Last Thoughts on the Election

State Senate 

From my perspective, the most important races in this year’s election are for the State Senate. If the Republicans hold the House, as expected, and gain two or more Senate seats, they will have complete control of the state government (Governor and both houses of the General Assembly). Leesburg, Loudoun County, and Northern Virginia as a whole will have a lot to say as to whether that happens.

Leesburg Council Elections

It hasn’t gotten much attention in the media, but Leesburg voters will be asked if they want to move the Town Council elections from May to November. Personally, I like having the town elections in May, when they get the voters’ undivided attention and won’t be just an afterthought on a lengthy ballot.

I also like the fact that elections for Mayor and Town Council are nonpartisan. Mixing them in with other November races will inevitably lead to more partisanship in local politics.

Status Quo or Change?

Things in Loudoun County are pretty good. The unemployment rate is relatively low here, we lead the region in the growth of jobs and population, we live in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, and it is a pretty safe place to live.

One might think that incumbents would feel comfortable running to defend the status quo. This is more or less the approach Sheriff Steve Simpson is taking, saying that he has done a good job and letting his two opponents tear each other down. Since things are going well, the argument goes, why make a change? I think he has a pretty good case to make for re-election.

What’s more puzzling is Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York’s decision to turn against the supervisors he supported four years ago and call for all new supervisors except himself and Republican Eugene Delgaudio. It made more sense four years ago, when York ran as an Independent against the Board’s Republican majority that had seized control from him.

But in 2007, the electorate pretty much gave him the Board he wanted, and now he has decided he doesn’t want them either. It may be a clever way to take credit for the good things and avoid blame for the bad. At any rate, he evidently doesn’t care to defend his record as the Board’s titular leader over the past 12 years.

Turning Point?

The most significant moment of this year’s Board of Supervisors election occurred when Blue Ridge District Supervisor Jim Burton cast the deciding vote to take the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act off the table for now. I believe that Republicans were salivating at the prospect of clobbering their opponents with this issue.

With the preservation act in limbo, there haven’t really been any wedge issues in this election. And Burton’s action has left York in the awkward position of campaigning against his former allies, Burton and the incumbent Democrats, for no apparent reason.

Election Signs

When people place (or allow to be placed) election signs on their property, it is an expression of their free speech rights. A legal 2 x 2 sign does this just as well as an 8 x 4 billboard. However, placing election signs in the public right of way – close to roads and in highway medians – is just
littering, and it is illegal. It also creates a safety hazard.

I have a friend who is very astute about local politics, and who once told me that the number of yard signs that are displayed for a particular candidate is a pretty good indicator of how that candidate will do in the election. This has merit, as long as the residents have authorized the signs to be mounted on their property. But illegally placed signs in the public right of way aren’t really a measure of anything except that candidate’s disregard for local sign laws.

The county recently issued a press release to clarify the rules regarding campaign signs, outside town limits. They are quite clear:

1. No signs are permitted in Virginia Department of Transportation rights of way.
2. Signs may be placed on private property as long as they do not exceed four square feet.
3. Large billboard-type signs are not permitted.

A reader contacted me to point out the irony in the fact that candidates for the office of Sheriff are among those who have placed illegal signs. It’s true; I have seen illegal signs for all three candidates for Sheriff. And although some folks don’t like to hear it, there is simply no getting around the fact that the vast majority of illegal signs that I have seen are for Republican and Republican-endorsed candidates.

A final thought about illegally placed election signs: People say they want their public officials to be fair and honest. When we elect people who act as if the laws don’t apply to them, why would we expect them to act any differently once they are in office?