Mason Supervisor Penny Gross wins Democratic primary
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| Mason Supervisor Penny Gross speaks to supporters after wining the Democratic primary. |
Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross easily won the Democratic primary June 9, with 56.1 percent of the vote. Jessica Swanson, a political newcomer who had never run for public office before, racked up a respectable 43.8 percent against a five-time incumbent with a huge fundraising advantage.
Gross will face independent candidate Mollie Loeffler, a longtime neighborhood activist and former president of the Mason District Council, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Swanson beat Gross in six precincts: Barcroft, Holmes #1, Holmes #2, Ravenwood, Sleepy Hollow, and Poe. She got more than 71 percent in Ravenwood and both Holmes precincts.
Approximately 9.5 percent of registered voters voted in the primary.
“I’m thrilled to be your nominee. I’m thrilled to be your supervisor,” Gross told a crowd of supporters at her campaign headquarters in Annandale after the final results were announced.
“Taking the high road paid off,” Gross said. “If you know me and most of you do, you know that I have always taken the high road – positive, enthusiastic, moving forward; I love my community. I live in this community. I would never trash my community nor would I trash anybody in it.”
“Time and time again I’ve heard from folks who expressed real dismay at what was being thrown at me and expressed real pleasure that we didn’t stoop to that,” she said.
In an apparent allusion to Swanson’s receipt of an $87,000 campaign contribution from Leadership for Educational Equity, Gross said: “Mason District cannot be bought. We know that we need to raise more money for the general election but we know that we are going to be broad based and cannot be beholden to any particular donor.”
“I must congratulate my opponent,” Gross said. “She made a good try.”
A statement issued by Swanson after the election thanking her supporters says: “Months ago, I decided to run for Mason District Supervisor because of all of the energy I heard from people like you about improving this community. During this campaign, I’ve spoken with thousands of you who shared my concerns about the direction of our county government, about needed investments in our schools, and about development decisions that haven’t always seemed to reflect the best interests of residents. And in those conversations, I heard a shared vision for the future that we all want to build here in Mason District.
“Although we weren’t victorious in tonight’s primary election, I am more committed than ever to that vision,” Swanson says. “I plan to remain deeply engaged with the Democratic party and in continued efforts to make our community stronger. My dedication to our community never hinged on the outcome of one election, and I will continue to work hard alongside you to effect change here in Fairfax County.”
In other election results, Fairfax County school board member Dan Storck (Mount Vernon) beat three other candidates to win the Democratic primary for Mount Vernon supervisor. Storck got 43.6 percent of the vote compared to Planning Commission member Timothy Sargeant (40.6 percent), Jack Dobbyn Jr. (9.9 percent), and Candice Bennett (5.8 percent).
89 responses to “Mason Supervisor Penny Gross wins Democratic primary”
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This is such a depressing outcome.
The polling shows that places where The Regnant of Mason District has implemented development idea largely rejected her. Unfortunately for those places, other neighborhoods have not felt her impact. But that is fortunate for those neighborhoods.
Gross taking the high road…
Do I need to comment further as to how ridiculous that statement is?
Penny is insane if she thinks she took the high road. Her mail was spurious at best.
Jessica Swanson flat out lied in her mailings – she said Penny voted for the Supervisor pay raise, which she did not.
If taking the "high road" means blatant fear-mongering and preying on the naiveté of some constituents, than sure her campaign took the high road.
The fact that Swanson ran as well as she did is attributable largely to votes for cast in precincts where there's a great deal of proposed redevelopment. Gross did much better outside those areas. This suggests that concern over Gross' handling of the Seven Corners/Willston/Spectrum/Moncure redevelopment proposals may not be as widespread as Swanson believed. There's also reason to believe that Swanson's message about "fully funding" the public schools may not have resonated with many voters. So, if Swanson's supporters represent the hard core of Democratic opposition to Gross' policies, it's unlikely that they are numerous enough to swing the election to Mollie Loeffler even if they choose to support her.
the high road is a bit of a joke. we all got the mailers where she spread misinformation about Jessica. Her condescending remark about Jessica's "Good try" is typical Penny.
