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It's Saturday, July 26, 2025. Today, Phil Huber makes the case for endorsements in increasingly nationalized local elections, and the Best of the Week.
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Reality Check on Nonpartisan Local Elections
By Phil Huber
Local endorsements, for all their imperfections, may be among the last remaining tools to ensure that local voices—not just national party strategists—shape the direction of America’s cities and towns
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Commentary: The "Bright Side" of America's Health Insurance System
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Thanks to online 'hyperbole' for releasing the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee candidate responses to the contentious FDC questionnaire.
As a long-time Fred Dem, who wants a healthy, transparent committee back, what is disturbing about this FDC 'process' at the 7-9-2025 FDC meeting, albeit 'chaos' (as well as the July 2023 stacked vote fiasco) is that it is NOT TRANSPARENT.
The FDC Vice Chair, as a surrogate for their FDC candidate, told voters at the June 17, 2025, Dem Primary that the LOCAL Council candidate had already gotten the Democratic endorsement. June 17. not on July 9th-let that date discrepacy sink in Fred Dems.
Did the rest of the Exec Board know this was another 'Done Deal' MO? That we see permeating the current 'Done Deal'' Council who also are influenced by these Dem handlers to keep 'harmony', using their 7-0 votes?
That's having the opposite effect with stakeholders showing at the public comment mic and in neighborhood conversations with residents.
This FDC endorsement is dividing the city. Did the FDC membership even know this vote had already been decided? Nope. They were called en masse by handlers to show up in a 7-9-25 torrential rainstorm to let them 'think' that they had a say in
1.'should there be an endorsed ballot' and, if there was time,
2. 'if so, who should get it'. and didn't even let two Democrats in the room speak to their 'why' in running for office, despite another Dem asking 'why couldn't that happen?'
The Dem Party of 'we welcome everyone'? Not at all. It's been infected by behind the scenes handlers who moved into 22401. Fred Dems always used to invite ANY LOCAL candidate for COUNCIL to speak because there's no D/R/I by city ballot names in Virginia.
and the wise ones, the FDC Chairs and membership (Phil Huber wasn't active back then) realized that it's poison to endorse in LOCAL elections, because city issues affect everyone, not just the ones they assume voted for them. We didn't even know the political affiliation of Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw or Mayor for Life Rev. Lawrence A. Davies.
It was refreshing to say to county friends: 'cities in Virginia are non-partisan, so we don't have your political division. That's why I moved to the city. It's a big tent for any Council candidate to speak'.
Fred Dems 'used to trust voters' that they could process that info and decide who to vote for at LOCAL level, based on the issues we're facing in the city, not this party politics manipulation. Most of us looked forward to hearing from independent Councilor Ward 3: MATT KELLY answer our questions about city issues because his experience over the decades is forthright on both sides of an issue, including the regional partnerships, the relationship of which has now been tainted by this current Council and the 'bait and switch' they did on the agreed to Rappahannock River bridge crossing.
The LOCAL candidates accepting the FDC local endorsement take the lazy way because it's so obvious they don't have THE TIME in their lives to engage in door-to-door real voter engagement with the candidate rather than hand them the cobalt blue piece of paper and say 'do this'.
The ones who are going to win anyway because they're the only one running should turn down the FDC endorsement. You're going to get in. You take it? You're going to be complicit in the problem that residents no longer TRUST what you're doing because it's behind the scenes, telling you what to do. and you better shape up, shut up, and don't you dare show any dissent or disagreement on that rats dais you're sitting at.
and what a farce to have the FDC rules change every 48 hrs after the July 2nd submission date, as 'the FDC handlers' realized that these candidates submitted FAR BETTER QUALITY responses than theirs: Ward 2: ANNE LITTLE; Ward 3: MATT KELLY; Ward 4: JESSE DOMINGUEZ. For School Board Ward 3: SARAH STELMOK.
