election

Mark Kelly Takes to the Airwaves

By ARLnow.com

Republican county board candidate Mark Kelly has started running an ad on local cable television.

The ad emphasizes the “diversity of opinion” Kelly says he would bring to the board. Arlington viewers started seeing the ad on cable TV shows on Wednesday.

“We’re trying to use every means available to reach people,” Kelly said after a debate in Highland Park last night.

Kelly’s opponent, incumbent Democrat Chris Zimmerman, says he has no plans to air any TV ads, although he has done so in the past.

“I’m not buying cable ads,” Zimmerman said, adding that cable viewership is down. “Cable doesn’t have the penetration it used to.”

Zimmerman said that his campaign was based on a 12-month strategy, not a short-term strategy.

More Details on the Murray Bus Incident

By ARLnow.com

Another witness has come forward with additional details about the accident involving the Patrick Murray for Congress campaign bus in Old Town Alexandria. At the same time, however, the woman whose Jeep was sideswiped by the bus says she’s ready to move on.

Barbara Reeder, the Jeep’s owner, says she’s very happy with the way the Murray campaign handled the incident in the hours after our story was published.

“Patrick Murray’s office was just delightful to work with,” the New Jersey resident said, in an unsolicited phone call to ARLnow.com. “I thought they were very responsive.”

“I would hate to see this be a political issue,” she said.

Meanwhile, another witness has shed more light on what happened immediately after the accident, which Alexandria Police say they’re investigating as a possible hit and run.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

One Sign That It’s Almost Halloween — Around 5:00 yesterday evening, police were called to the ramp from northbound Washington Boulevard to Route 50 for a report of a severed human foot found in a bag in the middle of the roadway. Officers investigated and, as it turns out, the “foot” was made out of rubber. “A Halloween prank,” one officer concluded.

Pentagon Steps Up Security for Marine Corps Marathon — The Pentagon Force Protection Agency will provide more security than usual for Sunday’s Marine Corps Marathon. That revelation comes in the wake of three middle-of-the-night shootings that targeted Marine Corps and military sites. USA Today reports that the beefed up security will focus on the Pentagon’s north parking lot, which serves as the pre-race staging area for MCM’s 30,000 runners.

Candidates Forum Tonight — Ten northwest Arlington civic associations are teaming up to host a non-partisan candidate’s night at Resurrection Lutheran Church (6201 N. Washington Blvd) tonight. The candidates for school board, county board and congress will debate each other and answer questions submitted by residents. The school board candidates will square off starting at 7:00 p.m., followed by the congressional candidates at 7:45 and the congressional candidates at 8:30.

EXCLUSIVE — Murray Campaign Bus Investigated for Alleged Hit and Run

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) The back of Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray’s campaign bus swiped a Jeep in Old Town Alexandria last night and drove off without leaving a note, a witness and the Jeep’s owner tell ARLnow.com.

The Murray campaign says the driver left a note. Alexandria Police say they’re investigating the accident as a hit and run, but also say that someone on the bus left a note.

The alleged incident happened while the bus was trying to turn from King Street onto Union Street around 7:00 last night, witness Jennifer Watkins said in a phone interview this morning. Watkins said the back of the bus loudly scraped against the side of the Jeep, briefly lifting it in the air.

Watkins estimated that about 30 people were within earshot of the accident. The bus was adorned with campaign signs, she said, and a Murray for Congress SUV preceded the bus down King Street with a megaphone blaring.

Watkins said the SUV later doubled back to inspect the damage, but left without anyone getting out of the vehicle. Afterward, Watkins and another witness left notes on the car to tell the owner what happened.

“To blatantly drive away with all these witnesses watching… we were in disbelief,” Watkins said. “We tried to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn’t know that they did that, but when the guy came back around we were like… this is ridiculous.”

The Jeep’s owner, Barbara Reeder, says the campaign has not contacted her yet. She’s hoping to get the bus’s insurance information so she can get her car repaired.

“This is not a political issue,” Reeder said. “The only thing that concerns me is that it was a hit and run… I just want to make sure my car gets fixed.”

The incident is being investigated as a property damage hit and run, says Alexandria Police spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt. She said that someone on the bus left a note. She was unable to say whether a traffic citation was or will be issued to the bus driver.

“We’ll handle it the same way” as any other accident involving a bus, Hildebrandt said.

In response to an ARLnow.com inquiry, a Murray campaign spokesperson disputes witness accounts that the bus driver did not leave a note on the Jeep. The campaign issued the following statement:

Tuesday night there may have been contact between the campaign bus we have contracted and a vehicle in Old Town Alexandria.

