<bt>At a time when state legislators from Fairfax County need to work together to bring more of the tax money we send to Richmond back to Fairfax, Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-37th) is absolutely the wrong person for the job. My comment is based on his actions, some infuriating the public and others alienating him from many of his fellow Republicans.
Mr. Cuccinelli, an elected state official, has accepted donations from a group named as defendants in the 9/11 victims' lawsuit and which is currently under investigation by the FBI for terrorist activities. That, he argues, returning these donations would be tantamount to accusing his benefactors of being guilty is unconscionable and reveals a capability to rationalize beyond belief.
Mr. Cuccinelli encouraged ultra-conservatives to run in primaries against incumbent Republican state Senate leadership and has antagonized those respected leaders who did, in fact, defeat their primary challengers. Earlier this year, he recruited and supported opponents to the campaigns of Sen. John Chichester, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Sen. Russell Potts, chairman of the Senate Health and Education Committee; and Sen. Thomas Norment, Senate Republican floor leader. If he spreads disharmony with members of his own party, how effective could he possibly be in the bipartisan setting of the General Assembly?
Recently, the JLARC, which is the General Assembly's version of the U.S. General Accounting Office, concluded that Virginia does not meet its stated goals of funding the basic cost of education, known as The Standards of Quality for Virginia's Public Schools.
If these standards were funded appropriately, it would mean millions of additional dollars for Fairfax County. Instead of working to increase state school funding thus easing our local tax burden, Cuccinelli suggested that Virginia cut public education funding by an even greater degree which would increase the burden on local government. Perhaps as one who home-schools his own family, the needs of those children in our public schools are less important to him.
I intend to vote for Jim Mitchell (D) and I encourage others to join me. Mr. Mitchell will bring the same interpersonal skills he used to build a successful title and settlement business to the General Assembly to bring our tax money back to Fairfax. His support of public education as well as his work with Westfield High School, the Boy Scouts of America and the Western Fairfax Christian Ministries shows a history of community involvement. Jim Mitchell would make an effective senator who really represents Fairfax.
Richard J. Baumgartner
Centreville