic Christ Church. Once the business of the meeting was completed the Rev. Dr. John W. Turner performed music on instruments from the period in history during which the church was constructed. After the meeting was adjourned everyone gathered for lunch on the church courtyard. Later that day I attended the Opening Ceremony for the Traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall at Rappahannock Community College. I will be attending the armed services day ceremony on Saturday, May 20th. I finished my day on Thursday by attending the Westmoreland Schools Employee Recognition Banquet which recognized teachers who had received awards throughout the year and those who were retiring at the close of this year. I was proud to have the opportunity to let these fine ladies and gentlemen know how much I appreciate their contributions.

The week ahead holds many visits and meetings where I will have the opportunity to discuss what is going on in the District and in Richmond with constituents. Until then if you have any concerns or comments please do not hesitate to contact me at robwittman@verizon.net or 804-493-0508.

It’s that time again, and by that time I mean time to begin fundraising. We have put together a great fundraiser at the Belle Mount Vineyards on Cat Point Creek. We are hoping that it will serve as an opportunity for Rob to meet with constituents, raise some funds for re-election, and have a great time in a lovely setting.

The event is on June 10th in the vineyard section of the Heritage Park Resort. It will run from 11am-3pm. We will be providing lunch and music. We are also encouraging those with canoes and kayaks to bring them along to enjoy the beauty and serenity that Cat Point Creek has to offer.

Individual Adult tickets are $25, children 12 and under are $15. There are also several levels of sponsorship. The first tier of sponsorship will give you recognition on the programs and two tickets to a private luncheon with Rob and other sponsors for $250. The second tier of sponsorship will give you recognition on the programs and table tents and you will receive four tickets to the private luncheon for $500. The top level of sponsorship will receive recognition on the sponsorship board, table tents and programs and will receive six tickets to the private luncheon for $1,000.

If you are interested in attending this event please send your name and address to robwittman@verizon.net or call 804-493-0508 and an invitation will be mailed to you promptly. We are hoping that a large number of people are able to turn out and show their support for Rob’s re-election efforts.

As if more evidence that the RTD is conservative were needed:

“The Supreme Court allowed government the power to separate citizens by race in 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson. A close reading of the Plessy decision in conjunction with the Constitution and legislative history — the type of textualist and originalist interpretation Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas advocate — reveals the Court’s ruling as a blatant violation of the nation’s founding document.”

Justice Scalia advocating the use of legislative history?!? Trust me when I say that that would never happen. Ever. I even asked him once in which situation would it be least offensive to use legislative history. His answer? “You have to stop thinking that way.”

Justice Kennedy complained that the media, especially editoral boards, did not take the time to read judicial opinions. The newspapers were furious. Count this editorial in the “Kennedy” column.

I am glad to report that some progress is being made in regards to the budget. The House passed the “caboose” budget bill on Wednesday, May 10th. At the end of each budget year final adjustments have to be made to the budget. These adjustments are made based upon the funds that come into the state treasury either above or below the amount that was estimated in the previously passed budget. These adjustments have come to be known as the “caboose” budget because they come at the end of the budget cycle. Just as we all make adjustments to our household budget as our incomes and expenses rise or fall so does the State. The “caboose” budget bill makes those adjustments so that we can close out this fiscal year ending June 30 with the amount of money we have spent equaling the amount of money we have taken in. The Senate also passed the “caboose” budget bill so the current fiscal year is officially taken care of.

Work still needs to be done in order to adopt a budget for the coming biennium of 2007 through 2008. There have been some discussions among members of both bodies but no formal meeting took place this week. After adopting the caboose budget I feel that the wheels of progress are beginning to turn and hope that this will lead to the adoption of a biennium budget. I have heard from a number of folks in the district about the budget and transportation and have passed those thoughts on to the leadership.

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a number of great functions in the district. On Saturday, May 6th, I got the chance to see Ralph Stanley perform at the Menokin Bluegrass Festival. I also attended the Westmoreland Relay for Life Walk where volunteers raised a lot of money for the American Cancer Society. Both events were a great opportunity to talk and listen to folks about what is going on with the budget and how it is impacting them personally.

On Sunday, May 7th, I started the day by presenting a commending certificate to Jonathan Frith at his Eagle Scout Ceremony. He has worked very hard to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout and for that should be applauded. Later that same day I found myself in Reedville at the Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony marking the beginning of the menhaden season. This is where churches, fishermen, and community members come together to pray for a safe fishing season.

