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 Archive Contents

Thursday 14 OCT 99
  Arlington: Warfield apologizes for "token black" remarks

Friday 8 OCT 99
  Statewide: Crats sue to halt voter ID at Va. polls
  Statewide: Left-wing organizers blanket Va.

Thursday 7 OCT 99
  ASB: "Worried" Davis ducks Foster debate challenge
  Statewide: Virginia Internet obscenity law challenged

Wednesday 6 OCT 99
  N. Va.: Senate OKs more Reagan flights

Tuesday 5 OCT 99
  Arlington: Congress allows I-66 widening
  Arlington: DHS lease approved 4-1
  N. Va.: H. Blackwell, Cunningham appointed to JMU BOV
  Statewide: Sierra Club worried about "sprawl"

Monday 4 OCT 99
  Tidewater: Senator wants felon suffrage
  Courts: High Court to hear Brzonkala VAWA case
  WH2K: McCain: Big Tent = Log Cabin

Friday 1 OCT 99
  ASB: Foster up 2-1 in fundraising

Thursday 30 SEP 99
  ACB: Lane and Monroe -- Union label?
  Senate 32: Adams misses the X-ring

 NewsPlus Archives

11/03 - Statewide - GOP wins VGA control
     For the first time in history, Republicans will control both houses of the Virginia General Assembly when it meets next January. The GOP gained three seats statewide in the House of Delegates for a total of 52, compared with 47 Democrat-held seats.
     In the Senate, the GOP maintained its previous 21-19 advantage, which should be somewhat more solid in 2000 due to the upset defeat of Sen. Jane Woods (R-34th). Woods, a liberal Republican who had threatened to switch parties last session, lost to liberal Democrat Leslie Byrne by 38 votes out of more than 30,000 cast in that race.
     Pro-life, pro-gun independent candidate Virginia Dobey got credit for Woods's downfall. Woods had repeatedly spurned constituent pleas that she oppose partial-birth abortion and gun restrictions in Sen. votes. Dobey drew over 2700 votes, most likely from GOP-leaning voters.
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11/03 - Arlington - GOP goose-egg, Crats crow
     Democrats and an independent School Board candidate held or won every local and statewide office in Arlington County in the general election Tuesday Nov. 3. ACB member Paul Ferguson (D) retained his ACB seat, and challenger Charles Monroe (D) unseated Mike Lane (R), returning the ACB to a five-Democrat board. The anemic Arlington County Republican organization fielded no candidates to oppose Clerk David Bell (D), Comm. Att'y Richard Trodden (D), Comm. Rev. Geraldine Whiting (D), Sheriff Tom Faust (D), or Treas. Frank O'Leary (D).
     Incumbent Sens. Patricia Ticer (D-30th) and Mary M. Whipple (D-31st) coasted to victory against token opposition, and Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd) won a 60-40 victory over challenger Whitney Adams (R). Dels. Jim Almand (D-47th) and Bob Brink (D-48th) won 60%-or-greater victories, and Del. Karen Darner (D-48th) also was unopposed.
     Independent Dave Foster, who distanced himself from his elected position as a GOP county committee member and garnered the endorsement of the Democrat-controlled Arlingtonians for a Better County, squeaked by opponent Sharon Davis (wife of former ACBer Al Eisenberg) to gain a long-sought (by Foster) seat on the ASB.
     County Republican committee chairman Henriette Warfield told the A. Journal's Fordney (11/3) that Arl. Democrats won their sweeping victory "through lies and fear and suppressing the truth" and "they proved they don't care about diversity."
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10/28 - N. Va. - Eagle Forum and NFIB endorse VGA candidates
     The Va. Eagle Forum PAC and the Nat'l Federation of Independent Business have endorsed several N. Va. candidates in the Nov. 2 VGA election.
     VEFPAC, which endorsed pro-family candidates, gave the nod to incumbent Dels. Jay Katzen (R-31st), Dick Black (R-32nd), Michele McQuigg (R-51st), and Roger McClure (R-67th), Sen. Bill Mims (R-33rd), and Sen. candidates Garry Myers (I-33rd) and Virginia Dobey (I-34th). Each of Katzen, Black, and Dobey scored 100% on the VEFPAC questionnaire.
     NFIB gave a thumbs up to Dels. Jeannemarie Devolites (R-35th), Jay O'Brien (R-40th), Michele McQuigg (R-51st), and Roger McClure (R-67th), and to Del. hopefuls Tom Bolvin (R-43rd) and Scott Klein (R-44th). Sens. Charles Colgan, (D-29th), Jane Woods (R-34th), and Dick Saslaw (D-35th) also garnered NFIB kudos. (Releases 10/20-10/29)