Neighborhoods in the know/effected by her policies the past few years came out way against her. Other neighborhoods will learn the hard way at some point that she only cares about her agenda.
Jessica was anything but forthcoming during her campaign. Her "fully funding" argument was hardly convincing considering that the BOS funded all but about 1.5% of the school's board's requested budget. Penny outed her as to her charter school agenda and connected that issue to her funding by Teach for America/LEE. I'm not forgetting that subterfuge because the last thing I want is to see Teach/LEE's pernicious influence in the Fairfax schools. Swanson was also pretty noncommittal about how to pay for fully funding the schools. Other than a restaurant tax, there was no mention of the self-evident massive hike in property taxes that her proposal would require. In short, while Penny clearly isn't without fault, she's still miles ahead of Jessica.
You mean Annandale will have as much planned development as Seven Corners? From your lips to god's ears.
LEE tried to buy our district through the mysterious Swanson. It didn't work.
I'm with Penny. Good try.
LEE didn't buy our district. The Gross's mysterious high-density residential developers did.
I'm with Mollie.
Swanson's hope was that she could "run up" the score in the precincts where upper-class NIMBYS live and steal the District….she really would have done anything to win. Good try.
upper class? have you been to seven corners or bailey's crossroads? LOL
Did you read the article above which noted the six precincts in which Swanson beat Gross? Tell me which one of those six precincts include Bailey's Crossroads.
I don't think you can.
You are another example of how Swanson's campaign reached out to only the out-of-touch wealthy Liberal 1% of Mason District. LMAO
sure Holmes. where do you send my prize?
The Bailey's precinct was actually pretty close (152 – 121).
Holmes #2 is Lake Barcroft NOT Bailey's Crossroads.
Holmes #1 is closer to Lake Barcroft than Bailey's Crossroads, and Swanson won 37 votes to Penny's 14. (No doubt the turmoil over Spectrum's proposed development had a lot to do with this "big win" for Swanson.)
Meanwhile, Gross won Crossroads 128 to 18. Apparently, Swanson's one-issue campaign was a massive FAIL with the many retirees who live in the Crossroads precinct.
You extreme Liberals love to make up your own facts. However, in this case the facts show Penny easily won the working and middle class areas of Bailey's Crossroads, and lost to Swanson only in the Snob-dominated areas surrounding private Lake Barcroft.
Your "prize" is an assignment. Write down on a piece of paper 300 times – "I have to stop making up my own facts."
Your welcome.
I agree with 06/19 11:05, those distircts most impacted by Penny's development and school proposals (including Willston) rejected her soundly. Those not close to 7 Corners went with Penny because she maintains the status quo for them. Guess they don't drive through 7 Corners often. Penny is condescending in her remarks (no surprise there). She had the developers and Democratic machine behind her, I am sad for our district. On to the fall election – lets see if Penny takes her high road then. Bet not.
Tnkwalla, your wrong. Penny won in Willston. You must be one of the Liberal out-of-touch %1 snobs living in Sleepy Holly/Ravensworth who assume you know what's best for those with lower incomes living in Willston who have had less luck in life than you.
Read the article above Tnkwalla. Where do you see Willston listed among the 6 precincts Swanson won?
Try to get your facts right before spouting off about Gross.
Penny has made it clear that she is not the Mason District Supervisor for the everyday citizen but for the developers. She has said the schools are not her problem. Penny resorts everyday to taking the low road when she does not listen to the peoples concerns and only does what she wants. She is as low as it gets.
What developers? Maybe in Arlington where they cannot put up enough cranes fast enough. You see any cranes here…..I don't. These developers you speak of must be some kind of poltergeist in you own mind.
I agree with you – "What developers?" But that's the problem with batcrazy extreme Liberals, they make up their own detached reality (lies) and repeat them often enough that they think others are crazy if they don't believe them.
Be strong and be proud because you are based in reality.
These extreme Liberals that demand more money for the public schools even when they receive over 50% of the entire county budget; and who make up lies about undue influence by developers on Penny Gross, when the lack of development in Mason District as compared to bordering Democratic-dominated Arlington and Falls Church is astounding; they disgust me. And their baseless low attacks on Gross disgust me.
