For the Speak Out radio show, I've invited all the candidates to come on and speak. So to kick off the program, I thought it would be good to have our new Registrar give us a summary of the elections process: how it works, and how we can feel confident that our votes count. I called the Registrar, Carol Gaunt, last week and invited her on the show.
As Carol is new, she at first suggested that one of the members of the Electoral Board appear with her, and I thought that was a great idea. She said she had to check with them before committing, which is a reasonable response. The next day, she told me that they "checked with the state board of elections" who told them she could only appear if
a) there were no call-ins allowed
b) she had the questions in advance
c) the interview was taped.
I said we couldn't tape the interview, but I would agree to allow no call ins and give her the questions in advance. She said that would probably be okay. Over the weekend, I emailed her the questions.
Here are the questions I sent:
Questions for Carol Gaunt
1. What is your background (resume)?
2. What are the responsibilities of the Registrar?
3. Who is on the Electoral Board, and how are they appointed? How long have they been on the Board? What are their responsibilities?
4. How many registered voters do we have in Page County?
5. How many people usually come out to vote?
6. How are the votes counted? What is the process for counting them?
7. What about the computer votes? How are they counted? How do the computer votes and the paper ballots get added together?
8. Are the computer votes safe? Are we sure they are being counted correctly? If we have to have a recount, would we be able to do it?
9. What is the procedure for making sure our voting process is clean? Would it be possible for dead people to vote? Would it be possible for illegal aliens to vote? How do we make sure people are only voting one time?
10. How are absentee ballots counted? How do we know they are really coming from the person who is registered?
11. What would you like to say to the listeners about the voting process?
On Tuesday morning, I received an email back from Carol, stating that after further consultations, she would be unable to participate in the broadcast. Her reason is that the timing takes her away from the office during a busy election season.
Now. What I have posted here is a set of facts. If I were speculating, I would say that the voters are not being well served by being told that the Registrar doesn't have time to kick off an informational meeting about the process of the elections. Or that the Registrar doesn't have time to answer questions about the voting process and its integrity.
What do you think? Blog here about your assessment of what just happened, and also tune in to the Speak Out radio show on Friday at 9 a.m., 1330 AM. Call in to the show with your opinion, on 743-5167.
Alice
Showing posts with label Follow the Smell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Follow the Smell. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Has the Tide Turned?
I wasn't at the first of the five District meetings, held in Shenandoah, but preliminary reports say . . . all is well. What I heard briefly late last night was that Goal 3, Objective 2, line C has been removed and replaced with a substitute language that is . . . just fine.
This would be tremendous news, and frankly it would speak very well of all the Supervisors. It would make peace return to the Valley. When I hear more, I'll post it.
If you were there, or you heard from someone who was there . . . tell us more.
Push the Comments button and Blog.
This would be tremendous news, and frankly it would speak very well of all the Supervisors. It would make peace return to the Valley. When I hear more, I'll post it.
If you were there, or you heard from someone who was there . . . tell us more.
Push the Comments button and Blog.
Friday, June 29, 2007
The REAL Page County
I just went to the nicest, homiest, warmest event. It was the Election Debate hosted by Mary Whitehead at the VFW. Mary was a fantastic Mistress of Ceremonies. She really knew what the deal was in Page County, and seemed to have everybody’s “number.” Mary invited all the candidates running for office, and the VFW hall was filled to overflowing with citizens. Every candidate got to say their piece and give their platform. Mary was very strict about not having any negative campaigning or crucifying anybody, either on the stage or from audience questions.
You know what? It was really nice. It was heartwarming to hear each person talk about why they wanted to run for office and what they wanted to do. It was amazing to me how many people came, since I knew it wasn’t publicized much. In addition to the candidates, Mary also had Todd Gilbert there, and a representative of Mark Obershain.
All the candidates were there except District 2 Supervisor John Rust, and District 4 Supervisor Gerald Cubbage and his Democratic challenger Raymond Kite. Other than that, everybody else running was there. They gave such GREAT speeches. I’m not kidding, they were really, really good speeches, from everybody.
What was so good about them was that these were real people, with real heartfelt desires to serve the people. It didn’t matter whether they were polished public speakers or just speaking from the heart. You could tell they were people who cared. All of them.
In fact, when you listened to them, you started to think, Gee. It wouldn’t really matter which of these candidates got the most votes.
They were all winners.
