Rep. Jim Moran

Murray Campaigns on the Eve of Tuesday’s Election

By ARLnow.com

It was a whirlwind trip around the 8th District today for Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray.

With the help of a campaign bus, a core group of staffers and a collection of volunteers, Murray greeted voters in ten different locations around the district, part of his week-long “Road to Victory Tour.”

Murray’s first stop in Arlington was a guest appearance on G. Gordon Liddy’s radio show, which broadcasts from Rosslyn. The two men bantered about Murray’s military service and opponent Jim Moran’s comment that military service does not constitute “public service.”

“I don’t know who this Moran fellow thinks he is, but wow, that really takes the cake,” Liddy said, after rattling off the ranks three children and one grandchild who have served or are serving in the military.

After the Liddy interview, it was off to Clarendon. Starbucks was first on the agenda, for a much-needed caffeine infusion.

(The public appearances had started at 6:30 a.m. at the Huntington Metro station, and weren’t scheduled to end until 7:00 p.m., at the King Street Metro station. “I’ve stopped looking at the schedule because it just keeps going,” Murray said wearily.)

As Murray was getting ready to leave Starbucks, an aide told him he had to make a series of important phone calls. He pleaded for some time to walk around first.

Murray was remarkably unintimidated by the deep blue surroundings: a Whole Foods, a yoga apparel store, an indie rock club. Flashing a big smile, he approached the few people who were walking around Clarendon at 12:15 on a Monday afternoon. The grin was greeted with politeness at worst, and an enthusiastic pledge to vote at best.

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Moran and Murray Supporters Trade Accusations

By ARLnow.com

Did a Patrick Murray campaign volunteer get up in the face Rep. Jim Moran at the Huntington Metro station early this morning, as a Democratic source tells us?

Or did Moran and his son go “ballistic” and direct a “profane tirade” at the volunteer, as the Murray for Congress blog says?

Or, perhaps, both?

With precious few hours left until the polls open tomorrow morning, a shadow of political ugliness has enveloped the 8th District.

Murray first made the accusation against Moran on the Chris Plante radio show on 630 WMAL this morning. Since then, the campaign says a supporter has offered a $1,000 reward “to anyone who can provide video of the incident by 5:00 p.m. tonight.”

Meanwhile, the Moran campaign is firing back.

“For someone that claims to be running on the theme of ‘honor and courage’ this a new low,” a campaign spokesperson said. “These childish acts of desperation are symptomatic of a campaign headed for defeat.”

Murray Skips Debate, Slams Moran on Chinese TV

By ARLnow.com

Republican Patrick Murray skipped the last scheduled candidate debate in Arlington last night, leaving Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Moran and Independent Green candidate Ron Fisher to have more of a “discussion” in front of nearly 100 residents.

But earlier this week Murray found the time for a 12-minute interview with New Tang Dynasty Television, which is affiliated with Falun Gong, the Chinese religious movement.

During the interview, Murray blasted Moran’s outspoken support of earmarks, calling the ten-term congressman “irresponsible” and “an anachronism from the past.”

“The earmarks benefit [Moran] more than anyone else,” Murray said. “The way he works earmarks, it’s called ‘pay to play.’ The defense industries and the IT industries, they feel forced to participate in it. They give him campaign donations in return.”

In response to an inquiry from ARLnow.com, the Moran campaign broke its usual silence and fired back.

“Patrick Murray has no clue about the needs of the 8th District because he only moved here 18 months ago,” the campaign said. “If he had more knowledge of Northern Virginia, he’d be aware of the importance of earmarks for building Dulles Rail, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Springfield Mixing Bowl and countless other projects that create jobs and benefit our region’s quality of life.”

“Mr. Murray’s attacks on the Federal Government, such as calling for the elimination of the Department of Education, are way out of touch and will fall on deaf ears,” the campaign added. “Northern Virginians know how integral the Federal Government is to our economy, which includes thousands of contracting jobs, consulting positions and related service industry jobs.”

In other parts of the surprisingly topical NTD TV interview — it may have been the most issue-oriented interview of the entire campaign — Murray tried to strike a more moderate tone.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sushi Rock Decision Deferred — The county board deferred its decision on whether to grant Sushi Rock (1900 Clarendon Blvd) a live entertainment permit until November, to allow more time for community input. At yesterday’s board meeting, neighbors complained that the restaurant is already so loud that it keeps them up at night. Sushi Rock management told the board that they’re losing money while waiting for the permit, which would help develop more late night bar business. More from TBD.

ACE Holds “Hallowgreen” Gala Tonight — Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment is holding its cleverly-named Halloween gala tonight on the Pike. There will be a costume contest, a silent auction and a concert by the band Trees on Fire. Tickets are $50. The event is being held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Salsa Room (2619 Columbia Pike).

Virginia GOP Hammers Moran on Comments — Rep. Jim Moran’s ill-advised critique of his GOP challenger, Patrick Murray, continues to haunt Moran and embolden Republicans. Now the state Republican party has released a web ad entitled “Just a Government Check?” which pairs Moran’s remark regarding Murray’s limited government stance and his military service to photos of Arlington National Cemetery.

