A bill that would give localities the ability to charge a 1% sales tax for school construction is vetoed. Stafford schools supported the measure; Paul Milde and Tara Durant opposed the bill.
The legislation asks voters in a referendum decide if they wanted to approve an additional 1% sales tax to be used for school construction. Stafford is in the process of building three new schools. The debt service payments for those school will due next fiscal year and will more than likely require a large real estate tax increase, putting the cost of the schools on the homeowner. If the additional 1% sales tax is approved it would shift the tax burden away from the homeowner and move it primarily to travelers and residential builders.
Most new homes have over $120,000 in Building materials, so the building industry would have to pay an additional 1% tax on that material or about $1,200 more per house that would be used for school construction. Beware of politicians that take money from the building industry and don't want the voters to decide on a referendum.
Wow, what a shock. Republicans who promised to support schools and state they believe in localities making their own decisions block meaningful legislation that would have done just that. All so they can do a Tammy Wynette and stand by their man Youngkin.
Next time you drive by Drew Middle School and wonder if the decrepit roof will cave in on your kids, or an eroded hot water pipe will burst on them while walking to class, remember that elections do have consequences.
Wasn't our fine Senator Durant the one who proposed legislation at the beginning of the session to give tax breaks to parochial schools? But she can't be bothered to allow Stafford County to raise a sales tax to cover the rising costs due to the negligent and massive amount of deferred county maintenance that happened on her watch for years?
Huh.
And I guess FXBG Advance darling Monica Gary is real proud to have played spoiler so we didn't get Joel Griffin representing us. Explain that vanity project to the parents of school age children who now suffer.
Meanwhile, in South Staff, I see the meth lab..., sorry, CLINIC, is able to afford its renovations! Looking very nice.
You know, the one we got next to a daycare because folks like Ms Gary and Ms Durant were too busy worrying about their own goals, and not the legislation that was affecting us....
As far as myself, please realize that I am not a "Democrat" per se, other than they appear to be the only choice left that isn't affiliated with a monomaniacal, unprincipled, and amoral personality cult looking to destroy the country and every decent principle we have in order to save their cult god.
So I'm hardly an insider who would know any particulars.
Honestly feel more like a Cassandra, watching a train wreck happening in front of me.
Until the Trump era, I would happily vote for a Republican as quickly as I would a Democrat. Though I now suspect I will never vote for one again. Even realizing that it is entirely possible for the Democratic party members to have done the same thing under similar circumstances. But the fact remains that they didn't, and actions matter more than words. So here we are.
As far as Griffin, I've never met the man. So I wouldn't presume to speak for him. If you're asking for an opinion, I would suspect it had to do with him seeing there being a real threat of Durant being primaried out by Strickland and that was his primary reason for throwing his hat into the ring. In that, with his comparable military service, he would be a foil to him that other Democratic candidates would not have been in a general election.
Once that threat passed, I agree that his campaign just appeared to be mailing it in. And that was a certainly factor in his loss. Whether that was on purpose or merely a bad campaign choice, I do not know. Though, I suspect, (again - based on pure speculation) it didn't really bother him all that much, once that threat of another cult candidate, which both he and I agree is existential to our country and state's way of government, had passed for that seat.
Not sure who you mean by Luke, but I found Mr Litchfield to have much to recommend him. Though again, facing Strickland, a former Marine, I'd say the chances of a newly moved here lawyer from Massachusetts would have been a lot slimmer than Griffin's chances. Don't know that you've noticed, but there seem to be more than a few veterans and active service in the area. And like cops, they tend to vote for their own - even if it isn't the best choice for the country as a whole. Personal gain and loyalty to selves has been shown to be a stronger pull to them than principle or oath, no matter how you wrap it. Though there have been notable exceptions, particularly in the higher ranks, to whom we owe our thanks during the last insurrection attempt.
Which is why I will be supporting folks like Vindmann.
But once Griffin did get the nomination, for a presumably "progressive" candidate not to back him and then mount an independent campaign was nothing more than vanity.
I wish Virginia did have ranked choice voting. But it doesn't.
So protest votes by progressives do nothing but give us non-progressives. Ms Durant's success depended upon that as much or more than whatever miscues made by Griffin. Whatever the reason for them. Just as I fear we may be looking at a second (and final) Trump reign of terror due to the dilution of the progressive vote from RFK's campaign. It will not hurt both sides equally, nor happen in a vacuum. To pretend otherwise is just that, pretense.
As far as the Fxbg Adv, seems like the whole time up to the election they were denying that reality,
Which was odd, when you saw their election day coverage actually having a quote from a Mary Washington student talking about how he was progressive but was voting for Gary as a protest vote. Wonder how many more did the same?
And then there was another article recently, don't recall the particulars, but they were asking Stafford BOS members why something had happened to Ms Gary, yet in their reporting - they did not ask the same question OF Ms Gary. Why not? It would seem her opinion on the matter would have been the most valuable, yet it was never asked. As I recall, it was Mr Davis doing the story rather than Ms Uphaus. And it seems like when that occurs, she gets handled with kid gloves. Not sure why she would deserve it.
In that instance, during the Senate race, or now.
Anyway, thanks for your info and thoughts. I always find value in them. Good day.
So Milde doesn’t want to give voters a choice? I’m hoping Milde, a convicted felon, feels differently about legislation that would let voters to decide whether felons who have served their time should automatically be granted the right to vote.
Gary could’ve run in the Democratic primary. She chose not to, with the lame excuse that she didn’t want and to alienate/offend voters. Gary helped Durant win.
