controversy

Murray Looks Forward, But Berry Supporters Looking Back

By ARLnow.com

Patrick Murray is gearing up for a tough general election fight, but many supporters of the candidate he defeated in Tuesday’s GOP primary still haven’t moved on from what they say was a dishonorable finish to the campaign.

Supporters of Matthew Berry have taken to the comment section of the local Republican politics website RedNoVA to vent their frustration.

Said one: “People I’ve spoken to in the last three days are shocked and disgusted by Murrays tactics… There is no better chance that I will [support] Murray than there is of Murray defeating Moran. Period.”

Another wrote: “Upon losing you pause for a moment and then shift gears to throw your support behind the winner. In the end, we’re all Republicans, right? Well not this time for me. I saw the ugly, inside game Murray put up especially the final 96hrs and I refuse to reward that with my vote in the fall.”

Much of the controversy revolves around a mailer sent out by the Murray campaign on the eve of the election. The last-hour mailer didn’t explicitly point out that Berry is openly gay, but it included statements like “Matthew favors Gay Marriage in Virginia,” and “Matthew, who has never served in the Military, supports change of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

RedNoVA called it “one of the most foul mailers ever.”

Murray, however, disputes the notion that his campaign did anything morally objectionable.

“I want us to be nothing but positive,” Murray said during an interview at his victory party in Alexandria Tuesday night. “There was a little ugly back and forth… but I’m very confident and comfortable that we stayed on the high ground the entire time.”

Murray had an explanation for the last-minute timing of the mailing.

“I delayed the sending of our one mailer — we only did one mailer — I delayed it for days to the aggravation of my campaign staff… because I got involved to investigate in painstaking detail that we were being accurate with my opponent’s position… and we were,” he said. “I feel comfortable about what we did, and I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

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District Taco’s Revenge

By ARLnow.com

Yesterday We Love DC reported that Arlington taco truck District Taco had been unceremoniously booted from its regular spot in Rosslyn.

Why? Because the spot — boldly staked out between Baja Fresh and Chipotle — apparently wasn’t sitting well with management at Baja Fresh, who complained to Monday Properties, which was renting the space to District Taco.

Well, Osiris Hoil and his crew were back on the streets of Rosslyn this morning, bringing their breakfast burritos to the masses. They found a new spot on North Lynn Street, between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street, according to their Twitter feed.

“That is right, we are back!!! We might be small but our heart is big! Who doesn’t want to make the American Dream?” Hoil wrote.

If you hurry, you may be able to get the pollo asado or carnitas District Taco is serving for lunch.

New Group Wades into Change-of-Government Fray

By ARLnow.com

A group of civic activists has formed the “Coalition for Arlington Good Government” (CAGG) to push back against an effort to change Arlington’s form of government.

The group’s goal is “to inform Arlington residents about the negative impacts of the proposal behind the petition drive.”

CAGG has set up a Facebook page with the slogan “Decline to Sign” and is in the process of launching a website.

The coalition’s co-chairs are Bill Bozman, Judy Connally, Alan Howze and Kris McLaughlin.

More from CAGG’s press release, after the jump.

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Group Fires Back at Change-of-Government Memo

By ARLnow.com

The Committee for a Better Arlington is firing back at a memo released by the County Attorney’s office yesterday. The memo concluded that the change-of-government plan promoted by the committee would be “a step backwards for the County.”

The committee just issued a strongly-worded statement (below) and pointed us to a memo from Ron Carlee, the previous county manager, which talks about the limitations of the County Manager Plan of government currently in place in Arlington.

Here’s the full statement:

It is disappointing that taxpayer dollars spent on the County Attorney’s salary were used for the overtly political memo disguised as a legal opinion on this ballot initiative.

The Committee for a Better Arlington was established in order to improve the current form of government in Arlington County so that it is more accountable and responsive to its citizens. It was established to improve the transparency between elected officials and Arlingtonians. More importantly, it was established to curtail the power an unelected bureaucrat has over the services and citizens of Arlington.

Prior to embarking on this initiative, the Committee for a Better Arlington deliberately reviewed the various forms of government provided for in the Virginia Code. The Committee felt the County Board form of government was the least disruptive yet responsive form of government that would remedy the faults in the current system – mainly communication and transparency with the County Board.

To date, thousands of Arlington registered voters have signed the petition expressing the same desire to improve Arlington County. This is not simply a matter pushed by Arlington’s police and fire unions to increase their pay.

If the County Attorney believes those who are pushing this change are naive then he believes the thousands of Arlington voters we meet each weekend at grocery stores, metro stops and farmers’ markets are also naive. Perhaps these voters will be equally naive come November and vote to improve the current system – one that places political expediency over better government practices.

Del. Englin Fires Back at Nasty Email-Writer

By ARLnow.com

Del. David Englin (D) is firing back at someone who sent him a not-so-nice email last night. He forwarded the letter to supporters and asked for contributions to “send this person a message.”

