I do not think Chairman Connolly or this Board have been a positive influence on the future of Fairfax County. I was happy to hear Elaine McConnell is thinking of not running again. I hope more of them make the same decision. I would like to see a whole new row of faces next time around. I would take Leslie Byrne for Chairman at this point!

That was a stange story by the two reporters. For one, they chose to use not one positive comment about Connolly. I mean,really, even a hatchet job should show some semblance of balance. Hello, editors.
Second, they relate an incident -- the lunch-for-the-poor bureaucratic snafu -- that Connolly corrected soon as he learned about it, and they conclude he must have been guided by politics. That's a cynical and unsupported conclusion that simply has no part in a news story. Editor?

This is to WP reporters and editors: That's a hell of an intro you wrote (below) for this story's blog? I realize on blogs you feel free from normal journalistic demands for objectivity, but your story only quotes a County Republican chairman and a Republican supervisor making the claim below. More accurately, your intro would say "Republicans accuse Connolly..."
(The story quotes a few more perennial Connolly critics on other things, which leads to another point: Are WP reporters unable to find five Connolly supporters who would provide story balance?)

" Connolly's Ambitions Influence Board's Tone
According to sources quoted in this article from yesterday's Metro section, Fairfax County Board of Supervisor's Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) is working to ensure that nothing the county government does rocks the boat so hard as to upset his possible plans to run for higher political office.
What do Focus on Fairfax readers think? Is the Chairman's influence on the board a positive one? Do you think his ambitions are having any impact on how the Board of Supervisors is governing?"

All I can say is that he pulled the plug on MetroWest right before the election (the one that made him supervisor) saying that traffic concerns overwhelmed the proposal. By January the traffic concerns had disappeared and the proposal was back on....

you decide.

To: MLB

I fully agree with you. I'd like to see a 100% turnover in the Board next year. These folks (the Board) have been in office much to long.

I believe that most of them have lost sight of reality. I will agree with this - Connolly leads them around at will.

As far as I can see, they follow his lead 100 percent. That is not healthy. The solution, as I see it: Vote each and every one out of office and start over.

I don't understand the logic of the blogger who implies residents should be free to say what they want, without rebuttal from the supervisors. Should a resident be free to play loosely with the facts or engage in an attack on a supervisor without a rebuttal from one or more supervisors?
I don't think so. Democracy, after all, thrives on debate. Nobody gets a free ride on this. If you state a point of view -- and especially if your points are debatable -- you must expect a rebuttal.

I've been around a long time. Connolly is a consummate gentlemen compared to the way Hanley and Davis chaired meetings.

To: Ben

You ask:

Your question: Is the Chairman's influence on the board a positive one?

My opinion: Absolutley NOT!

Your question: Do you think his ambitions are having any impact on how the Board of Supervisors is governing?

My opinion: Absolutely YES.

I love the fact that Connolly responds to criticism at board meetings. There's inter-action and dynamism. It means he thinks enough of me that he wants to rebut what I say.
Too often, I've seen a line of folks have their say -- sometimes very sensibly but sometimes with obvious partisanship -- only to walk away silently, having drawn no response whatsoever other than the routine thank-you. I'll choose give-and-take any day of the week.

To: Jim A.

I assume that you are on Connolly's staff.

Having testified at public hearings in front of Chairman Connolly, I agree that Mr. Connolly too oftens gives in to the temptation to act as a bully. He diminishes himself and his office in doing so.
Mr. Connolly seems to believe that anyone who holds a view different from his does so for political reasons. But I know of many democrats like myself who are deeply frustrated by Mr. Connolly's demagoguery. He rides rough-shod over critics within his own party, and I believe has made a fair number of foes in doing so. Some day he will pay a political price, I believe.

Let's hope that he pays the price at the polls in 2007. I fully agree that he acts as a bully. He has a short fuse, too short to be in the office he is in.

To me, he is his worse enemy. His mouth gets him in trouble.

To Jim A. who stated that "Connolly is a consummate gentlemen":

Either you didn't see the public hearing about which this blog is devoted or you have a drastically different definition of "consummate gentlemen" than anyone I know.

Ms. Rein, in attempting to keep to her storyline of politics, did not report on the browbeating that Mr. Connolly inflected upon the middle school PTA president who was the first citizen to testify.