I'll tell you right now that Mollie won't stand a chance against Penny unless she runs a respectful, broad-based, and fact-based campaign.
I have no interest voting for any candidate who vilifies developers. I am sick and tired of driving up Columbia Pick everyday and seeing the eyesore that is the multi-block stretch near Bailey's Crossroads that is highlighted by the vacant Safari Lounge best known for allegedly serving goat meat and being the scene of an unsolved homicide.
Good job Penny. You can continues your job of making this town Annandump
sounds like Mason wants to be stuck as a third world country
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you've never actually been to a third world country.
i have. have you been through the culmore apartments before? go in a few of the buildings and report back here that you now agree with me.
Yep. Just went. Confirmed that Annandale is not Somalia, also we all agreed that you're a moron.
not a chance you just went.
Do the apartments have electricity, running water, toilets? OK, then.
so does my shed, u want to rent it, we can make room for your white van.
Your shed has a toilet? sounds pretty badass actually. What do you charge?
Depends on the customer:-)
Hey Anonymous, you talk big but you are a big fool. You have no clue, just stupid stereotypes.
I grew up in the Bronx and Queens in the 60's and 70's.
Hell, I remember in Queens when I was in the 2nd grade my Mother and a older woman walked me and my 1-year younger brother home from Catholic school. In broad daylight, as we entered our apartment building, two urban youths ran from behind and shoved my Mother into the lobby and pulled a knife on my Mom. My Mom was so scared all she could do is look at me and my brother and yell at us to run. Of course we couldn't run away from our Mother.
She was so scared she was not even capable of taking the pocketbook she had strapped over her shoulders and giving it to the young thugs.
Thankfully, they did not want to harm my Mother. Instead, they used the knife to cut the strap of her pocketbook, and ran away with her pocketbook. The older woman actually gave chase, because she was previously robbed at least once before herself, and was tired of seeing these criminals get away.
The police came to take a report and drive around the neighborhood in search of the criminals and then that was that. Another victim of violent crime in pre-Rudy NYC.
Culmore is not McLean, but it is not dangerous unless you are out alone in the middle of the night with a "Rob Me" sign or a member of a gang confronted by another gang.
Then truth is that the average resident of Culmore has superior intelligence and social refinement than you.
Swanson grabbed a large percentage of the vote in just a few short months of campaigning. Not bad for a 31 year old political newcomer. Mollie Loeffler has eight years of leadership experience in Mason District. I look forward to voting for Mollie in November.
Mollie also has the baggage of being a Tea Party Republican. As for her "leadership experience" – I wouldn't call 8 years of screeching about illegal immigrant leadership…
It'll be interesting to see if that Tea Party label sticks. Penny will need it to work if she hopes to diminish the fact that Mollie Loeffler has eight years of successful community organizing experience. That's a lot more appealing than someone who hides out in her office and rules by decree. Stay tuned. The real election race is about to begin and it will be fun.
Desperate rumors already? 1:16pm
What does Mollie stand for? Other than being the anti-Gross and having 8 years of experience as a "community organizer" I have no idea what policies she supports. I have no idea what actions she will take in office.
I am not going to vote for someone unless I know what their major priorities are, what they intend to achieve in office, and I support those priorities and achievements.
Right now I know nothing about Mollie; I don't even know if she has a campaign website.
P.S. – Mollie being slimed as a "Tea Party" supporter doesn't bother me. However, her supporters bragging about Mollie's 8 years of "community organizing" is not impressive.
Who is Mollie? A "No Justice, No Peace" Warrior? A courageous fighter against alleged police brutality? What does Mollie stand for?
If Mollie and her campaign does not get their message out; it is their fault if her public image is shaped by the opposition campaign. That's how politics works.
So lay it on me! What does Mollie stand for? What does she want to achieve for Mason District? And give me specifics and not platitudes about how she is "different" from Penny.
I voted for Penny in the primary, but I will be voting for Mollie Loeffler in the general election.
can i ask why in a million years you would do that? if you are going to vote against Penny, you do it every chance you get.