My preliminary information is the bus driver stopped, looked for damage and in the dark, apparently found none. Nonetheless, he left a message on the windshield of the impacted car.

Very late last night I was contacted by the Alexandria police investigating the incident. As the campaign was not the leasing agent, I had no information and informed the police we would inform the driver today that the police would like to talk to him today. We expect the situation will be fully resolved today.

There were no injuries and no hit and run. The bus is fully insured and any damages will be covered by the bus owner.

With just six days to go until the election, the accident is an unwelcome distraction for the Murray campaign. Murray was just beginning to enjoy some media traction thanks to controversial comments made by his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jim Moran.

Murray Hopes to Benefit from Moran “Public Service” Swipe

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray is seizing on remarks about his experience made by his opponent, Rep. Jim Moran, at an Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. And, it seems, Murray is picking up some long-sought traction, at least from right-leaning media outlets.

With cameras rolling, Moran said of Murray, a retired Army officer: “What [Republicans] do is find candidates, usually stealth candidates, that haven’t been in office, haven’t served or performed in any kind of public service. My opponent is typical, frankly.”

The gaffe-prone congressman then dug the hole a bit deeper while referring to Murray’s limited government stance.

“Of course for 24 years he’s taken a government check, because, frankly, the military is still part of the federal government, and yet his principal platform is to cut government spending,” Moran said.

The Murray camp, in response to Moran’s “public service” swipe, has issued a flurry of YouTube videos, press releases and blog posts. Today at 12:30 p.m., nearly three weeks after the original remarks were made, Murray will be holding a news conference in Alexandria with veterans who support his campaign. (Update at 5:00 p.m. — The campaign has posted video from the event here.)

The press conference comes as right-leaning outlets like the Washington Examiner, The Weekly Standard, Fox News and others have started to pick up the story. It’s the first round of sustained media exposure in a race that has otherwise seen a dearth of reportorial interest from mainstream news outlets.

In what may be a preview of today’s press conference, Murray released a video response to the comments.

“Congressman Moran, I’m proud to have served my county in the Army for 24 years, including tours in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq during the surge,” Murray said. “Why don’t you come with me to Arlington cemetery, where more of my friends and fellow service members are buried than I care to think about — and tell their surviving family members that their loved ones had no public service.”

For his part, Moran says that he misspoke.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Kelly Has $10K Cash Advantage — Republican candidate for county board Mark Kelly may not have raised as much money as incumbent Chris Zimmerman but, true to his campaign platform, he also spent significantly less. Kelly had $28,480 cash on hand on Sept. 30, more than $10,000 more than Zimmerman. More from the Sun Gazette.

County Board Questions NOVA Budget Request — Northern Virginia Community College is asking localities to help cover its $14 million capital budget gap, but at a meeting last night the county board seemed less than enthusiastic about doing so in a year when more budget cuts and tax hikes are likely on the way. Currently, Arlington pays $1 per resident to NOVA’s capital budget fund. NOVA is asking for an additional 50 cents per person. More from TBD.

Hillside Park Reopens — At long last, a hilly, wooded park near Rosslyn, cleverly named Hillside Park, has reopened following significant upgrades. More from TBD.

Murray Has $108K Cash on Hand in Latest Filing

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray raised $173,164 from July 1 to Sept. 30. After expenses, that leaves Murray with $107,937 cash on hand heading into the home stretch of the campaign.

The figures were revealed in a financial disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission this morning. Today is the deadline for quarterly financial filings from congressional candidates.

Murray has held fundraisers with a number of boldfaced GOP names recently. He has also been designated as “On the Radar” by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

As of June 30, Murray had raised $129,370 and had $29,890 cash on hand. His cumulative fundraising now stands at $267,535. The campaign also has a debt of $34,000.

Murray’s opponent, ten-term Democratic congressman Jim Moran, filed his October quarterly disclosure late this afternoon. Moran’s campaign reported donations of $191,806 from July 1 to Sept. 30, against an expenditure of $199,050.

Moran lists $577,256 cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

Cooch, Tea Party Leaders to Spend Election Night in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

If the election results go their way, the Tea Party will be partying in Arlington on Nov. 2.

The Clarendon-based Leadership Institute, a sort of conservative political training camp, will host “an election night victory party for 350 conservative and Tea Party activists.”

Those activists are expected to include:

  • Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General
  • Morton Blackwell, President of the Leadership Institute
  • Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Center
  • Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, Co-Founders and National Coordinators of the Tea Party Patriots
  • Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform
  • Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council

The Leadership Institute is inviting journalists and bloggers to the event, billing it as a “one-stop conservative central” to get reaction to election results from leaders of the conservative movement.

According to a press release, the theme of the party is “Replacing the ruling class with constitutional small government conservatives.”