I hope everybody in Page County gets to meet the people who have put themselves on the line to run for office. Mary will be running another one of these debates in the Fall. In August, Page County Watch will be setting up a special Elections Section of the website, where every candidate will have their own pages, and citizens can submit Questions for the Candidates.
You know what? It was really nice. It was heartwarming to hear each person talk about why they wanted to run for office and what they wanted to do. It was amazing to me how many people came, since I knew it wasn’t publicized much. In addition to the candidates, Mary also had Todd Gilbert there, and a representative of Mark Obershain.
All the candidates were there except District 2 Supervisor John Rust, and District 4 Supervisor Gerald Cubbage and his Democratic challenger Raymond Kite. Other than that, everybody else running was there. They gave such GREAT speeches. I’m not kidding, they were really, really good speeches, from everybody.
What was so good about them was that these were real people, with real heartfelt desires to serve the people. It didn’t matter whether they were polished public speakers or just speaking from the heart. You could tell they were people who cared. All of them.
In fact, when you listened to them, you started to think, Gee. It wouldn’t really matter which of these candidates got the most votes.
They were all winners.
I hope everybody in Page County gets to meet the people who have put themselves on the line to run for office. Mary will be running another one of these debates in the Fall. In August, Page County Watch will be setting up a special Elections Section of the website, where every candidate will have their own pages, and citizens can submit Questions for the Candidates.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Incomprehensible Plan
Guest Blog by Steve Whisler
PCW has posted the editable versions of the revised amended Comprehensive Plan, Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan (intended for inclusion in the Comp Plan) and Virginia Code 15.2-2223 under Comprehensive Plan on the main site at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org The DVD of the Comprehensive Plan portion of the Supervisors Retreat will be made available as soon as possible, most likely in time for the individual District Supervisor meetings to be held.
The Incomprehensible Plan
The Board of Supervisors has now returned from its retreat after deliberating for an entire hour on a 100 page document, a revised amended comprehensive plan. I have read the document as well as the Virginia code that requires county governments to have a comprehensive plan. The Virginia code states that a comprehensive plan is to address the physical development of the territory, in this case Page County. It is essentially described as a mapping/planning exercise intended to identify and document current land use and infrastructure and what it will need to be to accommodate projected changes in land use requirements.
The revision to the amended comprehensive plan under consideration by the Board is quite a different bird. It is a hash of goals and objectives only a few of which have anything to do with planning the physical development of the county. For some unexplained reason, even after significant editing, there remain academic discourses on unrelated topics such as Karst topography, acid rain, air pollution, etc, as well as policy implication statements, statements to encourage or discourage this, promote that, to prohibit or regulate the other, most of which have nothing to do with planning land use
(i.e., educating kids about robotics and aerospace technology; educating citizens about environment and water quality; promoting tourism; obtaining funding, etc. It goes on and on.). Buried within the document are the elements of what a comprehensive plan is suppose to be according to Virginia code. However, even those elements fall short of completeness.
Virginia code also calls for performing careful and comprehensive surveys and studies of existing conditions and trends of growth, and of the probable future requirements of the county and inhabitants in the context of land use. There is no evidence those types of things were ever done. Interestingly, there are elements of the plan that call for performing surveys and studies that should have been done prior to the development of a comprehensive plan. Even stranger is the fact that in the little snippet called “Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan” under the heading Land Use, what is suppose to be a land use plan calls for the creation of a land use plan. What?
Further, a comprehensive plan under Virginia code is mandated to include “A zoning ordinance and zoning district maps.” Why is the comprehensive plan subcommittee just now beginning work on that issue? What exactly would the Board of Supervisors be approving under the amended plan? It would seem that the comprehensive plan committee may have a little malfeasance problem as well. After three years or so of fumbling around they have produced absolutely nothing of value for the Board of Supervisors to adopt.
To be sure, many of the elements that are irrelevant for inclusion in a comprehensive plan as contemplated by Virginia code should be considered in developing it. However, they should be addressed somewhere else, possibly as part of a broad county strategic plan. It is a mystery how what was supposed to be a comprehensive plan was corrupted into what it has become. It may well be that somewhere, way back when, there was a recognition there was a need to have a broad strategic vision for the county and it seemed like a good idea at the time to roll it into this thing called a comprehensive plan. Egad, now we have a precedent!