Because I disliked Swanson. If someone else had run against Penny, who was not bankrolled by Teach for America, and who didn't spout on and on about "fully funding FCPS," I certainly would have voted for him or her.
The devil you know is better than the one you don't.
I look forward to voting for Mollie Loeffler.
"The devil you know is better than the one you don't." Uh…wouldn't that be the reason to vote for Penny over Loeffler?
jessica was the best shot of beating penny for 4 years so sounds like you are ok with the devil running our dump of a district.
if it's such a dump feel free to leave at any time
Speak for yourself. I live in a lovely neighborhood 🙂
"Approximately 9.5 percent of registered voters voted in the primary."
Shouldn't we all be more concerned about THAT?
NO! I am not a Democratic, so I have no reason to be concerned with the low-turnout in the Democratic primary.
It does concern me that it appears a principled, conservative candidate would have no chance of being a viable candidate in Mason District, but I find Penny Gross is at least financially and politically rational, so I will support her until I am convinced there is a better choice.
This was just a little battle, war is yet to come in November when more people will be voting. Unfortunately I have been split to Braddock, living off Heritage, so I can't vote Penny out.
Truly I wish the BOS would set term limits, maybe a max of three terms.
TERM LIMITS? What a GREAT idea! 3 or 4 Four-Year terms should be adequate for anyone's ego and future employment in the US Congress!
Here's how you get it done: Convince your Virginia State Delegates and Senators to revise the Virginia code to set term limits for Urban County Supervisors. Virginia code sets most all the rules for these County Supervisor positions – once changed at the state level, Bulova and Gross and Herrity will have to accept the limits. They would NEVER set a limit for their OWN terms in office. But they would give themselves a raise…..
Thank you. I'll start with Kaye and tell her to bring it up. If one person can stop trucks on Ravensworth, maybe one person can get term limits on the ballot.
First, I would like to see term limits imposed on Members of Congress.
Rep. Moran stayed way too long even though he and his family were stooges. He should have retired from Congress and cashed out for a high-income career as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill much sooner.
Moran's recent bellyaching that Members of Congress do not get paid enough is sheer Liberal lunacy. Par for this federal government-centric area that bases its economy and its wealth by taking it away from the productive taxpaying states. Even now, at night I hear my federal employee neighbors shrieking out about Sequestration until dawn.
Penny hasn't taken the "high road" in any of her campaigns. Her tactics are right out of the Lee Atwater creed of personal destruction.
Her refusal to debate Jessica indicated her fear of discussing issues. Scare tactics and innuendos are her mainstays. Talking about special interest money when she is beholding to the development industry was typical.
Any charter schools in Fairax County would be under the auspices of the FCPS as Jessica explained. She supported an idea proposed by public school teachers.
However, why discuss the facts? It's more convenient to believe Penny's propaganda.
This "anonymous" post is right. Penny gets nasty with any opponent who poses a threat. All one has to is look at this website to see how much special interest money outside of Mason District that Penny needs in order to win: http://www.vpap.org/candidates/22267/top_donors/?contrib_type=A&start_year=2012&end_year=2015
She should stop criticizing others for accepting money outside of Mason District when she does it herself.
I think Jessica has potential, she just needs to broaden her understanding of the issues. I really hope she will primary challenge Kaye Kory for her seat in 2017. Would like to Jessica in the VA House!
Jessica has no potential. She will forever be linked with the LEE money. People were disgusted. Her platitude-heavy, negative campaign will soon be forgotten, as will she.
^^^Such graciousness in victory. And technically only 12% of 9% of all registered voters found her "disgusting" so…ya know…somehow I think she'll survive, maybe even run again.
sounds like you took the Penny lies hook line and sinker
The results tell me that Swanson could have unseated Supervisor Gross. Swanson’s campaign was too focused on education, which I and many others found puzzling. Bureaucrats in the school system, also like politicians, want to hang in there, doing things the same way they have done them, for decades. There are at least a dozen meaty issues in this county needing a fresh approach. Swanson has talent, energy, and guts, and will do well in a future election. Supervisor Gross does not have the vote of confidence this election should have provided, and this may make the next 4 years bumpy for her, unless she seriously uses the results of this election as a listening and change opportunity. Meanwhile, Swanson put her stake in the ground for democracy, for challenging the established order, and her campaign will inspire others to energetically go after needed change.
i agree that she spent to much time on school issues and could have spent more time on the lack of leadership and also the shooting coverup by the BOS which is a huge issue
Are you kidding? Education is nothing like it was 20-30 years ago. Out of all the areas that government serves, education is probably the most efficient and effective.