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10/25 - N. Va. - Area VGAers score high on gay-rights survey
     The organization Virginians for Justice, which promotes the political agenda of the gay-rights movement, has given several N. Va.. Dels., Sens., and candidates high marks on its Candidate Score Cards, including a whopping 100% for Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-30th) and a close 98% for Sen. Mary M. Whipple (D-31st). According to VJ, its Score Card measures a candidate's support for "equal rights and equal justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Virginians" and those with the AIDS virus.
   Other incumbents with high marks were Dels. Jim Dillard (R-41st) with 73%, Marian Van Landingham (D-45th) with 91%, Jim Almand (D-47th) with 87%, Bob Brink (D-48th) with 95%, and Karen Darner (D-49th) with 96%. Sen. candidate Leslie Byrne (D-34th) scored 92%. (VJ website 10/25)
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10/23 - Statewide - High court tears up voter IDs
     The Va. Supreme Court "handed [Democrats] a victory" Friday Oct. 22 by killing a voter identification pilot project in 10 cities and counties, reports the R-TD's Whitley (10/23). The 5-1 decision, upholding an injunction issued by Richmond Circuit Court Judge Melvin R. Hughes, Jr., effectively quashed the program for the upcoming Nov. 2 election.
     Four localities scheduled to participate, including Fairfax County, have "close races that could help tip the balance" in Richmond. Tim Murtaugh, state GOP spokesman, said "Chalk one up for voter fraud. Democrats can go ahead and put up their yard signs in every graveyard of the Commonwealth, because dead people will be free to vote."
     Whitley writes that if the GOP wins control of the VGA, it will "push for a statewide voter ID program" that would eliminate the intra-district voting differences that the courts objected to in the pilot program.
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10/22 - 2d Amendment - NRA-PVF endorses 6 in N. Va. for VGA
     The NRA's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) has endorsed six N. Va. VGA candidates, and given a passing grade to one more. Dels. Dick Black (R-32nd) and Joe May (R-33rd), and Sens. Bill Mims (R-33rd) and Warren Barry (R-37th) all received high marks from NRA-PVF for having solid voting records on 2nd Amendment issues. In addition, Sen. hopeful Whitney Adams (R-32nd), received a rating of "B-minus" from the group, but did not receive an endorsement.
   Hall of Shame features Arl. delegation
     Several N. Va. candidates received grades of "F," signifying "seriously anti-gun candidates who always oppose gun owners' rights, actively lead anti-gun legislative efforts, and/or sponsor anti-gun legislation." The cellar-dwellers included Sens. Patsy Ticer (D-30th), Mary M. Whipple, and  (D-31st), Janet Howell (D-32nd), and candidate Leslie Byrne (D-34th). Among sitting Dels., Kenneth Plum (D-36th), Bob Hull (D-38th), Gladys Keating (D-43rd), Marian Van Landingham (D-45th), Brian Moran (D-46th), Jim Almand (D-47th), Robert Brink (D-48th) and Karen Darner (D-49th) received grades of "F." (Release, 10/20)
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10/20 - ACB - Lane joins with Crats in gun control bid
     The sole GOP member of the Arlington County Board joined with its Democrat majority on Saturday Oct. 16 to urge the General Assembly to permit localities to enact additional "gun control" ordinances. According to the Arl. Sun-Weekly's McCaffrey (10/21), ACB member Mike Lane (R) voted to urge the GA to ease its current prohibition on local firearms ordinances. Left-wing legislators in the Fairfax delegation, led by retiring Sen. Joe Gartlan (D-36th), have tried without success to gain powers to ban Virginians with concealed-carry permits from carrying their guns into county-owned and -leased facilities.
     Lane complained on Saturday that ACBer Chris Zimmerman "mischaracterized" Va.'s gun laws, according to the story. Lane in past months had appeared to be distancing himself from the anti-gun efforts of the ACB's four Democrat members.
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10/19 - First Amendment - McCain campaign restriction scheme shot down in Senate