She had never spoken at a Board of Supervisor's public hearing before, and Mr. Connolly may have ensured that she never will again (although I hope this is not true).

This lady behaved in a completely civil manner. She just wanted the money the developer was donating to schools to go to those schools impacted by the development. A seemingly reasonable request.

Whether or not Mr. Connolly agreed with her, she deserved his respect as well as better treatment than he afforded her.

Jim A. also says that "Democracy, after all, thrives on debate." But Mr. Connolly's tactics are clearly designed to intimidate and discourage honest debate. Anyone but the most partisan who see him in action would say that he is trying to discourage the free exchange of ideas.

Say Warner does retire, and say Davis does run for the Senate. The Republicans have one huge ace in the hole-Sean Connuaghton. He made a big splash in '05, and when you compare experience, record, and temperment to Connolly the GOP could have a very strong candidate.

Chris, you are so correct. Sean Connuaghton is a bright star that is truly on the rise. He is smart, works well with people, and is no bully.

Jim A (2nd posting), Gerry's action was no snafu and it should be made public.
The WP should be praised for publishing such an article. The article was not cyncical and the Editor took the correct action. Good job WP!

I've been absent from these blogs for awhile, dealing with a family member's illness and death, but don't anyone think for a minute I'm not following the issues or staying involved! My thanks to Lisa Rein for looking into these issues and calling me.

Some months ago, I was in an open public meeting chaired by a Planning Commissioner who unabashedly admitted that the Board's and Commission's marching orders from Chairman Connolly were to avoid controversy in 2007, particularly on development issues.

And the timing of the docket confirms this: December 5, 2005, Supervisors Kaufmann and Smyth urgently call for a definition of "Transit Oriented Development" to guide Fairfax development; February 2006, a FOIA to Fairfax County reveals NO ACTION on this after 12/11; requests to defer the March 2006 re-zoning on MetroWest for the six to eight months that County staff advise will be required to develop a TOD definition are rejected, and the project is approved over heavy adverse citizen commentary and rejecting a sports community request to escrow certain proffered funds for a community building (intended to house Supervisor Smyth's new office among other things) pending a study of various alternatives. And the new Dunn Loring "TOD" project was just now approved, as well as a belated rule to restrict the gerrymandered configuration of lots proposed by developers to pack in maximum density (prompted by the Ballantrae development proposal over eighteen months ago, if memory serves).

Of course, ANY politician is going to want to stack issues to avoid controversy and to look as much like a champion of the citizens as possible in the run-up to an election. I can't fault Connolly for trying to be a canny politician. I just fault him for the everything that has come before.

And yes, I post in my own name. I own my comments, and I challenge everyone to do the same.

Good comments, all.

But there is one thing that I wish someone would explain to me. I really, really, really do NOT understand. Perhaps someone would set me straight.

Here is my question - Why, oh why, oh why does anyone (except me) not remember how Connolly (and the Board he leads) has hit us so hard with increases in property taxes. Someone, anyone, please answer that for me.

My taxes have doubled in the span of a few short years.

It seems that voters in Fairfax County either don't care how much Connolly (and the Board he leads) raise our taxes OR their memory reaches only about 10 minutes into the past.

Why is he being given a free ride on this?

In response to Jim Foster's taxes comments: You raise an excellent point; Something is going on. I too wonder why there is not more interest in seeing where the money is actually going. I saw the subject tape and think there is something more going on here than Connolly brow beating two women.
While that was unfortunate, let's look at what precipitated that attack. It came immediately after the PTA president disclosed that in the years she had been there, NO PROFFER dollars had been received by her school or even in the pyramid. I know I was startled to hear that. But apparently Connolly was immediately angry to have that information come out and he went into the attack and obfuscation mode, by describing as yet unplanned student shifts and school boundary line adjustments etc that would make it impossible for the proffer system to go to the schools that are impacted by the various developments.
I think I heard there is $4M in undistributed school proffer money... I say we need a citizen's led and controlled financial analysis team to follow the money. I am afraid the fox is guarding the henhouse. There needs to be oversight on money in Fairfax County by some group that cannot be influenced by the County political leadership.

Joe, thanks. It is amazing to me why Fairfax County taxpayers don't remember what has gone on for years and years regarding BOS spending. It's a though residents just don't care.