Why would you find Swanson's campaign being too focused on education "puzzling" when Swanson's campaign was bankrolled by an education lobby?
Frankly, your thinking is puzzling and naive.
Enough with the fantasies. Those 2,200 votes for Swanson are hardly a ringing endorsement. I'll bet a goodly number of those were even cast by Republicans who were attempting to remove Penny in favor of a softer candidate for Mollie Loeffler to run against. So, like it or not, the Anybody But Penny clique is officially out of business. Your only remaining shot is to get behind Molly Loeffler and behave yourselves. That starts with writing a few campaign checks and not embarrassing yourselves by engaging in specious hindsight. See you in November.
Are you one of those agitators?
Nope. I just choose to live in the real world. Consider this: In 2011, about 15,000 total votes were cast for supervisor. Penny received 9,960 of them against token GOP opposition. Her opponent received 5,176 votes. That's a paltry 34.9% of the vote. Mollie Loeffler is the de facto Republican candidate, so I assume she'll be starting her campaign with at least roughly the same percentage of support. The obvious question then is how she'll increase her support by the 16 or so percentage points required to win. For additional perspective, consider that, in 2003, GOP candidate Buzz Hawley came the closest of any challenger to beating Penny and he only received 41.9% of the vote. So, things are looking pretty rosy for Penny right now.
Jessica's 2,200 votes clearly aren't enough to influence the upcoming general election. So, the question becomes whether the Anyone But Penny forces are going to sit on their hands and continue to whine or attempt to do something productive for Molly Loeffler. Personally, I'd encourage as many of them as possible to band together and get behind Loeffler. That certainly won't be a guarantee of victory, but it beats living in the past.
I love the Real World. It is my favorite show.
What are you talking about you agitator?
Swanson spoiled her chances because all she did was pounce on the education issue; she had nothing else to bring to the table. However, she gave Supervisor Gross quite a fight and I hope that Supervisor Gross hears the message that there are many of us other than our neighboring more economically advantaged NIMBYs pining for visionary leadership. Penny Gross’s heart has been in the right place. It is a really hard job, but it takes more than heart to lead, it takes a cadre of advisors from all sectors to bring forth the appropriate mix of leadership.
What we want is for our next supervisor to use this message as a beacon. That beacon needs to be more focused on the many enigmatic problems/issues of our district. We have become a divided district: NIMBYs and too many section 8 housing units; leaving the rest of us frustrated by the warfare, terrible transit option, crappy, dirty and hazardous/unsafe roads, limited bicycle and pedestrian options, boarding houses, shuttered businesses and declining schools. We want Mason to be a district where the middle class are breaking down the doors to live here, and not a place where residents are planning their escape route while being chased down by a fleet of white vans.
Our district with its proximity to DC, Arlington and Alexandria should be booming and not economically failing. How is it that DC was such a mess and that they were able to change their dynamics from losing its middle class population to a boomtown? Is it their water or good old fashion vision, economic focused investment and leadership? Our failings are because there has been a lack of prioritizing the County’s limited resources and focused leadership. If Mason Really Matters, please show us! Whoever the next supervisor is, that person should use this primary as a lesson learned, a time to listen and be bold.
i agree with everything above except her heart being in the right place. she is phoning it in for a check.
I like the Real World too. I stop watching it a long time ago. Is it still on?
Penny won because she never ceded ground to the LEE/Swanson operation on education.