     Presidential hopeful John McCain (R-Ariz.) was stung today by the Senate's rejection of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance regulation bill. McCain, who has made the issue the centerpiece of his long-shot presidential campaign, promised to keep pushing for a ban on party-building and GOTV contributions from individuals, labor groups, and businesses.
     It was the third time in less than two years that backers of campaign restrictions failed to break a filibuster led by Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell. "The essence of this legislation remains the same - to restrict and stifle political speech," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), another opponent of the McCain measure.
     A defiant McCain renewed an earlier threat to try and attach campaign restrictions as amendments to other Senate legislation. He blamed both Democrats and Republicans for his bill's defeat, saying "we have not been treated fairly in this process by either side," a charge dismissed by a spokesman for Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.). (AP 10/19)
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10/18 - Education - UVA will continue racial preferences
     The University of Virginia's Board of Visitors voted unanimously Saturday Oct. 16 to support the state university's admissions policy, which takes the race of each applicant into account in deciding whether or not to admit him.
     "The system works," said UVA rector John Ackerly, quoted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (10/17, Santos). Presumably referring to expected legal challenges, Ackerly continued, "We are prepared to defend it."
    UVA's president, Ivy League import John Casteen, recently directed UVA's admissions staff to drop a point-scoring system explicitly designed to give an advantage to selected racial and ethnic groups, but refused to institute a color-blind admissions policy. UVA has already announced the hiring of two targeted recruiters who will "scour the country for top minority candidates."
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10/16 - First Amendment - McCain pleads for Clinton help on campaign finance restrictions
     GOP presidential hopeful John McCain asked Bill Clinton in a letter Thursday Oct. 14 for his "immediate assistance" in discouraging Senate Democrats from offering "poison pill" amendments or substitutes as the Senate debates and votes on the McCain-Feingold campaign restrictions bill. (Espo, AP 10/15). The letter apparently was being written even as Clinton, in a West Wing press conference, snarled defiance at the Senate for rejecting an arms-control treaty that Clinton had signed in 1995.
     McCain's plea proved unavailing, however, as the Senate set procedural votes Tuesday on substituting the broader, House-passed "Shays-Meehan" campaign restrictions for those backed by McCain - and then on the McCain-Feingold bill itself. McCain's bill is somewhat narrower in that it no longer would seek to restrict issue advertising by independent groups. That provision, contained in the Shays-Meehan bill, is widely thought to be unconstitutional, and its inclusion likely would insure the measure's defeat in the Senate.
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10/15 - N. Va. - Arlington VGA del blows CC survey; Fairfaxers mixed
     The Va. Christian Coalition has released its 1999 Va. Gen. Assembly Scorecard, and every member of the Arlington delegation except two one got a grade of zero percent. The only exceptions were Sens. Mary M. Whipple (D-31st), and Janet Howell (D-32nd), who each received 7% grades. Arlington Dels. Jim Almand (D-47th), Bob Brink (D-48th), and Karen Darner (D-49th) and Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-30th) chalked up incorrect votes on such issues as car tax repeal (VCC favored it), informed consent for abortion (VCC favored), banning partial-birth abortions (VCC favored), casino gambling (VCC opposed), and assisted suicide (VCC opposed). Whipple's one correct vote, according to VCC, was in favor of expanding the list of accrediting agencies for nursery schools; Howell voted to repeal the car tax.
   Fairfaxers less extreme
      Howell and Ticer, whose districts descend into Fairfax and Alexandria, were the lowest Sen. scorers there as well. Goose-eggs went to Dels. Kenneth Plum (D-36th), James Scott (D-53rd), and Marian van Landingham (D-45th). High scores for the region went to Dels. Roger McClure (R-67th) with 92% and Joe May (R-33rd) with 85%, and Sen. Bill Mims (R-33rd) with 83%.