What really concerns me is the Board of Supervisors is in the mood to adopt a comprehensive plan regardless of how fouled up it is. Changing a word here and shifting a sentence there really does not answer the mail. I would be willing to wager if the title “Comprehensive Plan” was to be placed on a comic book, as is the case here, they would approve it. Over recent months, the Board has shown little overt interest in what the citizens of the county have to say. If they do come to their senses regarding the comprehensive plan, they will realize that attempting to put lipstick on a pig will not make it anything other than a pig.
Steve Whisler
Note: The Board will review their “changes” to the Comprehensive Plan in the work session of July 3. At the Retreat, they said they would then take this plan to the citizens in individual district meetings, Supervisor to Citizen.
PCW has posted the editable versions of the revised amended Comprehensive Plan, Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan (intended for inclusion in the Comp Plan) and Virginia Code 15.2-2223 under Comprehensive Plan on the main site at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org The DVD of the Comprehensive Plan portion of the Supervisors Retreat will be made available as soon as possible, most likely in time for the individual District Supervisor meetings to be held.
The Incomprehensible Plan
The Board of Supervisors has now returned from its retreat after deliberating for an entire hour on a 100 page document, a revised amended comprehensive plan. I have read the document as well as the Virginia code that requires county governments to have a comprehensive plan. The Virginia code states that a comprehensive plan is to address the physical development of the territory, in this case Page County. It is essentially described as a mapping/planning exercise intended to identify and document current land use and infrastructure and what it will need to be to accommodate projected changes in land use requirements.
The revision to the amended comprehensive plan under consideration by the Board is quite a different bird. It is a hash of goals and objectives only a few of which have anything to do with planning the physical development of the county. For some unexplained reason, even after significant editing, there remain academic discourses on unrelated topics such as Karst topography, acid rain, air pollution, etc, as well as policy implication statements, statements to encourage or discourage this, promote that, to prohibit or regulate the other, most of which have nothing to do with planning land use
(i.e., educating kids about robotics and aerospace technology; educating citizens about environment and water quality; promoting tourism; obtaining funding, etc. It goes on and on.). Buried within the document are the elements of what a comprehensive plan is suppose to be according to Virginia code. However, even those elements fall short of completeness.
Virginia code also calls for performing careful and comprehensive surveys and studies of existing conditions and trends of growth, and of the probable future requirements of the county and inhabitants in the context of land use. There is no evidence those types of things were ever done. Interestingly, there are elements of the plan that call for performing surveys and studies that should have been done prior to the development of a comprehensive plan. Even stranger is the fact that in the little snippet called “Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan” under the heading Land Use, what is suppose to be a land use plan calls for the creation of a land use plan. What?
Further, a comprehensive plan under Virginia code is mandated to include “A zoning ordinance and zoning district maps.” Why is the comprehensive plan subcommittee just now beginning work on that issue? What exactly would the Board of Supervisors be approving under the amended plan? It would seem that the comprehensive plan committee may have a little malfeasance problem as well. After three years or so of fumbling around they have produced absolutely nothing of value for the Board of Supervisors to adopt.
To be sure, many of the elements that are irrelevant for inclusion in a comprehensive plan as contemplated by Virginia code should be considered in developing it. However, they should be addressed somewhere else, possibly as part of a broad county strategic plan. It is a mystery how what was supposed to be a comprehensive plan was corrupted into what it has become. It may well be that somewhere, way back when, there was a recognition there was a need to have a broad strategic vision for the county and it seemed like a good idea at the time to roll it into this thing called a comprehensive plan. Egad, now we have a precedent!
What really concerns me is the Board of Supervisors is in the mood to adopt a comprehensive plan regardless of how fouled up it is. Changing a word here and shifting a sentence there really does not answer the mail. I would be willing to wager if the title “Comprehensive Plan” was to be placed on a comic book, as is the case here, they would approve it. Over recent months, the Board has shown little overt interest in what the citizens of the county have to say. If they do come to their senses regarding the comprehensive plan, they will realize that attempting to put lipstick on a pig will not make it anything other than a pig.
Steve Whisler
Note: The Board will review their “changes” to the Comprehensive Plan in the work session of July 3. At the Retreat, they said they would then take this plan to the citizens in individual district meetings, Supervisor to Citizen.
Adopting the Budget
Events of the June 19 meeting of the Board of Supervisors
This meeting went on for 3 1/2 hours, but nothing happened.