Penny made it clear and simple that she has in fact supported schools over her tenure on the Board. And, outside of Lake Barcroft and the other NIMBYs who don't want "others" going to school with their kids, people are happy with their Fairfax County public schools. LEE/Swanson did a great job getting their message to those folks, and they turned out well, but it was not enough to overcome Penny's steady fact-based campaign that never ceded education to LEE/Swanson.
LAUGHABLE
No, it's tragic.
Thankfully, I will have sold my home and out of here before she and the developers are able to ram through the back doors deals to cram 6000 more apartments into the traffic nightmare that is Seven Corners.
Look around. Enjoy the Gross legacy.
Where are you going? Maybe you can be our Messiah and lead us away from this tyranny.
Haha!
"Tyranny"…love NIMBY hyperbole 🙂
@ 2:03, hope you enjoyed selling your home at it's wonderfully appreciated price. Such tyranny, right?
I'll be fascinated to see how many of JSwan's supporters will be voting for Penny in the general election. Time to mend fences guys because Penny is virtually guaranteed to get another four years in which to complete her agenda.
Amen. The many Republicans and "Anybody but Penny" folks that supported Jessica will go right over to the other opponent. I am guessing they made up at least half of Jessica's voters.
The other folks who voted against Penny, the tried and true Democrats, will, with the right outreach from Penny, unify with the Democrats and support Penny.
its actually penny who needs to mend fences with the community not the other way around.
No. Penny cannot be expected to reach out to people whose views are not based in reality.
The truth is the Swanson voters are unrealistic.
They want greater spending on public schools when the public schools are already taking over 50% of the County's budget and most taxpayers are living paycheck to paycheck.
These same inane voters complain Penny is owned by the developers; but then wail they want the same shiny new developments they see being built in DC, Arlington, Merrifield, Falls Church City, and Tysons.
No conservative would have voted for Swanson, who promised nothing except higher taxes.
Swanson was purely a play for the out-of-touch, extreme Liberal %1 SNOBS, who are concentrated around Lake Barcroft.
The fact Swanson came as close as she did is a testament to the fact the Democratic Party is increasingly a party of out-of-touch Liberal Elitiests who long ago abandoned their support of the middle-class, working-class, and organized private labor.
Bill Bailey, Penny's first opponent, lost by 75 votes. If you are going to make pronouncements about election returns, at least be accurate.
Jessica, a basically single issue novice, did very well by breaking 43% in a 9% voter turn out election.
It's facile to label those who don't support Penny as NIMBY'S , but typical of her and her supporters.
Let's hope the election in November focuses on issues instead of labels and distortions.
"If you are going to make pronouncements about election returns, at least be accurate…." Mia Culpa. Although I majored in history, it wasn't ancient history. I do, however, remember that, in 1995, there was no incumbent for the office of Mason supervisor. Tina Trapnell decided not to run and there were still some GOP moderates around. Eight years later, Buzz Hawley ran a good campaign, but finished 10 points behind Penny even though she was already subject to many of the same criticisms leveled against her by JSwan. So, thanks for the trivia, but the 2003 election is the best example to date of how strongly Penny runs in Mason.
JSwan only mustered a paltry 2,200 votes. Many of those were no doubt cast by Republicans who wouldn't have voted for her in the general election. Furthermore, there's hardly any evidence to suggest that the votes she received reflected support for her one plank education platform. Rather, the distribution of votes suggests she was more likely the standard bearer of those critics of Penny's redevelopment plans living in close proximity to Route 7. In other words, JSwan's true Democrat supporters are too few in number to make an appreciable dent in the outcome of the general election. Moreover, some of their hysterics are likely to detract from Mollie Loeffler's campaign if they choose to support her. Hopefully they'll realize that and find a quiet place to sit out the upcoming general election campaign.
Setting:
It’s a busy Wednesday eve in August, I am on my way home from my middle class job in DC and as I approach Baileys Crossroads near the vacant Safari, I see people pointing towards the sky. I am curious, I am surrounded by white vans, many people speaking foreign languages I cant understand, all sorts of colorful people; people in robes, women carrying fruit baskets on their heads, men in turbines and on flying carpets, people carrying tents, some even living in tents on the vacant lots and in the broken down bus shelters; but yet there are many Mercedes, Lexus and Range Rover SUVs heading as fast as they can towards Lake Barcroft to avoid the crowds of the little people. It is surreal, it is like a festival but in a strange way as they all continue to point towards the sky.