  Senate results (GOP in bold, Democrats in roman)

   Delegate results (GOP in bold, Democrats in roman)

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10/15 - Tidewater - Quinn rejected Democrat "Voter ID" scheme
     The Va. Democratic Party's lawsuit to block Va.'s voter identification pilot project complains that State Board of Elections Secretary Cameron Quinn rejected a Virginia Beach Democratic Committee proposal to issue its own "ID cards" for use on Election Day by Democrat voters and others who might obtain them. In a letter to Democrat officials, Quinn pointed out that the bogus IDs could facilitate fraud at the polls. However, Democrats argue that the rejection was a partisan move. Richmond Circuit Court Judge Melvin Hughes heard arguments in the case on Thursday Oct. 14, and now has the matter under advisement. A decision is expected the week of Oct. 18. (AP 10/15.)
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10/14 - Arlington - Warfield apologizes for "token black" remarks
     ACRC Chairman Henriette Warfield has apologized for a statement quoted Friday Oct. 8 calling Democrat CB candidate Charles Monroe the "token black" on the Democrat ballot line. "while I absolutely did not mean for my remarks to be racially derogatory, I understand how Mr. Monroe could have construed them as such." Monroe has stated he wants an apology from GOP CB candidate Mike Lane as well, but according to A. Journal's Fordney (10/14) Lane has declined, accusing Monroe of unfairly tying him to Warfield's remarks. "Mrs. Warfield was speaking for herself," said Lane. "As the county's sole elected Republican, I speak for the Republican Party."
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10/8 - Statewide - Crats sue to halt voter ID at Va. polls
     The Va. Democrat Party filed suit in Richmond Circuit Court Thursday Oct. 7 to block a pilot project that would require voters in 10 counties and cities - including Arlington and Fairfax Counties - to show ID cards before casting their ballots on Nov. 2. The General Assembly approved the pilot project, already approved by the U.S. Justice Department and the electoral boards of each jurisdiction, to evaluate whether a statewide program should be instituted. However, the suit alleges that the program "places an unconstitutional burden" on its participants that does not exist elsewhere in Virginia.   Democrat spokesman Craig K. Bieber "expressed concern" that some voters, "especially minorities," could "feel intimidated or be discouraged from voting." State Board of Elections Secretary Cameron Quinn oversees the pilot project.. (Branigin, W. Post 10/8)
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10/8 - Statewide - Left-wing organizers blanket Va.
     A Washington, D.C. group that supports liberal Democrat legislators has sent "field directors" to work at least 13 closely contested Va. Senate and Delegate races to try and forestall the Democrats demotion to a minority in both houses of the General Assembly. The group, Democrats 2000, founded by Sen. Tom Harkin and former Tex. Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower, among others, was originally called the "Populist Progressive Forum." Its stated goal is to "position Democrats to be in control of the redistricting process in 2002." Clinton spinmeister James Carville is a member of the group's board. Fairfax-area candidates with support from the group include Leslie Byrne (S-34th), Kelly Burke (HD-32nd), Eileen Filler Corn (HD-41st), Gladys Keating (HD-43rd), and Kristen Amundson (HD-44th). All are left-leaning Democrats. (RT-D/AP 10/8)
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10/7 - ASB - "Worried" Davis ducks Foster debate invite
   ASB candidate Sharon Davis (I w/D endorsement) has rejected an invitation from opponent Dave Foster (I w/ABC endorsement) to a one-on-one debate limited to School Board issues. Davis's explanation to A. Journal's Buel (10/7): "It worried me to think we were circumventing a lot of the normal community events."
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10/7 - Statewide - Va. Internet obscenity law challenged
   The left-wing group People for the American Way and a coalition of allies filed suit in Alexandria's U.S. District Court 10/6 challenging the Virginia law that bans the open display on the Internet of obscene material that is harmful to juveniles. The law, which took effect July 1,  "is ineffective and harmful to business and the development of [the Internet]," according to PAW's counsel.   Del. Bob Marshall (R-P.W.), the sponsor of the bill, disagreed, saying it was carefully crafted to target those who sell pornography to children. Other plaintiffs in the coalition include Herndon-based ISP PSINet Inc., the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and Lambda Rising Bookstores, a retailer of homosexual materials. (Smith, W. Post 10/7)
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10/6 - N. Va. - Senate OKs more Reagan flights
   The Senate on 10/5 approved an FAA reauthorization bill that would allow 24 more flights in and out of Reagan Airport daily. The bill's advocates and air-fare experts agree that allowing more flights in and out of Reagan "likely will lead to lower fares" and increased competition. The recently renovated Reagan terminal is a favorite of many frequent travelers in Arlington and throughout the region. Sen. John Warner (R) wangled a compromise with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), the chief sponsor of the bill, to cut to 24 the 48 additional daily flights that had been approved in committee. Sen. McCain called the increase "barely acceptable to me" but still "better than the status quo." All of the new flights can be large jets, but only half may travel beyond a 1,250 mile perimeter that dates back to the reign of former Rep. Jim Wright (D-Tex.), who set the perimeter for the then-National Airport just wide enough to get him home to Fort Worth, Texas without making the long trek to Dulles.
   NIMBYs Nerked, PAX Pleased
   ACB member Barbara Favola (D) decried the expansion step, saying "We resent this. I really think this is an affront." But the bill also releases $146 million for improvements to both Reagan and Dulles airports, including better parking access and baggage-handling improvements at Dulles. The current 2200-0700 curfew at Reagan will not be affected. (W. Times, W. Post 10/6)
