This board has become too elitest and lost focus on their real job of representing the individuals and interests of Fairfax County.

Its time for fresh blood and new ideas

...you're favoring the "liberal" here?  I'm really confused! :)

I live in Providence District.  Linda Smyth is surprisingly unpopular among the vast majority of the people I know. I find that those who like her feel so based on issues unrelated to big money interests.

But on issues related to developers who give large sums of money to Smyth's benefactor, Gerry Connolly, she turns into a shrew.  She pits neighbor against neighbor in order to further the cause of the developer.  Then she calls this "bringing people together".

Then, as if to rub salt into the wound, she declares that "the community is split" at the public hearing and proceeds to vote in favor of the developer.

Linda Smyth represents the core of what is wrong with our political system and must go!

Despite the catcalls and inaccurate allegations being made against incumbent supervisor Linda Smyth from the Hall campaign and a bunch of folks who don't even live or vote in Fairfax County's Providence District, the voters of Providence will return Linda to another term when they vote in the June 12 Democratic Primary.

Smith has been talking, working, and meeting with Providence residents -- her constituents -- throughout her tenure as their county representative on the Board.  She has proven her worth to them and they will hopefully reciprocate with their votes.

Challenger Charlie Hall seems to be a nice enough guy.  But since he has raised no money for voter outreach and has only a small band of activists -- many from outside the district and the county -- Hall is forced to wage an aggressive campaign.  Unfortunately, it is so aggressive that often Halls changes and rhethoric strays far from the truth.

For example, the Hall team's poor handling of the debate negotiations with the LWV is coming back to bite them in the butt and now they are flailing around with innuendo suggesting it was "probably" or "presumably" a plot to silence them.  And now they have the bloggers up in arms (for what I don't understand since it seems that any citizen can attend the event).

Hall and his people must understand that a game of "Gotcha" is not going to win this primary on June 12.  The citizens of Providence know their District and know their supervisor.  They will not buy a bill of goods from Hall or anyone else who has a narrow agenda aimed more at self-promotion than the betterment of Providence District and Fairfax County.

that they can't record the event, and that there's some bizarre language in there that seems to preclude anyone from linking to "unauthorized" sites?  Perhaps this will give you an idea of what bloggers are demanding: for instance, that "all debate footage be put in public domain or licensed as 'Creative Commons' - freely able to be shared, blogged, excerpted, and put on YouTube Debates "belong to the people, not to powerful media interests" Is that so hard?  Why would anyone oppose that?

I'm a Providence resident and I certainly won't be voting for Smyth.  She has talked TO me, but not with me.  She may have listened, but she hasn't heard!  She only has ears for Gerry. I'm knot sure where knot Larry Sabato gets his read on Providence citizens, but most of my friends and neighbors aren't feeling too positive about our current leaders.

I'm impressed with Charlie and look forward to voting for him.

Since there is no Republican in this race

I am favoring the challenger because this board has gotten too fat and happy

Now dont expect me to volunteer or donate or anything :-p

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "fat and happy?"  What specifically don't you like about your current representation on the Fairfax County board?  What would you change?

This will propably sort of dovetail into a rant against Connolley.  I'm headed off to work here so will keep it pretty short. 

Basically, during public meetings and forums the board as a whole does not always pay attention to the concerns and needs of citizens.

Connolley and to a certain extent Smyth frequently look bored or even interrupt or argue with citizens during mettings. 

Many of these board members think they are invicible to the public and public critisim.  This is never good for a democracy.  Also, as mentioned below in the other thread Smyth is basically a mouthpiece for Connolley

Finally, at the county-wide level there is a choice

Gary Baise is running.  He has been very approachable and is making citizen service a cornerstone of his campaign unlike Connolley who is an elite and has been very aloof when I have interacted with him.

http://www.votebaise...

You've hit the nail on the head. I too have watched numerous public hearings on Channel 16 where the Supervisors were at best just going through the motions of citizen testimony before issuing a predetermined decision. I have many times seen Linda Smyth pull out a printed statement after the citizens' testimony and read her preordained judgment.

At worst, the Supervisors are abusive toward citizens whose testimony they don't agree with. And Connolly is the most abusive of all.

In the context of this thread, Linda Smyth is guilty of this behavior not just because she engages in it, but also because she does nothing to discourage it. If I were testifying and being abused by the Board, I'd want my elected official to come to my defense and chatise the Boards' abusive behavior. Smyth should do that whether she agrees with her constituents' opinions or not. But she doesn't.

The result has been a stifling of open debate by intimidation. And that's not good for democracy.

of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and development here, by the way.