Then I hear some voice in english yell in the distance: it’s a plane, no its flying carpet, no it’s a space ship, OMG it’s a flying Developer Crane, cruising at a rapid speed as if it was trying to flee. I raise my voice and frantically wave, I say as loudly as I can; “we are here, please land here, please help us.” We are ignored, I panic and yell again, and plead for help, the crane slows down and a voice harks from the flying Developer Crane: sorry are next stops are in Arlington, Tysons, and DC. I holler back, what about Baileys and Seven Corners, why don’t you stop here? The Developer Crane rattles in anger as its boom practically knocks me off my feet and says in disdain “we don’t make stops in NIMBYLAND.” Too many NIMBYs, it is not safe for us to land.
My response is of pain, wait I will call out the anti-NIMBY warriors: Miss Penny, Miss Mollie, Miss Jessica where are you to help fight off the NIMBYs? They are no where to be found except for poor Miss Jessica who has just vanished under a fleet of white vans, painfully crying, I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m dying. Tears come to my eyes and I yell back in a choking and cracking voice at the Crane, “you can’t leave us like this, please take me with you, please help us, we are the middle class, a dying breed, we need your help.” The Crane spins around furiously; “you are a dying breed because of the perilous NIMBYs you fool. Your precious Miss Penny and Mollie have fled the County and you are left at the mercy of the NIMBYs and their servants in their section 8 camps. Sorry, we can’t help you; you will be left to fight the battle on your own as you deserve. Call your HOA or Civic Association, maybe they can help, we are off to the Lands of Plenty. And then the cranes vanish as quickly as they had appeared, as the sunsets on the dying trees, the vacant lots, the white vans, and the boarded up buildings. Even the flying carpets have disappeared. The festive like atmosphere has turned to a dour silence in the Land of Despair, as Miss Ellie and I are left capturing the travails of the day and posting it to the Annandale Blog.
i hope you were drunk when you wrote this nonsense
I'm cracking up. Thanks for the laugh.
This is riot, quite a parody on Mason District with a touch of the Wizard of OZ, Gone with the Wind, and Superman. I cannot stop laughing. The crazy part, some of it sounds almost like reality.
What a hoot.
Swanson was a crappy candidate. Folks hate charter schools and hardly know enough to ask if they are public charter or private charter schools.
Public charter?? We have Bailey's Elementary – that's a public charter school, we have Glasgow – that's AAP, we have Belvedere – that's AAP. We have TJ – that's the high tech high school. JEB and Annandale are IB, – so is Marshall and a host of others. Falls Church is AP.
We've got lots of charter schools.
Loeffler's biggest problem will be trying to beat an incumbent democratic party supervisor in a district with a one-button mentality, regardless of the issues or any debates. Are there going to be debates?
Actually, it looks like folks LOVE charter schools when they are never told the schools are a charter schools.
Swanson was scum for getting the backing of big money and Penny is scum for taking so many campaign contributions from developers. What VA politics really needs is campaign finance reform – instead we get a freak show of folks who call themselves candidates – none really qualified for public office and ready to sell their soul to win the next election that always comes because there are NO TERM LIMITS.
Who gives a crap about kids – we'll give them a school campus barely over 3 acres and call that sat.
Three acres? In the midst of controversy over the massive redevelopment of the Route 7 corridor, that's what you're going with? JSwan didn't oppose Upper Bailey's and I don't believe that Mollie does either. The debate has shifted to building a school on the Willston site. So, try to catch up.
If someone hasn't already done so, you should copyright the term "one-button mentality". Penny has been able to coast to reelection on the coattails of Gerry Connolly and Sharon Bulova because knee jerk Democratic voters have never bothered to analyze her threadbare record. There will be at least one debate because Penny cannot dismiss Mollie Loeffler the way she did JSwan. Expect Penny to try and pin a Tea Party label on Molly in order to deflect attention from her own lack of accomplishments.