Here’s the email Englin received:

From: Eric [Last Name Redacted]
Date: Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 10:03 PM
Subject: Health Care
To: DelDEnglin [at] house.virginia.gov

So I hear you’re opposed to [Virginia Attorney General Ken] Cuccinelli’s lawsuit against the Health Care reform. Well, I’m here to tell you that I’m 110% FOR Cuccinelli and his lawsuit. You must be a loonatic to think the Health Care Bill will do anything but bankrupt America and create a Socialist, Government ruled land. You are the type of un-American trash that will be voted out and replaced with a real patriot. And I will be glad to see you go.

Have a great day,
Eric

Englin, who served in the military, said on Twitter that he “loves it when Tea Baggers who’ve never served a day in uniform in their life call me ‘un-American trash’ and call themselves ‘true patriots.'”

In his email, Englin explained the reason for forwarding the letter:

I’m forwarding this note I received last night — an example of the hate mail I’m getting from Tea Party activists for standing up to Ken Cuccinelli and his right-wing crusades.

As you can see, we can’t afford to take anything for granted. I need to raise $10,000 by mid-May to fund my annual post-session newsletter to constituents, both to keep them informed, and because the more they hear from me now, the more likely they will vote for me next year.

Englin represents parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.

Astronaut’s Family Opposes Arlington Planetarium Closure

By ARLnow.com

The family of the late astronaut David Brown, for whom the David M. Brown Planetarium is named, has written a letter opposing Arlington Public Schools’ plan to close the 40-year-old facility, according to the Washington Post.

Brown was killed in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Brown’s brother, Douglas Brown, asked school officials why it’s necessary to close the only public planetarium in the country’s 10th-richest county.

Facing with a multi-million dollar budget deficit, APS says it cannot afford the nearly half million dollars worth of mechanical upgrades needed to keep the planetarium open.

Falls Church Imam Gives State Capitol Blessing Despite Protests

By ARLnow.com

An imam from Falls Church gave a blessing at the state Capitol in Richmond today, despite protests from groups accusing him of being a “terrorist sympathizer.”

Del. Adam Ebbin (D), who represents part of Arlington and Falls Church, invited imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center to give today’s opening prayer.

Groups including the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force and the Traditional Values Coalition protested, citing Abdul-Malik’s comments about due process for Muslims arrested on terror charges, along with his mosque’s brief link to two of the 9/11 hijackers. In the past, Abdul-Malik has spoken out against violence and terrorism.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement about the protests.

“We cannot let a vocal minority of hate-mongers deny American Muslims their constitutionally-guaranteed right to take part in the political process,” said Corey Saylor, the group’s national legislative director.

Abdul-Malik delivered the prayer around noon today. Del. David Englin (D), who represents part of south Arlington, said on Twitter that he “enjoyed” the blessing, adding that it was “very well done.”

In an earlier statement, Abdul-Malik said: “My hope is that from this gathering we will all get know each other and build new bridges of understanding, no matter how much some narrow-minded people dislike it.”

Residents Debate County’s RV Policy

By ARLnow.com

Neighbor will be pitted against neighbor at the Arlington Zoning Committee (“ZOCO”) hearing tomorrow night. The issue: parking recreational vehicles in the county.

Currently, the county’s RV parking policy is too stringent for some, who want to be able to legally park large RVs in their driveway, and doesn’t go far enough for others, who see RVs as an ugly, property-value-reducing blight on Arlington’s residential communities.

The two opposing arguments are laid out in excruciating detail in this county document.

The ZOCO hearing is scheduled from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) night at the Navy League Building (2300 Wilson Blvd).

Residents Ask: How Do You Clear THIS?

By ARLnow.com

Update on 2/18 – Several public works crews were out on Military Road today. A police officer was posted at Military Road and 26th Road this afternoon to help Taylor Elementary students cross the street.

Huge boulders of ice, snow and road filth cover the sidewalks along Military Road in the Donaldson Run section of Arlington, near Taylor Elementary School, forcing pedestrians to walk dangerously close to fast-moving traffic on the busy commuter route.

Over the weekend, the county asked residents to help kids get back to school by clearing the sidewalks in front of their homes. But some residents, fearing retribution for not following through on the request, are asking: how do mere mortals move six-foot-high mountains of icy snow?

“It would take a battalion” to clear the sidewalk, one Military Road resident said.

“I don’t think there’s a way anybody can realistically take care of this,” said another resident. In 23 years of living in Arlington “we never got this much snow piled on the sidewalk.”

Residents we talked to were particularly frustrated by the fact that the sidewalk snow mountains were the result of the county’s own snow removal efforts. After clearing the main roadway, residents said, plows cleared the adjacent bike lane, pushing the snow, ice and dirt onto the narrow sidewalk.

The county has warned that plows, by their very nature, will push snows from the road onto sidewalks and driveways. Residents say they understand and appreciate the snow removal challenges, but add that they should not be responsible for removing such massive amounts of plowed precipitation.

The county, for its part, has been actively treating some walkways. Officials admit, however, that they don’t have the resources to get to every trouble spot as quickly as they would like.

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