I will say this - Connolly's and the Board's approach sure diverts attention away from spending. Attention is skillfully directed to "cuts" in the tax rate, when Fairfax County does NOT, by Virginia LAW, cut the tax rate.

Yet, most folks think that Connolly and the BOS cuts the tax rate. This is supposed to be an educated and knowledgable group of folks in Fairfax County.

On the tax raise front, I have seen no evidence of that, none.

We live in Dranesville District and I am sick of hearing the county whine about Virginia and funding. I get very little for my exhorbitant property taxes and the problem is this county not the state. Fairfax County has made a mess of Tysons and now I see it has Stu Mendelsohn the architect of the Lewinsville and Mclean Bible Church fiascos on the Tysons task force. The Lerner developments are poorly placed and could have been an urban core with small street scapes and traditional suares but instead are a bunch of buildings plunked down around mall parking lots. You cannot walk safely from the Lincoln or the Rotunda to work in Tysons. People drive across the street from the Lincln because of the sloppy planning. There are committee meeting minutes from the Planning Commission for the schools committee and others. That includes some debate on diecting to specific schools via proffers therefore it indicates back door attendance area negotiations. You also get quotes on the placing of gtc to bump the population. Years ago a Gulick development in Reston had what was to be a road to secure Langley and then blocked it off. FCPS built a 10 room addition at Jackson without a population to send. The Dranesville District middle schools Cooper and Longfellow as well as their neighbor Thoreau are in the top 4 of worst condition. I guess there have been bargains in the back room on improvements so the goofy Langley boundaries stay put. So much of what happens is to ensure Gibson and Strauss constituents do not get redistricted to Herndon or South Lakes. Kilmer is the Langley middle schol annex. It is now building hundreds of unneeded seats for the Glasgow replacement building. FCPS under the influence of politicians including Hyland and Albo is planning on building a new South County Middle School after it spent about a hundred million on Hayfield and Lake Braddock. In November FCPS approved a 550 million sports facility for South County which will be paid for with CIP money and proffers and of course no break down is given. That public private partnership was not a donation and bonds were issued through the odd EDA. On the county side they cut funding in many areas to pay for this school and FCPS bumped projects. Laurel Hill is also getting an indoor sports facility like the one nearby at South Run meanwhile none exist anywhere else in the county. The proffers are a mess and for Fairlee the schools are getting less than 1.8 million. That is far lower than the 6 million plus needed for a modular for the elementary students that development will yield.

correction in my typing. That is a .550 million sports facility for a new school that is overcapacity. Other schools that have been or are overcapcity do not get this much. The Park Authority and evryone else who are appointed or on staff spend an inordinate amount of time and money on Laurel Hill. There is no dialogue with the NVRPA on flipping project locations for things like the telescope park in Great Falls. That could go to a NVRPA site near the Potomac and Turner Farm could have other uses such as a riding stable. Fairlee is ludicrous and going back to the beginning I see nothing wrong with older single family homes near rail. They are considerd desirable in NY and Philly suburbs. The BOS need to get on trains and see how t is done. Watch HGTV and house hunters in Chicago. FX should have wards and break down the Magisterial Districts into smaller components with elections. The screaming HOA and developers would nt then be paramount. Connelly once exploded at me personally when I pointed out that new schools had gym floors ripped up and replaced as a matter of preference. If I put tile in my kitchen and then choose to replace it 2 years later that is on my dime not the taxpayers. Most people I know who moved here would not do it again and we find the schools to be inadequate. There is little or no representation. In DC they have taxation without represenation on a fderal level and I have it on a local level.

I'll bet that Connolly called the Washington Post reporters on the carpet about this article.

He is not known for tolerating anything that might remotely put him in an unfavorable light.

To Jim A who said "I don't understand the logic of the blogger who implies residents should be free to say what they want, without rebuttal from the supervisors." The blog comment said citizens should be free to state their opinions in their 3 minutes. Supervisors could rebutt or question them after their statement, which they often do. Keep in mind that rebuttal is quite different from intimidation. Chairman Connolly could have made his points at the December 4th hearing without belittling the speaker--that's intimidation. He is a consummate politician and I find it hard to believe that he didn't choose to become irate with the speakers in order to stiffle public invovlement in these types of proceedings.

Resource allocation, it would be nice if you refrained from using undefined acronymns like EDA, CIP, HGTV.