The League of Women Voter's has a long history of solid debate management and have strict rules in place to make sure the debates are conducted in a neutral environment that repects both sides of the event. Maybe if bloggers tried working with established organizations to explain the value of "blog journalism" instead of attacking them in public we would all benefit.

I haven't seen anyone attack the LWV.  Personally, I think they're a great organization.  Again, what on earth are you talking about?

Word just came in from the League that Jim Southworth, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax Cable Access Corporation (FCAC - Channel 10), has offered to videotape the May 23, 2007 Providence Primary Debate as a 'public service' for the community.

The League has accepted.

It is spelled CONNOLLY. Sorry if that makes me an elitist.

If for no other reason than she was elected b/c she was Gerry's pet.  Becky Cate should have won that primary and she would have been an independent thinker.  Smyth is your ho-hum lame politician.

This just went out to about 125.

FairGrowth Network Leaders:

If Charlie Hall wins the Providence District Democratic Primary on June 12th, Linda will be out and Charlie will likely not be contested in the Fall (no Republican candidate proposed).  Then we will finally have a Superisor who will respect citizens and stand up the Connolly Machine.  In essence, Charlie will be a de facto Supervisor-at-large for all of us.

Meanwhile, Linda appears to be gaming the system to keep the Connection Newspaper,a co-sponsor of the  5/23 debate, from participating in any meaningful form.  She has also pressured the League of Women Voters to forbid blogger coverage, and to put on the debate in Tinner Hill, as far away from the hotbed of development pressure in Providence as she can get.

There are two blogs up on this now.  Here and here.  Please post and heighten the pressure and attention on this election.

And if you need a reminder about why ALL CITIZENS benefit from Linda's defeat, see this.

Thanks to all.  Maybe the next few years will finally be different.

I could not agree more. The times I have spoken at the BOS hearings, Lynda is abusive and filled with vitrol towards me.

I may disagree with her on issues, but I cannot understand how an individual who is elected to a Board of one of the wealthiest counties in the country can be so UNPROFESSIONAL.

My hope and prayer is that the voters of Providence District do vote her OUT.

Good luck to you'll.

of the behavior you say took placd?  What did Ms. Smyth say when you spoke at BOS hearings that you thought was "abusive and filled with vitriol?"  I hear these kind of comments all the time, but I guess I just don't have a feel for what's going on exactly.  Thanks.

I vividly remember a public hearing in December for a rezoning in which Chairman Connolly browbeat and bullied a PTA president. And she wasn't even opposing the rezoning, only asking for proffer money to go to her school!

But Linda Smyth sat idly by and allowed Connolly to abuse one of her constituents. And Smyth crows about being school-friendly by virtue of being a former substitute teacher in the FCPS. Yet she didn't lift a finger to defend this lady or chastise Connolly's arrogant behavior.

I later asked around and was told that it was the first time the PTA president had ever testified before the Board and would probably be the last.

As I said above, this Board is trying to stifle free and open debate by means of intimidation.  Providence citizens need a Supervisor who will be their champion. That person is clearly not Linda Smyth.

To hiker joe and others.

This exchange of comments and questions is making a contribution to the Providence race.  In some article announcing Smyth's campaign, Gerry Connolly stated that he needed Linda.

Well Gerry, the good folks in Providence need a supervisor who will not only listen but will hear when they speak.  Over and over again, citizens come away from a hearing where Linda has totally shut them out of the process. Citizens question if they are just using up good oxygen as they testify at hearings.  They suspect that deals and agreements have been made long before the hearing. 

Providence residents need a supervisor who will see them as a major contributor in making good land use decisions.  They need someone who will take charge when another Board member is verbally attacking someone who is testifying.  Charlie Hall is that person. 

Here is a report of one instance.  Smyth used the same sort of dismissive language about unknowledgeable citizens spreading misinformation at the March 2006 MetroWest hearing.  It is on tape in fact.

It appears that the Young Democrats have been crushed into submission.

The YDs have refused to use their email news broadcast to advertise that there is a excellent Democrat running against the incumbent Providence District Supervisor. They have sent out a request for canvassers for the incumbent but refuse to send the same message on behalf of the Charlie Hall for Supervisor Campaign. What gives?

By all appearances, the Young Democrats in Fairfax are being trained in the "politics as usual mode". What a shame! It is deeply troubling that leadership of the Fairfax Democratic party, the oldest political party on the planet, is setting such a bad example for young people. This may be why Barrack Obama is such an inspiration to many young Democrats - because he fosters an open, transparent and honest form of politics.  Would Barrack Obama be welcome in Fairfax County as a candidate?  It wouldn't appear so.

Open, honest and transparent govenment is the core of Charlie Hall's message and the basic tenet of the Democratic Party.