Kelly Makes County Manager’s Resignation a Campaign Issue

By ARLnow.com

Republican Mark Kelly is hoping that the handling of county manager Michael Brown’s forced resignation will convince voters that more “diversity of opinion” is needed on the county board.

Last night, in an otherwise dry debate at the Lyon Village Civic Association’s general meeting, Kelly made the Brown issue central to his case against incumbent Democrat Chris Zimmerman.

“I want to give you one example that happened recently that I think points to the problem when one party controls every seat,” Kelly told the crowd. While saying that sometimes it’s necessary to fire people who aren’t working out, Kelly criticized the way in which board chairman Jay Fisette finally acknowledged that Brown did not simply resign for personal reasons.

“It took them a while to respond, and when they finally came clean about it, it was at the Arlington County Democratic [Committee] monthly meeting,” Kelly said. “I don’t think an announcement like that… should have been done at a partisan political meeting; I think that should have been done through official channels” like a press release or a press conference.

Zimmerman did not address the county manager issue during the debate, but he did respond to a reporter’s question afterward.

“I think that was the first opportunity [Jay Fisette] got” to talk about the county manager issue in a public forum, Zimmerman said. “It’s not like this is the White House, we just don’t go down to the press room and demand attention for a press conference.”

“I think the board did what it had to do,” Zimmerman continued. “We’re very fortunate we had [former interim county manager Barbara Donnellan] available to us… we didn’t have to do another search process.”

During the forum, Zimmerman touted the board’s accomplishments in promoting smart growth, fiscal responsibility and relatively low residential taxes.

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Moran Leads Poll Despite Low Favorable Rating

By ARLnow.com

Incumbent Rep. Jim Moran holds a 13 point lead over Republican challenger Patrick Murray, according to a poll of 400 likely voters commissioned by the Murray campaign.

The poll, conducted in mid-September, shows Moran with 45 percent of the likely vote compared to Murray’s 32 percent. Another 23 percent say they’re undecided.

In 2008, Moran defeated Republican candidate Mark Ellmore 68 percent to 30 percent.

Despite lagging in the poll, the Murray campaign cites Moran’s favorability ratings as evidence that he is vulnerable.

Asked how Moran is doing as a congressman, 42 percent gave a positive response, while 41 percent gave a negative response. Poll respondents had a 43 percent favorable opinion of Moran, and a 33 percent unfavorable opinion. By comparison, Moran’s favorable rating is roughly twice that of Sarah Palin and a few points below that of President Obama.

Asked about Patrick Murray, only 27 percent of respondents had an opinion or had heard of him. Among those respondents, 19 percent have a favorable opinion, while 8 percent hold an unfavorable opinion.

The poll, conducted by Alexandria-based McLaughlin and Associates, concludes that Moran is a “weak incumbent” who is “clearly vulnerable on issues of character.” To have a shot at winning, however, Murray must make an effort “to become as well known as Jim Moran over the next few weeks.”

Among the residents polled — all likely voters in Virginia’s 8th district — 36 percent said they were Democrats, 31 percent said they were Republicans and 30 percent identified themselves as independents.

Could Dirty Money Hurt Jim Moran’s Re-election Prospects?

By ARLnow.com

According to conventional wisdom, Rep. Jim Moran will likely win a comfortable re-election for an eleventh term as congressman for Virginia’s eighth district. But in an anti-incumbent year, any whiff of scandal could prove especially costly.

Enter last month’s guilty plea by former lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, founder of the now-defunct PMA Group. Magliocchetti pleaded guilty to illegally reimbursing family members and PMA employees for making political contributions.

PMA and its employees funneled at least $150,000 into Moran’s campaign coffers from 1998-2008, according to data compiled by political blogger Ben Tribbett. While the donations were taking place, millions of dollars in defense contracts were awarded to PMA’s clients by Moran and two other Defense Appropriations subcommittee members.

In his 2,200 word post (the first of two parts) Tribbett details PMA’s hiring of former Moran Chief of Staff Melissa Koloszar and the firm’s uncharacteristically generous donation to a state-level candidate: Brian Moran, the congressman’s brother.

Prosecutors concluded that campaigns that received money from PMA employees and Magliocchetti family members did not know it was procured illegally. Still, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-partisan government watchdog, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for additional information in the case.

Could the PMA affair hurt Moran’s re-election prospects? Obviously it doesn’t help, but at this point it doesn’t seem to be getting much traction. Moran’s Republican challenger, Patrick Murray, has done little to press the issue publicly, above and beyond sending an email calling on Moran to donate the money from PMA to charity.

Nonetheless, additional revelations could cause the slow-simmering affair to heat up as election day approaches.

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