I'm just a country boy. I don't understand the more refined and sophisticated musings.

My thanks to all who have made this discussion so lively and informative.

Lisa Rein's article raised several issues, not all related. One had to do with the tone of Gerry Connolly at public meetings, and another had to do with whether the board is ducking controversial issues as the election approaches.

I may write another posting on the election issue, but here I need to focus on the question of tone and civility.

I have been at many board and planning commission meetings in recent years, and the pattern of rudeness and condescension is unmistakable. Citizens pleading a case that an official disagrees with often are openly treated as uninformed or disingenuous. Many other citizens, as they try to condense their points into three minutes, watch their supervisors reading documents, talking to aides or leaning over to exchange witticisms with one another. Frequently, the supervisors vote moments after the discussion is ended, without even pretending that the public's comments had some marginal influence.

Through all this, I have never once seen a supervisor or planning commissioner correct a colleague for their treatment of citizens, no matter how disrespectful.

As it happens, I attended and spoke at the supervisors' meeting last week that Lisa Rein wrote about, and saw all of this at play.

The first speaker, a PTA president for a school that will receive new students from a development project, asked for a guarantee that her school would receive a share of the proffer money.

During the discussion, several things eventually became clear: 1) That unless a school is designated by name, there is no guarantee that it will receive proffer money; and 2) Fairfax County apparently has stockpiled millions of dollars of school proffer money without spending it, and there is no transparent accounting system in place to track how it is spent.

In other words, her concerns were completely legitimate and reasonable. Nonetheless, Chairman Connolly strongly suggested that she was completely misinformed and that the proffer document "couldn't be any clearer." Without waiting for her to finish, he continually peppered her with questions that suggested she had no idea what she was talking about.

Chairman Connolly's treatment of Becky Cate, the Providence District Council's land use chairman, was well documented by Lisa's article.

Was this merely being "authentic," as Chairman Connolly would like to think, or was he dressing down citizens who care about their community? I can't speak for others, but as I walked away, having seen this drama many times before, I was disturbed and offended.

I have to say, in the interest of balance, that Chairman Connolly is not alone. Three nights later, Planning Commissioner Frank de la Fey cut off a representative of WestGroup, much as Chairman Connolly cut off Becky Cate. Doing a bad impersonation of a prosecutor asking a "yes or no" question, he then refused to let the speaker elaborate on his answer.

People do not go to the government center for recreational purposes. They go because they are concerned about the future of Fairfax County.

Our elected and appointed leaders sitting up on the dais should be thankful that those citizens care, and they should make those citizens feel welcome in their own house of government. A few--Dana Kauffman on the board and Walter Alcorn on the Planning Commission come to mind--have learned that it's possible to disagree respectfully.

However, too many Fairfax leaders, through their overt disrespect or their enabling silence, make the board chambers feel like a hostile place for citizens expressing their honest opinions.

It's no longer enough for a few supervisors to be privately unhappy when their constituents are treated with disrespect, as Lisa's article noted. It's time they find the courage to openly stand up for citizens and their right to take part in public dialogue.

If Lisa Rein's article airs these concerns, and brings about a conscious effort to change the tone of our public meetings, she will have done a great service to all.

Charlie Hall
Providence District Council chair

To the half dozen malcontents (most of whom don't even identify themselves): It's clear you think this blog is your domain. Feel free to keep talking to yourselves. You might even begin to believe the half-truths you write and read.
To the WP: Get your staff out talking to advocates for the homeless, to environmental and human rights activists, to minority group leaders, clergy and smart growth experts. In other words, have them truly cover this county. You'll get a very different view of the solid work being done by Gerry Connolly and the entire Board of Supervisors.

to Jim A...I suppose I am a malcontent to people like you and assume you do not object to any items I have cited as wasteful expenditures or poor or any planning. People who work in the Galeria think it was poorly planned. The Planning Commission schools committee meeting minutes state that the proffer system and accounting is a mess. Go online and read about it.

to Jim Foster...HGTV is on cox channel 59 and is home and garden television I think. EDA is the Econonic Development Authority which is a joke since corporations have such a difficult time finding Washington DC. CIP is the Capital Improvement Program.