Let the voters decide!!!
The legislation asks voters in a referendum decide if they wanted to approve an additional 1% sales tax to be used for school construction. Stafford is in the process of building three new schools. The debt service payments for those school will due next fiscal year and will more than likely require a large real estate tax increase, putting the cost of the schools on the homeowner. If the additional 1% sales tax is approved it would shift the tax burden away from the homeowner and move it primarily to travelers and residential builders.
Most new homes have over $120,000 in Building materials, so the building industry would have to pay an additional 1% tax on that material or about $1,200 more per house that would be used for school construction. Beware of politicians that take money from the building industry and don't want the voters to decide on a referendum.
Wow, what a shock. Republicans who promised to support schools and state they believe in localities making their own decisions block meaningful legislation that would have done just that. All so they can do a Tammy Wynette and stand by their man Youngkin.
Next time you drive by Drew Middle School and wonder if the decrepit roof will cave in on your kids, or an eroded hot water pipe will burst on them while walking to class, remember that elections do have consequences.
Wasn't our fine Senator Durant the one who proposed legislation at the beginning of the session to give tax breaks to parochial schools? But she can't be bothered to allow Stafford County to raise a sales tax to cover the rising costs due to the negligent and massive amount of deferred county maintenance that happened on her watch for years?
Huh.
And I guess FXBG Advance darling Monica Gary is real proud to have played spoiler so we didn't get Joel Griffin representing us. Explain that vanity project to the parents of school age children who now suffer.
Meanwhile, in South Staff, I see the meth lab..., sorry, CLINIC, is able to afford its renovations! Looking very nice.
You know, the one we got next to a daycare because folks like Ms Gary and Ms Durant were too busy worrying about their own goals, and not the legislation that was affecting us....
Sigh.
Sad times here in the flatlands.........
As far as myself, please realize that I am not a "Democrat" per se, other than they appear to be the only choice left that isn't affiliated with a monomaniacal, unprincipled, and amoral personality cult looking to destroy the country and every decent principle we have in order to save their cult god.
So I'm hardly an insider who would know any particulars.
Honestly feel more like a Cassandra, watching a train wreck happening in front of me.
Until the Trump era, I would happily vote for a Republican as quickly as I would a Democrat. Though I now suspect I will never vote for one again. Even realizing that it is entirely possible for the Democratic party members to have done the same thing under similar circumstances. But the fact remains that they didn't, and actions matter more than words. So here we are.
As far as Griffin, I've never met the man. So I wouldn't presume to speak for him. If you're asking for an opinion, I would suspect it had to do with him seeing there being a real threat of Durant being primaried out by Strickland and that was his primary reason for throwing his hat into the ring. In that, with his comparable military service, he would be a foil to him that other Democratic candidates would not have been in a general election.
Once that threat passed, I agree that his campaign just appeared to be mailing it in. And that was a certainly factor in his loss. Whether that was on purpose or merely a bad campaign choice, I do not know. Though, I suspect, (again - based on pure speculation) it didn't really bother him all that much, once that threat of another cult candidate, which both he and I agree is existential to our country and state's way of government, had passed for that seat.
Not sure who you mean by Luke, but I found Mr Litchfield to have much to recommend him. Though again, facing Strickland, a former Marine, I'd say the chances of a newly moved here lawyer from Massachusetts would have been a lot slimmer than Griffin's chances. Don't know that you've noticed, but there seem to be more than a few veterans and active service in the area. And like cops, they tend to vote for their own - even if it isn't the best choice for the country as a whole. Personal gain and loyalty to selves has been shown to be a stronger pull to them than principle or oath, no matter how you wrap it. Though there have been notable exceptions, particularly in the higher ranks, to whom we owe our thanks during the last insurrection attempt.
Which is why I will be supporting folks like Vindmann.
But once Griffin did get the nomination, for a presumably "progressive" candidate not to back him and then mount an independent campaign was nothing more than vanity.
I wish Virginia did have ranked choice voting. But it doesn't.
So protest votes by progressives do nothing but give us non-progressives. Ms Durant's success depended upon that as much or more than whatever miscues made by Griffin. Whatever the reason for them. Just as I fear we may be looking at a second (and final) Trump reign of terror due to the dilution of the progressive vote from RFK's campaign. It will not hurt both sides equally, nor happen in a vacuum. To pretend otherwise is just that, pretense.
As far as the Fxbg Adv, seems like the whole time up to the election they were denying that reality,
Which was odd, when you saw their election day coverage actually having a quote from a Mary Washington student talking about how he was progressive but was voting for Gary as a protest vote. Wonder how many more did the same?
And then there was another article recently, don't recall the particulars, but they were asking Stafford BOS members why something had happened to Ms Gary, yet in their reporting - they did not ask the same question OF Ms Gary. Why not? It would seem her opinion on the matter would have been the most valuable, yet it was never asked. As I recall, it was Mr Davis doing the story rather than Ms Uphaus. And it seems like when that occurs, she gets handled with kid gloves. Not sure why she would deserve it.
In that instance, during the Senate race, or now.
Anyway, thanks for your info and thoughts. I always find value in them. Good day.
So Milde doesn’t want to give voters a choice? I’m hoping Milde, a convicted felon, feels differently about legislation that would let voters to decide whether felons who have served their time should automatically be granted the right to vote.
Gary could’ve run in the Democratic primary. She chose not to, with the lame excuse that she didn’t want and to alienate/offend voters. Gary helped Durant win.