To the Editor:
If there's anything I have learned following politics, and life in general, is that you have to learn to work with people who you don't always agree with in order to get things done. Unfortunately for Fairfax County, Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-37th) has never learned this lesson, and has become extremely ineffective because of it. Maybe that is why 15 out 16 of his bills failed in this past General Assembly session.
You would think that he would learn from his mistakes and reach out to fellow senators to seek their support and to build a consensus. Instead, he actively supported the unsuccessful primary challengers to three sitting Republican senators in June. These three Republican senators just happen to be the Republican floor leader, the chair of the Education and Health Committee and the chair of the very powerful Finance Committee, which writes all tax laws and funding formulas in Virginia. Now how is Mr. Cuccinelli going to go back to Richmond and get anything done for Fairfax County? If he failed miserably before, I can't imagine how poorly he will do if given another turn.
Mr. Cuccinelli promised lower taxes, better roads and less congestion and has accomplished nothing of the sort. He proved that he cares more about his social agenda than the everyday quality of life issues of Fairfax.
He has voted to restrict a woman's access to birth control, allowing a pharmacist or a doctor to make the decision on behalf of the women of Fairfax County as to whether they should be given contraception. So, with Mr. Cuccinelli at the helm, I'll have to hand over control of my family planning to a stranger at a pharmacy? Is that the most important problem we have in Fairfax County? Is it a problem at all? I don't think so.
He had the audacity to send a completely deceptive mailer this week with photos of him in a school setting with children and an apple and chalkboard, talking about his support for the best schools in the nation and how he wants the best for his children and our teachers. Not one of his five daughters go to the Fairfax County schools. They're educated at home because he obviously thinks so little of the public school teachers and the quality of the job that they do. That's his choice but how dare he send out such a hypocritical, deceitful ad and claim to support something he so obviously does not.
We all want to hear the low-tax message but what is the cost? Schools, fire, police, what are we willing to sacrifice with a tax cap? Will we send someone to represent us who cares more about an extremely conservative social agenda than funding our firefighters and teachers appropriately?
We need someone who will put us first and not some social agenda. We need to elect someone who supports our schools and our teachers. We need someone who can focus on our serious problems and work with others to get things done. When extremists run for office, they need to be identified for who they really are, and I just hope the voters support me on Nov. 4 in replacing Ken Cuccinelli with Jim Mitchell (D), a moderate, reasonable voice for the important issues facing Fairfax County who will get things done.
Susan Contostavlos
Herndon