Citizens for Denise Moore Pierce
Phone 703-450-4260
Commentary about my opponent
The time has come for me to write about the positions and actions of my opponent, Ms. Suzanne Volpe, as well as her supporters. In my discussion, I will present facts, conclusions and comments. I believe I am entitled to my own conclusions and comments, but not my own facts. If I make any factual errors, please send an email to my campaign that I'll review, and make changes, if appropriate. I'll add other notes later.
Fighting Words from Virginia's Attorney General
Of all the available politicians, my opponent chose Tea Party favorite, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's Attorney General, to introduce her at her kickoff. In his introduction, Mr. Cuccinelli said of my opponent: "This is a great turnout and…and, I hope that whoever may ultimately choose to run against her hears about this so that they can run scared and perhaps just run home." When I saw his introduction speech on YouTube and heard these words from our Attorney General, I decided I must run for the Algonkian Supervisor seat. If I have stood for any Democratic principles and values all these years, I had to now stand up and be counted. I am not scared and I won't run home.
My Opponent and the Bike Whopper
At her campaign kick-off speech while standing next to Virginia's Attorney General, my opponent said a whopper: "We're promoting tourism. We're spending half a million dollars a year to the Northern Virginia Bicycle Association. Which is supposed to promote tourism. Now I have to ask some of you business owners out there, do you think somebody riding a bicycle along the WO&D trail is going to help your business? That our county should be spending half a million dollars to encourage people to bicycle into the county." The problem with her comment is not that she has W&OD confused as WO&D. What she is saying is that Loudoun County is promoting tourism by spending $500,000 a year by giving it to the Northern Virginia Bicycle Association--that this is an example of governmental waste. However, this example of waste is fictional, a real whopper; the $500,000 per year does not exist and the "Northern Virginia Bicycle Association" does not exist. No one can find either the county expenditure or the bike organization. You can read what the bicycle community had to say about her comments by looking at: http://www.thewashcycle.com/2011/07/shadowy-northern-virginia-bicycle-association-squanders-fake-money.html or http://fabb-bikes.blogspot.com/2011/07/loudoun-co-supervisor-candidate-suzanne.html. I imagine the Attorney General was impressed by a great example of governmental waste. In his introduction, he spoke well of my opponent, saying: "the one thing you get with any candidate or the package you get is character and judgment and a set of guiding principles…if they have any. Now Suzanne has them. There are plenty of people in politics who don't of both parties. And, it is very important for me to be supporting people who have the right principles, who stick by them, and can articulate them to their communities." I doubt that making up stories to illustrate public waste is one of his "right principles." When my opponent speaks, how will we know fact from fiction?
My Opponent's Attendance as a Library Board Trustee
My opponent was appointed to the Library Board of Trustees by Sup. Eugene Delgaudio. According to County records, My opponent has only attended two meetings out of 11 over the past year. (Absent: 7/10, 9/10, 11/10, 12/10, 1/11, 3/11, 5/11, 6/11 and 7/11. Present: 2/11 and 4/11.) She prominently features her presence on the Library Board in her campaign literature; however, she is absent 82% of the time. Is this community service or resume building? My conclusion is that this is her pursuit of a fatter resume. She was appointed to the Library Board representing Sup. Delgaudio's Sterling District even though she lives in Sup. Susan Buckley's current Sugarland District. When she was a planning commissioner appointed by then-supervisor Mick Statton, she regularly attended those meetings. But, those meetings involved land use and it appears she did not want to miss any important votes that could help add more residential housing to Loudoun by then-supervisor Staton and their developer friends. I guess it is just a coincidence that she currently raises high levels of developer-related contributions in her supervisor campaign. Note also that her campaign started about a year ago when she learned that Sup. Susan Buckley was not running for re-election in the soon to be redistricted Algonkian District. My opponent has had time to plan and run her campaign, but she has not had time to regularly attend Library Board meetings.
My Opponent and the Tea Party
There is little doubt that my opponent belongs to and obtains support from the Tea Party. I don't believe there are any Tea Party membership cards, but to paraphrase an old saying: "If it waddles like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck." To summarize what it means to be the Tea Party, take a look at a recent article: D.E. Campbell and R.D. Putnam, "Crashing the Tea Party," New York Times, 16 August 2011. The article shows that supporters of the Tea Party are generally highly partisan Republicans that seek to see religion play a prominent role in politics. They say they want smaller government, but they are really concerned with putting God in government; they want to infuse religion into politics. They are welcome to their opinion, but I generally oppose the mingling of religion into politics...I am reminded of the theocracies in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
My opponent shows her colors with a prominent placement of the Tea Party's symbol, the Gadsden Flag, on the right side of the rear window of her car. Beginning in 2009, the Gadsden Flag has become an adopted symbol of the Tea Party movement. The flag has a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike with the legend: "DONT TREAD ON ME." The flag has historical meaning from the American Revolution where it was the first flag ever carried into battle by the United States Marine Corps. To me, the symbolism of fighting the tyranny of the British at the founding of our country is a patriotic reminder; using that symbolism in a fight with each other does not seem appropriate.
On at least one occasion, the Northern Virginia Tea Party organized and advertised online a campaign door-to-door canvas that included my opponent. This "Boots-on-the-Ground" event was conducted on Saturday, 4 June, during morning and afternoon shifts. The volunteers met at my opponent's house and proceeded to distribute literature for Ms. Merrick, Ms. Comstock and my opponent. After the canvasing, the volunteers were invited to a BBQ at Ron Speakman's farm house with special guest speaker Pastor Arlie Whitlow with a message on "Public Service." Speakman is running for Loudoun County Sheriff and is mentioned here and here. According to VPAP, Speakman for Sheriff has given $1150 to my opponent's campaign. Given the recent travails of Ron Speakman, as well as the increasing disapproval of the Tea Party by the general public, I can understand why my opponent wants to keep a low profile from these supporters. Also, did anyone notice that my opponent was NOT at the Republican rally on the Leesburg Courthouse steps on 21 September when a group of Republican candidates questioned Speakman's qualifications for sheriff (See Leesburg Today or Loudoun Times Mirror articles.)?
My Opponent Dreams about Sprawl - It's a Sprawl World After All
My opponent gave a speech to the Winchester-Frederick-Clarke Republican Women's Club where she said: "Sprawl is the American dream." The article about her speech is titled "Republican Says 'Sprawl is the American Dream'," by Andrew Matel, The Winchester Star, Thursday, March 4, 2004. On-line the article shows up as "Unfortunate thinking in Loudoun County." www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?1857-Unfortunate-thinking-in-Loudoun-County. At the time, my opponent was probably feeling-her-oats since six Republicans had just been elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2003, and my opponent also said: "We're making good changes." However, I believe that residential development without a matching increase in the business base will result in higher property taxes for residents. We don't need and can't afford a repeat of a Board of Supervisors running loose with rampant residential growth. One of the characteristics of sprawl is that the older, more mature communities can be neglected and left to decline; I do not want to see that happen to the Algonkian District.
Notice:
Be prepared for a blizzard of direct mail to start coming from my opponent. She has tens of thousands of dollars in developer and Tea Party money to spend.
Authorized and Paid For by Citizens for Denise Moore Pierce