On Monday, May 8th, I met with the King George, Colonial Beach and Westmoreland Chambers of Commerce at their joint meeting. Then on Thursday, May 11th, I went to the NSWC Naval Base in Dahlgren to meet with the Potomac Gateway Alliance for breakfast and then got a tour of the base. I have been on the base many times before, but learned much from having a formal tour. The Dahlgren Naval Base is an unbelievable asset to our region, the state and the nation. I will be working with all involved to assure that the base continues to prosper into the future.

The coming week appears to be equally as busy. I look forward to telling you all about it next week. If you are interested in what is going on in our office please visit my blog. I try to post information quickly that I feel may be of interest to constituents. I can be reached by email, robwittman@verizon.net, or telephone, 804-493-0508.

I had the opportunity to attend the Menokin Foundation Bluegrass Festival on Saturday. There were lots of folks from throughout the Northern Neck in attendance. There was lots of great music, fun and fellowship and all of it for a great cause. It does not get any better than that. As I spoke with folks many asked about how the budget negotiations were going. I wish I could say that significant progress is being made but I just see small incremental steps being taken. Not that these small steps aren’t positive they just are not getting us to adopting a budget anytime soon.

If there was one common theme I heard in my conversations with folks it was that we must address the root causes of our transportation problems and that is uncontrolled growth and better transportation planning. The growth that has happened in the urban areas in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and the Richmond area has increased vehicular traffic on our roadways. In many instances the areas where growth is occurring are not the areas that have adequate transportation infrastructure and vice versa where current road construction is planned is not in areas with the greatest need.

In order to make true progress on the issue of transportation we must provide localities the tools they need to control and manage growth in a way that does not encourage sprawl. The continual movement of development farther and farther out of our population centers just continues to increase the demand for roads. As we look at the rates of growth in localities in and around the 99^th district we see that Stafford and Spotsylvania were identified as some of the fastest growing counties in Virginia five years ago, today we see that King George and Caroline counties have been added to the list. With this current trend Westmoreland, Richmond and Essex Counties will soon be courting inclusion on this list.

Since transportation planning in Virginia is centralized there is not the needed coordination between local land use planning and decision making and state transportation planning and decision making. We must do a better job of coordinating land use and transportation planning between localities and the state. As development occurs we must make sure that land use decisions include the impacts upon the roads leading to and from these areas. The idea of having developers share in the pro-rated costs of road improvements needed due to the increase traffic from their developments should also be explored.

I had a great opportunity to speak with a number of cancer survivors at the Westmoreland Relay for Life event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. There were many volunteers giving of their time to gather pledges and walk on behalf of raising money to find a cure for cancer. There efforts truly make a difference in the lives of others. I was humbled to be a part of this great activity. I urge any of you that have the time to volunteer with your local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

I also had the honor of commending an outstanding young man on Sunday for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. I was humbled to honor the truly great accomplishments of Jonathan Frith from Lancaster County. He was joined by many fine folks from the community and his friends and family. When a young man such as Jonathan attains the rank of Eagle Scout it is a testament not just to his hard work but also to that of the scout leaders in the community, the merit badge counselors, his parents, friends, family and many others in the community. I wish Jonathan the best and I know that he will be successful in whatever he does in life because of the lessons he has learned in achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

The blessing of the menhaden fleet in Reedville took place on Sunday. This is truly a great experience where the churches of the region come together along with fisherman and the community to pray for a safe fishing season. As many of you know the menhaden industry has come under increasing pressures from those outside of our region in recent years. Albert Pollard Jr. spoke very eloquently about the challenges faced by the menhaden industry and that we must listen to those critical of the industry because while most of what they state is not true some of what they say is worthy of consideration. He also spoke of showing patience and restraint in the face the pointed and stinging criticism from those that do not truly understand the crucial role the menhaden fishery plays in the Northern Neck. Albert spoke of the story of Ruby Bridges a young African American girl who in November 1960, walked up the steps of William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, the first black student at the formerly all-white elementary school. She was faced each day as she arrived at school by large mobs angrily protesting integration of the New Orleans school system. Ruby’s mom who accompanied her with U.S. Marshals on the first two days of school told her that she had to go back to work and that the U. S. Marshals would take care of her but that if she got scared that she should pray and that God would protect her. Her teacher Mrs. Henry one morning upon arrival in her classroom indicated her surprise that Ruby was speaking to the mob as she walked up the steps into school. Mrs. Henry stated that she saw Ruby’s lips moving but could not make out what she was saying to the people around her. Ruby told her teacher that she was not talking to the mob but instead was praying that God be with her and with the people in the crowd because they knew not what they were doing. Albert urged those in the menhaden industry who are frustrated with those who protest the purse seining of menhaden practice the same restraint in silent prayer that Ruby Bridges did in facing the angry mob by asking God to look over those who protest for they know not what they do.

