To the Editor:
This will reply to the letter written by Dennis Auld in your Oct. 1 edition which is subjective, illogical, partially untruthful and indirectly praises the candidacies of “Van” Van Fleet and Bob Wood.
It is subjective because Mr. Auld (and his wife Lynn Hampton) are the leaders of Euille’s write-in campaign. It is illogical because Mr. Auld prescinds from the particular to the general when he states that “… their stance against the waterfront plan alone is enough for me to to not vote for … [them].” It is untruthful when it says “Wood and Van Fleet do not appear to be very concerned about the city as a whole, but place their desires for the development of Alexandria’s waterfront into their parochial view …”.
Bob Wood is a native of this city and graduated from T.C. Williams high school in 1968. He cares about the entire city and has given freely of his time to make Alexandria a better place for all of us to live.
Van Fleet has been a civic association president and a 15-year member of the Federation of Civic Associations which represents 15 to 25 civic associations all over the city. It is the conscience of Alexandria’s local governments. Thus, stating that Van Fleet and Wood “… do not appear to be very concerned about the city as a whole …” is a misguided attempt to steer voters to not vote for Van Fleet and Wood.
The entire context of the letter actually praises Van Fleet and Wood because it shows them as leading candidates for City Council. It also mischaracterizes Wood and Van Fleet as obstructionists. In my opinion they are obstructionists to poor budgeting ($530 million in debt), weak infrastructure (from under-performing schools to pot holes), underpaid police and firefighters (little or no raises) and incompatible development (New York warehouse buildings).
For these reasons, I support Van Fleet, Wood, Monique Miles and Fernando Torres for City Council and Allison Silberberg for mayor. Together, they will rescue Alexandria from debt and collapse into mediocrity.
Remember, we need to elect at least four of these candidates to gain control from current City Council and their friendly developers.
Herve Aitken
Alexandria