The Post article says "Connolly said his critics overstate his ties to developers, noting he has good relations with the county's business community, of which developers are a part. He noted that he "pulled the plug" on a project near the Vienna Metro he believed was too far from the train station."

If I remember correctly, the Poplar Terrace application, which Connolly is referring to, never got beyond the Planning Commission, after a negative recommendation from the APR committee and the staff.

So for Connolly to say that HE pulled the plug on it just goes to show how much HE thinks he runs things in Fairfax.

Connolly is a disgrace to our County. While his personal demeanor is inappropriate, the larger issue is that he continues to preside over a Board that raises property taxes an average 15% each year while inflation is about 3%, and that he fails to press his Dem friends in Richmond to fix our roads and provide a fair share of ed funding. He also rides roughshod on development, e.g. MetroWest, which has eliminated hundreds of parking spaces at Vienna Station even when there was already a shortage. Throw the bum out!

...on second thought...

I guess you could say that it proves that he does control the Board and the Planning Commission....

My own personal experience with Connolly and his lackeys was over the Wedderburn/Dunn Loring fiasco. 25 or 26 mcmansions are going to be squeezed in there instead of the 13 or so that should have gone there 'by right' -- and this is in a critical water drainage area and a 45 minute walk to the Metro. The ad hoc citizens group was stonewalled at almost every step of the way. It was a very instructive experience in how THE GREATEST THREAT TO DEMOCRACY IS THE BELIEF THAT WE ALREADY HAVE ONE.

Lots of excellent comments. I think that most agree that Connolly plays us like a fine violin and we act like a herd of sheep.

Let the master speak and we fall in line. I've never seen anything like it.

He may get every vote in Fairfax County next year (and will likely come close to that), but I guarantee one vote he will not get - my vote.

To Jim Foster, I bet there are other voters out there who feel the same.

I would actually like to know what the Chairman himself thinks about the article that he figures so prominently in and how he'd answer the questions posed at the top of the blog. Sort of, in Jesuit terms, where does his Examen take him?

I would guess that he did not like it. If not, I'd say that he called the Washington Post reporters on the carpet and expressed his dissatisfaction.

Connolly does not tolerate negative press.

Just catching up. FYI for everyone, I was on the APR panel for the Poplar Terrace proposal, and yes, it was not recommended by either the citizens' panel or County staff, and so it died a deserved death. No Supervisor gets credit for the death blow.

Anyone familiar with the Reston Parkway park and ride lot? go to
www.parkandrideneighbors.org

Times article Crowd questions park-and-ride plan

The county says it is proprietary even on the tax payer funded portion of the project. It contends that there is no public process during planning and the public only is involved for zoning. Hudgins needs to go and since this is a county deal I smell Gerry.

Catherine Hudgins the Board of Supervisors from Hunter Mill is also a big proponent of density. The Board of Supervisors has a new scheme with Clark Construction that is not subject to FOIA which is an obvious maneveur to avoid the situation they had with the Hunter Mill project and others.

As a business man and community volunteer in youth sports in the Vienna area I believe Gerry Connelly is a liary and only out for one thing-himself. I have been to a lot of VLL, JMHS and other baseball related events over the past 14 years and have heard Mr. Connelly speak and put on his fake smile. Nothing he ever says is sincere or even comes close to the truth! This past fall my good friend Fred Crabtree had his name put on a new park in the Reston area. Fred is responsible for a lot of the Fairfax County parks and ball fields throughout the county and has served the Vienna Community and baseball for over 55 years. This day should have been for Fred! Connelly, however, was asked to speak and instead of speaking about Fred's accomplishments, as so many others had done, he spoke of how he has made it a priorty to buy more park land within the county so that 10% of all Fairfax County land is owned by the park authrority (his way of campaigning for at the expense of a great man's accomplishments). The fact that he has made it so the county buys more park land is all well and dandy, but if no-one can get to the park because of not enough roads and other infrastructure, what good does this land do us. In the Vienna area alone, we have over 1300 kids playing baseball year round. We have exactly 15 baseball fields(most of which are not even playableon for games or practice) to allow these kids to practice and play on, and 3 of those VLL owns and gets no support from Fairfax County on the upkeep. Yet we are charged $5.50 a head per player to play on sub-par fields and this after our parents already pay real estate taxes (some of the highest in the area and Nation) to help cover these budgets. Developers come in and build massive housing developments, make their money, contribute to Gerry's campaign coffers and move on with their profits, while the citizen's of Vienna and Fairfax are left with the over crowding and lack of adequate parks in our neighorhoods. Thanks Gerry, you have done such a great job. Next year, stay away from anything in Vienna, we don't want you and we don't like or belief anything that comes out of your mouth.

