The View From Over Here
Last year our good neighbors in Herndon came very close to bringing in the new blood so desperately needed in the Virginia legislature. Tom Rust, the former long-time Mayor and long-time Delegate was barely re-elected, winning by just 32 votes over Jennifer Boysko, a dynamic Democrat well known for her work on behalf of the community. 32 votes out of a total of nearly 21,000 votes! Tom got many votes from people who seemed to believe that he was a very moderate guy, more like his good friend Delegate Ken Plum than his neighbor Tea Party crackpot State Senator Dick Black. I heard Tom speak to a mixed crowd of Herndon and Reston to voters during the last election cycle when he was running against Jennifer. He noted that he wouldn’t have a Cuccinelli sticker on his car and that he often agreed with Ken Plum on important issues. That evening, sadly, there was one issue on which he and Ken Plum seemed to agree. They agreed that the talk about legislators, including themselves, taking gifts from people or corporations with vested financial interests in legislation before them in the House was overblown and really not a problem at all! In front of that audience, Tom Rust did, however, seem embarrassed by the behavior of his Party in the legislature. Once re-elected, the real Tom Rust returned to work. Just a few days ago, he voted twice for right-wing budgets of the Republican House leadership that barred the use of federal funds (really Virginians’ tax dollars coming home) for expanding Medicaid to 400,000 uninsured lower-income Virginians. He also voted for the far more conservative House version of the final budget, further slashing funds for education, police and public safety, the social safety net including mental health services and people with major disabilities, and the low-income housing trust fund! No moderation whatsoever! He marched in lockstep with true friend Richard Black to support Tea Party budget as proposed by Black. Tom Rust is up for re-election again next year. Let us hope that this time around the people of Herndon will not be fooled. Let’s hope they will retire Tom and vote for someone who will serve Herndon residents’ interests in Richmond—Jennifer Boysko!