The issue of alternative fuels continues to gain momentum. The bill I submitted HB 680 creates a Biofuels Production Fund and Grant Incentive Program. This program will encourage biofuels production in Virginia and will go a long ways to helping our agriculture economy, lessen our dependency on foreign oil and result in cleaner air. The following link highlights an NBC DATELINE news story about the potential of ethanol in addressing our country’s energy challenges - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12676374/

As soon as the state budget is adopted there will hopefully be money in this fund that can be used to attract biofuels producers to Virginia. I have been approached by four different companies all very interested in building biofuels refineries in Virginia. It is my hope they choose to locate in the 99^th district. I will be working actively with local governments to attract these companies.

Again this week I report that the state has yet to adopt a budget for Fiscal Years 2006-2008. The budget deliberations are beginning to remind me of the pink bunny, on the commercials, beating the drum, “they just keep going and going and going…” This week there have been some actions taken towards finalizing the budget.

First the House Finance Committee heard four Senate Bills that addressed regional and statewide transportation funding. SB 5013 – Funding Transportation in the Commonwealth, SB 5014 – Hampton Roads Transportation Authority, SB 5105 – Interstate 81 Transportation Authorities and SB 5016 Supplemental Transportation Funding for Northern Virginia. These bills were tabled until August of this year. The House Finance Committee reasoned in their decision to table that the House budget bill which calls for funding all of the other elements of government except transportation and proposes the General Assembly return in September would be the quicker way to resolve the transportation funding issue .

This would allow local and state government to move forward with budgets and to work out the intricacies of transportation funding in September. Similar action was taken in 1986 when Governor Baliles sought to solve a similar transportation funding issue. So, in order to have their actions coincide with the House budget bill the Finance Committee voted unanimously to table the Senate revenue bills until August.

The Senate and House budget negotiators have made some progress on the “caboose” budget bill. This bill finishes the budget for the remaining portion of fiscal year 05-06, ending June 30, 2006. It appropriates the additional funds that have come into the state budget since the 2005 General Assembly. This bill is critical to make year ending adjustments to state funding for the completion of the current budget year. It is my hope that this negotiation will be successful and that it will lead to productive discussion on the budget for the coming biennium 2007-2008. The House will reconvene Wednesday May 10th to take up this bill if the budget conferees successfully resolve the “caboose” budget and submit their recommendations to the House and Senate.

I have also kept myself busy within the district. Last weekend I found myself out of breath from bouncing from one event to the next. On Saturday, April 29th, I started my morning with Delegates Orrock and Peace and Senator McDougle in Caroline County at a GOP breakfast. From there I joined with Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis and local government officials, Supervisor Woody Hinson and Mayor Pete Bone, at James Monroe’s birthplace for a Celebration of his Birthday.

After that the fun and games really began, literally. I headed to opening day of the Northumberland County Little League. Throwing the first pitch of the season was a thrill that was quickly surpassed by the look of excitement and anticipation in the eyes of all the Little Leaguers.

Afterwards, I headed back to Westmoreland to join with the others from the community to honor the service of Tuskegee Airman Charles Bernard Smith. Smith was a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot in World War II, whose courageousness can only partially be symbolized by the road marker dedicated to him that day.

At the end of the day my wife, Kathryn, and I had the opportunity to attend a fundraiser for the Westmoreland/Richmond County branch of Habitat for Humanity. We were happy to do what we could for such a great organization, which provides so much to our communities. While I was there I learned that one of the problems the organization is facing is a lack of volunteers. I would like to urge any individuals who could contribute their time and effort to this organization to contact them at 804-493-1500.

I would also like to urge you to contact me if I can ever be of assistance. I can be reached by phone at 804-493-0508, or email at robwittman@verizon.net.