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10/5 - Arlington - Congress allows I-66 widening
   Both houses of Congress passed on 10/4 by veto-proof majorities a conference report approving funds for a wider I-66 inside the Beltway, reports the Arlington Journal's Seligson. If signed by Bill Clinton, the bill allows VDOT to widen the freeway by one or two lanes, "sidestepping" a Carter-era agreement between Arlington County and the federal DOT. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) and Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) both favor expansion, as do the Arlington and Fairfax Chambers of Commerce. ACB chairman Paul Ferguson (D) opposes it, claiming "we should be trying to get rail to Tysons Corner" and hinting that he might back litigation to oppose the widening. Arl. Civic Fed. head Randy Swart groused in opposition, "[T]his is no way to run a democracy." The article didn't quote any commuters, who likely will be pleased by Congress's action.
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10/5 - Arlington - DHS lease approved 4-1
   By a 4 to 1 vote, the ACB on Saturday approved the Arlington County welfare department's controversial move to offices on Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. According to the Arlington Journal's Buel, the move "has raised concerns" among nearby residents, who have organized a neighborhood coalition to fight it. Department of Human Services agencies that would be moved include those dealing with general welfare recipients, the elderly and handicapped, child welfare, public health, and internal DHS administration and planning. ACB member Mike Lane (R) cast the lone vote against the plan, saying that it "did not include community input from the earliest stages."
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10/5 - N. Va: H. Blackwell, Cunningham appointed to JMU BOV
   Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) has appointed Helen Blackwell of Arlington and Chuck Cunningham of Fairfax to the Board of Visitors of James Madison University in Harrisonburg. Blackwell edits the Eagle Forum Education Reporter and is a former chairman of the Arlington County Republican Committee. Cunningham is Director of Federal Affairs for the Fairfax-based National Rifle Association of America. (Arl. Journal 10/5)
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10/5 - Statewide - Sierra Club worried about "sprawl"
   A 10/4  report on "urban sprawl" by the anti-growth Sierra Club gives Virginia relatively low marks on such topics as "open space protection," "land use planning" "transportation planning," and "community revitalization." Virginia ranks between 28th to 32nd our of all states in each of those categories. Given the Sierra Club's preferences for mass transit over automobiles and crowded cities over pleasant suburbs, the mid-pack rating should be regarded as a badge of honor for the Commonwealth.
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10/4 - Courts - Supremes to hear Brzonkala VAWA case
   The U.S. Supreme Court last Tuesday (9/28/99) agreed to judge whether the civil provisions of the Violence Against Women Act are unconstitutional. In 1998, U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser, sitting in Roanoke, found that the Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce when it authorized victims of "gender-motivated" violence to sue their alleged attackers in federal court under VAWA. In March 1999, the full Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting in Richmond, upheld Judge Kiser in a 7-4 decision.
   No date has been set for arguments before the Supreme Court. A decision is expected before the Court's term ends in late June. Christy Brzonkala, the plaintiff in the case, is represented by the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. Defendant Antonio Morrison is represented by the Center for Individual Rights. Virginia Tech, also a defendant, is represented by the office of Attorney General Mark Earley.
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10/4 - WH2K - McCain: Big Tent = Log Cabin
   The Capital Area Log Cabin GOPers recently hosted Trevor A. McC. Potter, former Federal Elections Commissioner and current legal counsel for the presidential campaign of  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), according to the Washington Blade (10/1/99). The article says that Potter discussed Sen. McCain's positions on many issues important to homosexuals, and "noted the presence of openly Gay staffers and supporters" in the McCain campaign.
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10/1  - Arlington SB - Foster up 2-1 in fundraising
   Independent candidate and "well-known volunteer" Dave Foster leads opponent Sharon Davis (I w/D endorsement) $41K to $18K as of 8/31, reports Washington Post's Mathews on 9/30. Mr. Foster has received the endorsements of the Democrat-dominated Arlingtonians for a Better County and the PAC of the Arlington Education Association. Ms. Davis "may have suffered" from being married to a former member of the County Board, reports Mathews, without identifying the member -- Albert Eisenberg -- by name.
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 9/30  - Arlington CB - Lane and Monroe - Union label?
  In a letter to the editor of the 9/30 Sun Weekly, Arlington Education Association executive director Marjorie McCreery endorses moderate Republican incumbent Mike Lane and liberal Democrat candidate Charles Monroe for the two County Board seats being contested on Nov. 2. "We have lost confidence that [current chairman Paul] Ferguson (D) shares" a commitment to improve the local retirement system, McCreery writes.
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9/30  - Senate 32 - Adams misses the X-ring on guns
  Moderate GOP VS-32nd challenger Whitney Adams scored an anemic 2 out of 10 on the candidate survey of the pro-Second Amendment Virginia Citizens Defense League. According to the VCDL survey, Adams opposes repeal of the antiquated 1944 gun permit law, would not support legislation prohibiting localities from suing gun manufacturers, and opposes recognizing other states' concealed carry permits. Adams does oppose mandatory trigger locks and similar "safety" provisions that would impair self-defense. Incumbent Janet Howell (D) has not replied to the survey.
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