Monthly Archives: September 2009

Miller attacks Rust on Septic Systems…Again

Posted on by

3

Photobucket

There’s a broken record in Stevens Miller’s campaign, and it happens to be the issue of septic systems. In an interview with Blue Commonwealth, Miller again claims that Del. Tom Rust has gone backwards on one specific area of land use regulation.

“Rust wants to take us backwards on one area of land use regulation where we have some authority. The Commonwealth of Virginia did authorize municipalities to regulate septic systems. It’s not the sexiest issue you’re ever going to legislate, but for people who are conservation minded and people in rural parts of the state, this is a critical issue. In the absence of aggressive maintenance and instruction schedules, these systems are dangerous, they break down, and threaten the environment.”

Perhaps, it is time for Miller to consider that septic systems are regulated by the State Department of Health.

Jody Gets It Wrong Once Again

Posted on by

0

Once again, Lieutenant Governor candidate, Jody Wagner, can not get her facts right on Bill Bolling’s record. This time, she is attacking Bolling for protecting education dollars. Of course, her recent claims show how desperate she is to win that she would distort the truth.

Her recent email actually accuses Bolling for supporting “a rare parliamentary maneuver to block Governor Kaine’s budget.” Bolling ruled to keep the budget (which she drafted) from diverting millions in lottery proceeds away from education to other government programs, which is a violation of the Constitution of Virginia.

One might assume that Wagner is in favor of taking money away from public education, and perhaps, we should take a look at her record on education funding.

  • As State Treasurer, Wagner was part of the financial team that reported a “$137 million budget error” that resulted in a loss of education dollars that were intended for local governments. ­(AP, 8.28.06)
  • As Secretary of Finance, Wagner proposed a budget that took $65M out of the Lottery Proceeds Fund to pay for other government programs. The Constitution of Virginia requires that lottery profits be used for public education. Fortunately, Bill Bolling made a constitutional ruling to stop Wagner’s raid on public education. (RTD, 2.22.08)
  • As Secretary of Finance, Wagner lobbied the General Assembly to cut Pre-K funding by $12.5 million, cut foster care funding by $5.8 million and cut health insurance programs by $5.7 million. (WP, 2.14.08)
  • Because of Jody Wagner’s fiscal mismanagement, which has resulted in more than $7B in budget shortfalls, the Kaine administration has been forced to reduce funding for public education by $726M over the past two years. While this reduction was offset by federal stimulus dollars, these federal stimulus dollars will expire in 2011. – 2008 Budget (Chapter 879) and 2009 Budget (Chapter 781)

Why should we trust Wagner? Her understanding of the Constitution of Virginia appears to be non-existent, and she appears to be clueless on presiding over the State Senate. This (along with being overly optimistic with her budget predictions) shows Wagner is not ready to be Lieutenant Governor.

Photobucket

Recession is causing competition in the Job Market

Posted on by

0

The economic recession has been causing stress for everyone with layoffs, company closures, and cutbacks occurring throughout America. With unemployment sitting at 9.7 percent and even with layoffs slowing, there has been quite a pinch on the job searching front.

According to the New York Times, job seekers are exceeding new job openings in record numbers. Job seekers are outnumbering job openings, causing more competition and added stress. “According to the Labor Department’s latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed.”

Adding to the stress, many employers are reluctant to hire due to the uncertainty of whether or not the economy will improve in the near future. If things look bleak now, predictions are that the current economic situation could become more gloomier, thus resulting in more layoffs, business closures, etc. The competition will only continue to grow.

When will the Democrats state their positions on Taxes?

Posted on by

1

Republican Party of Virginia Chairman, Pat Mullins, along with House Speaker Bill Howell and Del. Terry Kilgore, have called on Democratic candidates to declare whether or not they support Creigh Deeds in his promise to raise taxes if elected. Deeds wants to raise $1 billion in taxes, and this will cost you at the pump with a higher gasoline tax.

“This is just the absolute wrong time, as Governor Kaine has recognized, to be raising taxes – when you’re in a deep, deep recession. Particularly the gasoline tax, which is a very regressive tax that impacts the people who can least afford to pay it the most,” said Speaker Howell. “I would be interested in knowing where the other Democrats are on this. Do they support their gubernatorial candidate or not?”

“I think it’s a clear defining issue between our candidates and their opponents,” said Kilgore. “Particularly in my part of the state, where people have to drive long distances just to get to work, raising the gas tax at this time is just the wrong idea. But we want to know where the House candidates stand.”

Deeds is facing opposition to his proposed tax increases. State Sen. Edd Houck (D-17), in an email to constituents, said the worst thing would be to increase the burden on the taxpayer during these troubled economic times. “Fortunately, Governor Kaine’s proposals contain no tax increases,” Houck wrote in an e-mail that largely dealt with efforts to balance Virginia’s budget. “With salaries remaining stagnant or worse individuals losing their jobs, a tax increase is unneeded.” Also, Democratic challenger to Del. Steve Landes (R-25), Greg Marrow, said he does not support tax increases.

In this economy, people can not afford additional taxes. Deeds’ plan only adds to the economic burden that many families are facing, and there are other viable solutions that do not involve raising taxes, like cutting an unnecessary department or a program that has no proven impact on Virginians.

Shady Dealings in the 93rd District

Posted on by

0

The Virginian Federalist has a really interesting post about some shady dealings in the 93rd District, as Delegate Phil Hamilton is in the fight of his life against an opponent (Robin Abbott), whose law firm gave Attorney General candidate, Steve Shannon, a donation of $40,000 just seven days after he called for Hamilton’s resignation.

This sounds shady, doesn’t it? It also raises some ethical questions about both Hamilton’s opponent and Steve Shannon. Will Steve Shannon be easily bought as an Attorney General? Does the 93rd District deserve someone representing them who will bribe others to get ahead in the Delegate race? These are two important questions that need to be addressed.

McDonnell Fires Back at Deeds

Posted on by

0

Bob McDonnell fired back at Creigh Deeds over the recent attacks on a thesis paper written 20 years ago. McDonnell released two campaign ads, which will be appearing in all of the major media markets throughout the Commonwealth. “Deceitful” focuses on the responses from newspapers across Virginia about Deeds’ attacks on McDonnell. “Working Woman” features McDonnell’s daughter, Jeanine, talking about the values her father taught her as well as her service in the U.S. Army.

“Deceitful”

“Working Woman”