To: Russell

It seems to be settled that Connolly is for Connolly, period.

We have a chance, next November, to put a stop to his political career in Fairfax County.

I hope that thousands join me in casting a vote to tell Connolly, and the remainder to the Board of Supervisors, to look for other work.

I hesitate to being it up (because I have done so so many times in so many postings), Connolly has done the same sort of thing with our property taxes. I keep bringing it up because Connolly is about to tax me out of my home.

That is, he tells us that he is cutting taxes when, all along, he plans and gets a tax increase. He has done that for years.

He will do the same this for 2007.

Guess what, voters are not on his case for this. They won't take the time to think about what is going on. So, we deserve what we get.

Someone more intelligent that I am said something like the following:

"Democracy guarantees only that we will get the government that we deserve."

In Fairfax County, we are absolutely getting the government that we deserve.

Thank you WP for this story on Connolly. It is an insight that everything Connolly does is political and done with forethought. (It seems that the supervisors plan responses to public hearings in their closed session prior to the hearings.)

Mr. Connolly's vision and words are so much skewed towards politics that he demeans caring citizens to show he's a strong "leader". Accusing those who testify at public hearings as being "politically motivated" says volumes...he draws the attention away from the issue at hand: What is Connolly's sore point about specifically stating the schools that will absorb the students from a development receive proffer money to offset its impact?

What is the county doing with the $4M that should have gone to the schools this past year...balancing the county budget with it? Desiring to use it as a slush fund to dish out to projects during an election year?

I agree with Joe - "We need a citizen's led and controlled financial analysis team to follow the money. I am afraid the fox is guarding the henhouse. There needs to be oversight on money in Fairfax County by some group that cannot be influenced by the County political leadership."

I also agree with J Carter, above:

"We need a citizen's led and controlled financial analysis team to follow the money. I am afraid the fox is guarding the henhouse. There needs to be oversight on money in Fairfax County by some group that cannot be influenced by the County political leadership."

One thing is for sure, there is a BIG & wide money trail to follow. Fairfax County spends, spends, spends - all $3.2 billions of the operating budget alone. And, the $3.2 billions will get much larger for 2007. Much larger, in the millions and millions and millions.

It will continue to climb until enough VOTERS say "NO!". Until that happens, we will simply see more of the same. I see no possiblity of any oversight as is being suggested and that I support.

All we can do is to pay the bills.

There are no checks and balances on the present Board. Connolly rules with an iron fist and allows no dissension. He's a bully and abuses his power, as evidenced by his mistreatment of speakers at public hearings whose opinions differ from his own.

So in response to the Post's introductory questions to this blog (Is the Chairman's influence on the board a positive one? Do you think his ambitions are having any impact on how the Board of Supervisors is governing?):

Connolly's influence has been disastrous. He has turned the BOS and Fairfax County into tools to further his own political ambitions. That's not healthy for the County.

This is the best Blog that has been up in a long time.

How do people in Vienna feel about Fairfax County and the school board spending 550 thousand on a all weather sports bubble at South County Secondary School? They are also going to use OUR MONEY to put another indoor field house at Lorton. That is 3 in the same area. Connelly and the politicians on the school board are removing Vienna kids from their schools and community. The Fairlee thing is stupid and will worsen 123. I have a child approaching adulthood with a disability so no one in this county from the schools or otherwise can tell me what they DO. I have to go it alone for my child. The problem with Fairfax is that it has so few elected officals. This county needs to be broken up into pieces and properly governed. It takes a massive amont of effort to even find out where the money is going. Connelly is such a dufus to attack a PTA person. The Wash Post should publish the meeting minutes on proffers and then evryone will see the blatent level of incompetency. Every parent who has a child that has been adversely affected by mold and trailers and poor conditions at schools should band together and file a joint suit with the federal Office of Civil Rights. The town of Herndon never should have left this county off the hook about the numbers of trailers since it was merrily wasting money in other parts of Fairfax.

Want to check on expensive things funded by Fairfax County?