The tenor has changed from a game of Rope-A-Dope to a game of Trivia.
The Performing Arts Center was granted a waiver of their property taxes because they are 501c3.
The budget was passed.
Citizen comments were heard but ignored, unless it was to respond defensively to any perceived criticism.
Natalie made a plea to be careful if they are changing the Comprehensive Plan because they could be Revising it if they do that, and this was only an Update not a Revision. (See the Comprehensive Plan section on the main website)
John Mayeaux made a request that they consider doing something about all the people who don't have affordable housing. (This was ignored.)
McWhorter commented on everything, ending with praise for what a good job the Board was doing.
Rogerson, Lansberry, and Richmond talked about the budget and the lack of information presented about it. We all pointed out that there was information that the citizens do not have about the debt, the budget and the tax raise.
At the end, Carol Lee Strickler pulled out some old newspapers from 1985 and gave a little prepared speech. Rather than address citizen comments that the budget had not been presented with understandable line items that would actually inform the public, she said there was so much "misinformation" being spread. Terrible misinformation in Letters to the Editor and other places. For example, we said "nobody ever died in a Page County flood". So she held up some old yellow newspapers from 1985 that said three people died in Elkton and McGaheysville (which are not in Page County). And said it was a shame there were people who were putting so much effort into spreading misinformation instead of behaving properly like the good people who work on these committees. LaFrance echoed her sentiment. They also said if anybody wanted to understand the budget, they could have come to all the meetings in January, February, and March when the departments made their budget requests. (The issue citizens were trying to talk about was the debt and the construction financing, but that was ignored.)
Alice
This meeting went on for 3 1/2 hours, but nothing happened.
The tenor has changed from a game of Rope-A-Dope to a game of Trivia.
The Performing Arts Center was granted a waiver of their property taxes because they are 501c3.
The budget was passed.
Citizen comments were heard but ignored, unless it was to respond defensively to any perceived criticism.
Natalie made a plea to be careful if they are changing the Comprehensive Plan because they could be Revising it if they do that, and this was only an Update not a Revision. (See the Comprehensive Plan section on the main website)
John Mayeaux made a request that they consider doing something about all the people who don't have affordable housing. (This was ignored.)
McWhorter commented on everything, ending with praise for what a good job the Board was doing.
Rogerson, Lansberry, and Richmond talked about the budget and the lack of information presented about it. We all pointed out that there was information that the citizens do not have about the debt, the budget and the tax raise.
At the end, Carol Lee Strickler pulled out some old newspapers from 1985 and gave a little prepared speech. Rather than address citizen comments that the budget had not been presented with understandable line items that would actually inform the public, she said there was so much "misinformation" being spread. Terrible misinformation in Letters to the Editor and other places. For example, we said "nobody ever died in a Page County flood". So she held up some old yellow newspapers from 1985 that said three people died in Elkton and McGaheysville (which are not in Page County). And said it was a shame there were people who were putting so much effort into spreading misinformation instead of behaving properly like the good people who work on these committees. LaFrance echoed her sentiment. They also said if anybody wanted to understand the budget, they could have come to all the meetings in January, February, and March when the departments made their budget requests. (The issue citizens were trying to talk about was the debt and the construction financing, but that was ignored.)
Alice
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Follow the Smell
Follow the Smell
Something stinks with the Page County Board of Supervisors, and it isn’t the Landfill. First, they brought us the Flood Plain Ordinance. Then, they reassessed our houses above what the market will pay. Then, they raised taxes to the point that they are forcing some of our citizens to sell. Now, they are about to approve a budget of $99M. Last year, it was half that. The difference, we were told, was to pay down the debt for the schools. Makes sense. Borrow $46M for schools, pay $36M off this year, and then next year borrow a little more, pay off the schools in two years. Solid, cash based financial management.
But now the story is changing. Now the $36M is just debt service. It’s not paying down the debt. At the Supervisors LaLaLand Retreat last week, suddenly that money wasn’t paying off anything. Chairman LaFrance expressed his dismay that citizens attended the meeting, and clearly cautioned the few people in the audience not to touch the juice and pastries set up for the Supervisors. That’s going to play really nice on YouTube, Tommy. You see, Page County Watch brought videocameras. We have the one hour on tape, showing the arrogant disregard for the more than 70 citizens who protested the sentence in the Comprehensive Plan that says: “Develop ordinances that prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain”. At that May 15 meeting, according to the audiotape, Chairman LaFrance says, “This Board is up to the task” of reviewing and fixing the problems with the Comprehensive Plan. But after “retreating” to take up the task, the Board only needed one hour to do it! Their solution: change the word “prohibit” to “regulate”. That’ll do it, our Supervisors concluded.