WARD 1: KEN GANTT (did NOT even acknowledge or participate in what turned out to be a sham because he is under HATCH Act employee restrictions).
so they changed the rules: The more qualified candidates weren't allowed to speak. They spun it as a new rule: 'Only the ones seeking the endorsement will be allowed to speak.'
The candidates named above, a mixture of political parties including Dems, won't accept any political party endorsement because city elections are supposed to be non-partisan and they know it's divisive. How in the heck do you think in this 10 sq miles of 22401, all residents feel they're being represented on that dais if the lazy ones accepting the FDC endorsement are kowtowing to what the Dem operatives tell them what to do?
The majority of the FDC/Dem-endorsed ballot candidates don't have THE TIME to understand what the two sides of an issue or application are, let alone read it.
Involved residents, however, even have the time to read these pages of technical specifications.
This organized group of neighborhood representatives spend whole days reading the 100-page documents released at COB on Thursday/Fri, find retired local Land Use specialists from NoVA, now living in the area. to discuss them by Monday in Zoom and/or 'in person' meetings to see if we need to go to the public comment mic.
WARD 2: ANNE LITTLE has been doing this every week for the past 2 years. She knows the issues in the city. and doesn't rely on a 'political bubble' to influence her. She has had years of access to specialists, including meeting with city staff.
But this current 7-0 Democrat-endorsed Council? They're relying on Councilors Graham or Mackintosh to make a motion, and they come along with their consistent 7-0s YES!
If you're not in Council Chambers to see it live, you can watch it on the Regional Web TV. They're not looking to Mayor Devine anymore.
There's even a FOIA/Freedom of Info request of documents (costing residents hundreds of dollars to get), and in handwriting on one page, it says that all must vote the same way.
Current Council is looking at those two who do a lot of 'virtue signaling', literally with hand over heart, instead of speaking to the technical language in a Text Amendment that needs to be more specific.
National expert in 'housing affordability' Dr. Karen Chapple, out of Vancouver and Berkeley, even warns about these politico party 'virtue signalers' at the dais. They talk about 'values' but do not take action to move towards real affordable housing, like another Public Housing Authority, senior housing, or Community Land Trusts.
They talk the talk to gull many of the Fred Dems that a $600,000 townhouse at 'Mary's Landing' is Affordable (really? are we viewed as that stupid?), but not walk the talk to get to implementation of real affordable housing .
We're all talking in the city about the Hypocrisy. and their latest -'ism' ploy to gain voters. It's about THE YOUTH. nah, none of them ain't ready for prime time. They don't have THE TIME to devote to reading 160 page docs. They're all going to vote 7-0 anyway.
THE YOUTH??? THE YOUNG? say what is that? 40 year olds?, like put your fingertips on the ribbon or hold a gold shovel for a photo op at a groundbreaking? but don't need to read anything because you're not going to question, or tolerate anyone, who brings up any questions to 'the other side of the story' of an issue, like getting the developer to put in a pedestrian plaza on Lafayette Blvd (Telegraph Hill) instead of that substandard roundabout.
Lack of knowledge and experience is already showing in the FDC-endorsed Democrats' Meet n Greets. They aren't clear on the issues facing the city.
It's flat out discrimination what's going on in the party that puffs itself up as 'no -isms': 'Ageism' is being played.
The political party handlers don't want us to have EXPERIENCED, KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES WHO HAVE THE TIME TO READ DOCUMENTS AND UNDERSTAND THEM to give 'A DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT' on that dais. They want 7-0s All YES! "Jawohl" voting.
Because it's slam bang Done Deal going on with fast- processing all those applications from e.g., NoVA developers salivating at what they can pull over on little 'ole Fredericksburg.
We want a healthy Dem party. This bunch of covert operatives and its lack of transparency isn't it.
Thanks again to 'hyperbole' and its article on the FDC Council/School Board candidate responses to the FDC Questionnaire.
'hyperbole' even included the original set of FDC rules sent out. that got yanked: 'Interested candidates must complete the questionnaire by 5 pm on July 2nd and may attend our July 9th committee meeting to speak briefly to our membership'.
and Phil Huber knows right well that didn't happen.