Check on what we are spending on a new employee training complex. This blew my mind.

Check on what we are spending on a new emergency complex. This also blew my mind.

This will get you started.

Many years ago in Montgomery County, several citizens formed a "Watch Dog Group" to do just what Jim Foster suggests. They were always nipping at the heels of the Board. Pehaps, citizens in Fx need to do the same. Once the Federation served that role. No more. Does anyone know why?

Yes, I think the time has come for citizens to get more involved in what Fairfax County is doing.

Following are just a few reasons I say that.

1. We have been approving bonds like they are going out of style. Just last election, voters approved $10 million to buy artificial turf for ball fields. My guess is that most did not know that.

Well, the chickens are about to come home to rost. Per Fairfax County financial statements, our long-term liabilities total over $1.7 billion. Interest on long-term debt, for last year alone, totaled over $82 million for governmental activities.

Hey folks, these bonds must be repaid, with interest! They are not free.

2. The Fairfax County school system is getting very expensive. From information I have, it costs MORE to send a child to Fairfax County public schools than it does to send a child to a public college or university (National average). Guess what, the school system wants much more for next year. Someone said that they will get a 4% increase. Guess what, that 4% translates into $84 million.

That's not chump change from where I came from.

Yes, I think it is time that citizens take a more active interest in the cost of their government.

I look at it this way - a goverment, being a government, wants to perpetuate itself. That's what governments do. In Fairfax County, that is becomming very, very, very expensive.

Fairfax County politicians are ruining our quality of life. Who is happy with what is occurring besides the board of supervisors, the school board, developers, and their cronies? I read on the FC website CIP that they are planning to widen Springhill RD from 7 to International Drive. That will make the area less walkable. The only nice dense development that could be transit oriented here is Reston Town Center. They have slopped up Tysons.

Well, we have a chance, in 2007, to put a stop to all this madness. I plan to do my part in telling the Fairfax County politicians to look for other work.

These politicians are becoming professional ones.

In my opinion, they (all of them, even the ones recently elected) have lost touch and have been in office far too long. I think it is time they go.

Stay tuned Jim Foster. A lot of people share your feelings.....

Well, the Post has pulled this blog from the mainstream. It had 56 posts (including this one) with seven occurring in the five or so hours before they relegated it to the archives four days after the article was published.

As of this writing, the blogs they have on the main Fairfax Focus page have the following number of posts:
0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,10,1,0

That's 12 posts in 11 blogs over 2.5 days vs 56 for this single blog.

Ms/Mr Post: Do you see where the passion in Fairfax County lies?

I think it funny that only one person has stepped up to defend our Leader in all these posts. Don't worry. I'm not going to second it.

Whomever we get to vote for in either party is controlled by a few hacks who are generally out of touch with anything but their own extremely brand loyal types. Independents have no power in making the real choices. I keep seeing people say it. Join a party, show up, and speak up. Say what you want. The hacks may not like you, but at least you will shake things up a little. Someone has to start change.

When you are alone in the voting booth, vote how the heck you want. Most of us are really independents. If we weren't independents, we would never criticize anyone the party puts up. If we weren't independent, we'd sound more like the only person on the board so far who is defending elected officials who chew out citizens who have the nerve to disagree.

We don't have komisars and a politburo yet, but we're damned close to it. There is no question that we have old style political machines. There are always some willing sheeple who go along with that sort of thing. If you are not one of those types, do something. Pay your membership fee and say something before we get more of the same to pick from next time.

Connolly,along with the remainder of the Board of Supervisors, have been in office long enough to have a track record.

Regarding taxes and spending, the county government has never been bigger and grows each day. If you own your own home, I don't have to tell you about about property taxes. You know.

The question boils down to this - do you want more of the same?

Next year is an election year. Don't pay much attention to what the politicians do or say aout taxes and spending. Look over their actions for the past three years.

Then you will know what to do. I already know how I will vote.

I read on the blog re WTOP radio where Connolly says that he will not increase the tax rate for 2007. WTOP Radio bills that as a "no tax increase".

Current estimates are that property values will go up about 3% in Fairfax County. That being the case, if the property tax rate does not go down to compensate, then there will be a 3% tax increase.

No tax increase? Duhhhhh!

WTOP Radio needs to take a class on property taxes and how they are computed.