Later, after the cameras were turned off, Chairman LaFrance insisted to citizens that the Flood Plain Ordinance was dead, a dead issue, no longer being considered. Yet, citizens who have asked Supervisor Hoke say he doesn’t think so. Citizens who have asked Supervisor Strickler say she doesn’t think so. We know for a fact that the Gang of Five on the Planning Commission doesn’t think so, as they keep trying to breathe life into it. And here this sentence stays, sitting there in the Comprehensive Plan, now saying: “Develop ordinances that REGULATE buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain.” Never mind that we already have a perfectly good ordinance that meets state and federal requirements at this time. Our Supervisors want to do MORE. Why? That is the answer we cannot get. Except, of course, it must be because of the Karst topography, tongue-in-cheek. (For those of you who didn’t get that joke, you have GOT to attend these Planning Commission meetings. They are so much funnier than Reality TV.)
Now here’s the deal. There is something fishy about that budget. Citizens can’t read it, the way it’s being presented. But, among all our citizens out here, we’ll find somebody who can. We’ll present it in more understandable ways. Our Page County citizens are being harmed by the very people who were elected to represent THEM. The arrogant members of the Board of Supervisors are not representing the people of this county.
We will be posting the details of that budget on the main site, at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org soon.
Alice Richmond
Something stinks with the Page County Board of Supervisors, and it isn’t the Landfill. First, they brought us the Flood Plain Ordinance. Then, they reassessed our houses above what the market will pay. Then, they raised taxes to the point that they are forcing some of our citizens to sell. Now, they are about to approve a budget of $99M. Last year, it was half that. The difference, we were told, was to pay down the debt for the schools. Makes sense. Borrow $46M for schools, pay $36M off this year, and then next year borrow a little more, pay off the schools in two years. Solid, cash based financial management.
But now the story is changing. Now the $36M is just debt service. It’s not paying down the debt. At the Supervisors LaLaLand Retreat last week, suddenly that money wasn’t paying off anything. Chairman LaFrance expressed his dismay that citizens attended the meeting, and clearly cautioned the few people in the audience not to touch the juice and pastries set up for the Supervisors. That’s going to play really nice on YouTube, Tommy. You see, Page County Watch brought videocameras. We have the one hour on tape, showing the arrogant disregard for the more than 70 citizens who protested the sentence in the Comprehensive Plan that says: “Develop ordinances that prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain”. At that May 15 meeting, according to the audiotape, Chairman LaFrance says, “This Board is up to the task” of reviewing and fixing the problems with the Comprehensive Plan. But after “retreating” to take up the task, the Board only needed one hour to do it! Their solution: change the word “prohibit” to “regulate”. That’ll do it, our Supervisors concluded.
Later, after the cameras were turned off, Chairman LaFrance insisted to citizens that the Flood Plain Ordinance was dead, a dead issue, no longer being considered. Yet, citizens who have asked Supervisor Hoke say he doesn’t think so. Citizens who have asked Supervisor Strickler say she doesn’t think so. We know for a fact that the Gang of Five on the Planning Commission doesn’t think so, as they keep trying to breathe life into it. And here this sentence stays, sitting there in the Comprehensive Plan, now saying: “Develop ordinances that REGULATE buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain.” Never mind that we already have a perfectly good ordinance that meets state and federal requirements at this time. Our Supervisors want to do MORE. Why? That is the answer we cannot get. Except, of course, it must be because of the Karst topography, tongue-in-cheek. (For those of you who didn’t get that joke, you have GOT to attend these Planning Commission meetings. They are so much funnier than Reality TV.)
Now here’s the deal. There is something fishy about that budget. Citizens can’t read it, the way it’s being presented. But, among all our citizens out here, we’ll find somebody who can. We’ll present it in more understandable ways. Our Page County citizens are being harmed by the very people who were elected to represent THEM. The arrogant members of the Board of Supervisors are not representing the people of this county.
We will be posting the details of that budget on the main site, at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org soon.
Alice Richmond
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