New Mobile Visitors Center to Debut at Marathon — Arlington’s new electric-powered Mobile Visitor Center will be making its debut at the Marine Corps Marathon Health and Fitness Expo in the District on Friday. The county says the visitor center is “a fully customized ‘green’ vehicle that will serve visitors in the County’s urban villages and at major tourism events. ” More from Arlington County.

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

Earmark Could Save Planetarium — Rep. Jim Moran says he’s going to try to dig up $400,000 in federal funds to help renovate and save Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium. But even if he’s successful, Moran’s press secretary says the money would not be available until late next year — past the fundraising deadline the school board set for the non-profit Friends of the Planetarium group. More from the Sun Gazette.

Golf Farce Premieres at Signature Theater — Now playing at Shirlington’s Signature Theater: A Fox on the Fairway. The show, which is making its world premiere at Signature, is a “screwball comedy” and “a tribute… to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s.” Starring Jeff McCarthy, Holly Twyford and Andrew Long, A Fox on the Fairway is “about love, life, and man’s eternal love affair with… golf.” See a video promo here.

Sushi Rock Applying for Dance Hall Permit — Sushi Rock wants to become a late night party spot. But it also wants to “keep the volume to a reasonable level,” which means lots of sound-proofing material. The county board is expected to decide whether to grant Sushi Rock a live entertainment and dance hall permit at its upcoming round of meetings — either Saturday or Tuesday. More from TBD.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Internal Moran Poll Suggests Comfortable Lead  — An poll commissioned by Rep. Jim Moran’s campaign suggests the ten-term congressman holds a 58-31 lead among likely voters. That compares to the 13-point spread cited in a poll commissioned by Republican challenger Patrick Murray’s campaign. “I’ve never lost, and I’m not going to lose to somebody who moved here a year and a half ago,” Moran told the Washington Post.

Yorktown HS Football Rolls — The Yorktown High School Patriots defense pitched another shutout Friday night, allowing the team to capture first place in the Virginia AAA National District. Yorktown’s record improves to 6-1. More from the Washington Post.

APS Enrollment Higher Than Projected — Enrollment in Arlington Public Schools is 1 percent higher than projected, and 5 percent higher than at the beginning of last year’s school year. There are currently 21,241 students in the school system, and 62 relocatable classrooms to deal with APS’s capacity problems. More from the Sun Gazette.

Flickr pool photo by Aaron Webb

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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Westover Market Appeals Zoning Decision — In spite of efforts by the county’s zoning enforcement office to limit its occupancy and its entertainment options, Westover Market’s Beer Garden is still a place where neighbors can gather to watch football and baseball games on a crisp fall day. The market has bought itself some time by appealing the zoning decision. In the meantime, the market’s mom and pop owners are trying to round up the $25,000-50,000 that will be needed to install new, code-compliant bathrooms. More from TBD.

Conservative Writer Says Murray Has a Chance — Conservative writer Jim Geraghty is impressed that incumbent congressman Jim Moran is “only” up 13 percent against challenger Patrick Murray. Blogging for the National Review Online, Geraghty said that in light of the numbers from the internal Murray poll, he’s picking the retired Army colonel as his “special crazy insane upset pick” in the upcoming mid-term elections. More from NRO.

Last Ballston Farmers Market of the Year — Today from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. the last Ballston Farmers Market of the year will be held in Welburn Square. (That is, if it’s not canceled due to rainy weather. “Rain or shine,” organizers now say.) More on the market from the Arlington Kids blog.

District Taco Has a Secret Admirer — The Arlington-based food cart District Taco was the subject of an ad in Craigslist’s missed connections section. DT’s secret admirer, it seems, is a movie star who’s in town working on a big Hollywood film. More from DCist.

Flickr pool photo by Chaita_1

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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Will Capital Bikeshare Experience Distribution Problems? — Due to the one-way flow of commuters, bike share programs tend to experience some degree of distribution problems. At any given time, some stations will be full of bikes, making it impossible to return one, while other stations will be empty, making it impossible to rent one. Such a situation forces bike share officials to manually move bikes from place to place, adding costs to the system. More from TheCityFix blog.

Moran Throws Racy Fundraiser — Rep. Jim Moran is pitching a night at the theater for big donors — but they have to leave the kids at home. For $2,400, donors get two tickets to the anti-Vietnam War musical “Hair” at the Kennedy Center, along with an invite to a pre-show dinner reception. But the offer comes with a warning: “Please note: this performance contains strong language, mature content and brief nudity.” More from Politico.

Arlington Man Kicked Off Flight Due to Disability — Arlington resident Zuhair Mahmoud says a Dubai-based airline refused to allow him to board a flight because he is blind and was not traveling with a companion. The airline’s CEO says he’s sorry for the incident. More from the Associated Press.

Arlington Lawyer Stripped of License — An Arlington lawyer accused of practicing law without a license, who had his license to practice law reinstated in April, has been stripped of the license by the D.C. Court of Appeals. Howard Deiner is accused of representing families of children with special needs in cases while his license lapsed due to unpaid bills. More from the Washington Post.

Flickr pool photo by Chaita_1

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