Ummm, yeah, Obama not welcome in Fairfax...

Been there, done that.

Something substantive next time, ok?

Ok, maybe I'm slow. Has anyone come across information about the debate on the www.lwv-fairfax.org website so it can be more easily promoted?

Thought you might be interested in the sups agenda item on June 4, DJ-TTdotOrg
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/government/board/bdagenda/DraftAgendaJune4.pdf

Looks like the Queen of Providence is using county staff, just days before an election, for her advantage. Hmmm....this seems like a campaign event to me, funded by taxpayers....

"Transportation Matters" seminar will be presented on Tuesday, May 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. at George C. Marshall High School, 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. This is the second in the 2007 Providence District seminar series hosted by Providence District Supervisor Linda Smyth.

The main presentation will cover the recently enacted Virginia General Assembly Transportation Plan and move to a discussion of High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes along the Capital Beltway. Staff from Transurban, the firm designing and constructing the project, will outline the HOT lanes project and answer questions. HOT lane topics include the current design, the toll mechanism and pricing and the construction phase. The project will significantly impact travel around Northern Virginia. This is an opportunity for residents to ask questions.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation will have tables where information will be provided on county programs developed to improve transportation. The information available will include the Residential Traffic Administration Program, which includes traffic calming; bicycling; bus service; and pedestrian walkways. Staff will be available to answer questions.

http://www.fairfaxco...

It would have been appropriate for the Providence Supervisors to have vetted in a very public forum the proposed HOT lane exits ramps onto Lee Highway in Merrifield prior to writing a letter to the Secr of Transportation endorsing this idea...after all the VDOT workshops were completed on the matter. It was then easily placed in the 2030 transportation plan to relieve congestion. Oh, yeah, that's congestion that Tysons is going to bring and that the redevelopment of Merrifield wasn't.

Shame on us if we keep electing these people to represent "us". Smyth is now having these session to CHA and advertise how she is part of open government. Baloney!

...that HerbE doesn't know what is going on with HOT lanes?  How about you produce a copy of that letter from Supervisor Smyth to VDOT in support of those Merrifield ramps?

The real problem in this project is the Public Private Transportation Act.  It has failed all of us here in NOVA for the rail project (Not Over Til It's Under!!!) and, to a much lesser extent, it is letting us down with HOT lanes.  Until the localities that are directly impacted by these mega-projects get a seat at the table, we're all going to be disappointed.  So, holding a county supervisor responsible for a deal that was concluded between VDOT and a private firm is like pearls before swine.

Let's change the PPTA!

...just standard public outreach on important issues.  It is a shame that varealist cannot appreciate that the supervisor is doing her job to force VDOT and Transurban to explain THEIR plan to the residents of Providence.

pauline...and she couldn't wait until June 13 to hold this meeting? It HAD to be done a day before the debate and just a few days before the election? Hmmmm...and so now my tax dollars are going to go to the staff at the high school to set up and take down the room, county staff who will be there to talk and also her office staff ... all in the name of something that smells like a pseudo campaign event to me, funded by taxpayers. I'm sure it could have waited until June 13. Will she take questions at this event or will there be some elaborate pre-screening in order to talk with her? Will she have pre-written responses that she will read from with a hint of indignation?

I don't know ... she made a public announcement on May 7th. www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/summary/2007/07-05-07.pdf
Some folks I know around TC got these flyers last weekend.  The planning for these types of event takes a few months at least, I would think.  Anyone here plan a government public meeting before?  I don't know how long it takes to plan a debate either ... but I really think once these types of meetings are advertised they should go ahead and take place.  Too bad about the timing because I can't make it that day.  Bring back the news! 

Dang, I been on this thread way too long and have more information than I know what to do with ... zzzzzzzzzz.

Very interesting....
What areas did Smyth mailed fliers? Those areas with high voter turn out of Dems?

Probably not good timing to have a Transportation Information meeting on Hot Lanes just before voting.  Many of us will never be able to afford the cost of hot lanes.  Paying $35 to $45 to enter the Hot Lane is just beyond my means.  A bigger threat is that carpools can travel for free...how many passengers are required?  Think of all those vehicles that are not traveling in the HOV lanes will now be butted back to the regular lanes because of the cost.

Maybe the  transportation bill has some good promises.  However, we can be taxed, taxed, and taxed some more under the provision of this bill.  The NVTA is made of many of the same politicians who have voted for almost every high density applications that produce a ton of automobile use.

For years, this Board....Smyth right among her friends.......has not seen an application they did not like as evidence by the approval of almost 100%. They just don't get it.  Kaine did when he linked land use and transportation. 

It is time for a change.  We don't want four more years.

Help vote Charlie Hall in......