Deeds Wins Democratic Nomination for Governor
State Senator Creigh Deeds pulled off a stunning upset victory last week in the race to be the Democratic nominee for Governor. As recently as three weeks ago, Deeds was running a distant third in every poll, behind former Alexandria Delegate Brian Moran and former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Read more
AOBA Champion Loses Seat in Primary Contest
Delegate Bob Hull (D), a realtor by trade and a staunch supporter of AOBA’s legislative agenda, was defeated in last week’s primary election. Delegate Hull, who represented the areas of Falls Church, Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, was a member of the Virginia Housing Commission and the Housing Subcommittee of the House General Laws Committee. His presence in the legislature will be greatly missed by property rights advocates. Read more
AOBA Victorious Against Harsh Towing Regulations
At the strong urging of AOBA and its members, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has voted to rescind onerous towing regulations which affected towing on private property in Prince William County. This momentous victory caps a three-year effort by AOBA to restore common sense to the enforcement of the local towing ordinance in the County. Read more
State Revenues Drop Yet Again
In what is fast becoming a monthly tradition, Governor Tim Kaine announced further declines in state revenue collections. Though the Governor and General Assembly adopted a revised budget last year based on already gloomy forecasts of a 7.3% decline in tax revenues, actual collections have fallen off by 9.3%. This month’s decline was attributed to individual and corporate income tax collections that fell far short of predictions. Read more
Alexandria Changes Election Schedule
Just a month after two Republican-backed candidates won seats on the Alexandria City Council, which had long been the exclusive domain of Democratic candidates, the Council voted 5-2 to move the Mayor and Council elections to November. The Republican candidates were able to capitalize on low turnout during the May City elections to win two seats. The city elections will now take place in conjunction with the November general elections beginning in 2012.
State Strives to Set Example on Energy Efficiency
Governor Tim Kaine has issued an executive order to implement a variety of energy efficiency measures by Virginia government. The mandate is aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions produced by the State. The executive order follows a number of other instructions issued by the Governor last year which established a goal of reducing the State’s energy consumption by 19% by 2025. Read more
|
Virginia Edition
June 2009
Questions or comments?
E-mail us at aobanews@aoba-metro.org
or call 202-296-3390.
In This Issue
Logging onto Member Content is Easier Now!
AOBA’s At Issue advocacy emails, with extensive information on MD, VA, DC and Utility issues, are posted each week on AOBA’s website. This content is for members only, and we’ve recently made it easier for you to obtain a password. Simply click on the "Forgot Your Password" link to reset your username or password. If problems arise, please contact Jeanne Clarke, jclarke@aoba-metro.org.
|
Deeds Wins Democratic Nomination for Governor
State Senator Creigh Deeds pulled off a stunning upset victory last week in the race to be the Democratic nominee for Governor. As recently as three weeks ago, Deeds was running a distant third in every poll, behind former Alexandria Delegate Brian Moran and former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Deeds, however, capitalized on late momentum and low turnout across the state to capture approximately 50% of the vote. This was a decisive margin of victory for a candidate who had been all but counted out of the race by most major media sources.
Deeds has been in the General Assembly since 1991, serving ten years in the House of Delegates before moving to the Senate in 2001. In that time, he has amassed a significant record on issues of importance to Virginia businesses. Virginia Free, an independent association which publishes legislator rankings based on the business community’s legislative agenda, recently released its rankings for the 2009 Session; it found that Deeds voted with the business community 80% of the time, and scored relatively highly in terms of effectiveness in navigating the legislative process. Deeds voted with the commercial real estate industry only 75 percent of the time in 2009, 35th among 40 members of the State Senate. Virginia Free legislator rankings can be accessed online at http://www.vafree.com/uploads/IncumbentEvaluations09Final.pdf.
Deeds will square off against former Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R) in the November general election. This race will be a rematch of their 2005 contest for Attorney General, which McDonnell won by just over 300 votes statewide.
AOBA Champion Loses Seat in Primary Contest
Delegate Bob Hull (D), a realtor by trade and a staunch supporter of AOBA’s legislative agenda, was defeated in last week’s primary election. Delegate Hull, who represented the areas of Falls Church, Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, was a member of the Virginia Housing Commission and the Housing Subcommittee of the House General Laws Committee. His presence in the legislature will be greatly missed by property rights advocates. Hull’s defeat came at the hands of sitting Fairfax County School Board member Kaye Kory, who won by a margin of only 66 votes. Delegate Hull remains a member of the Virginia Housing Commission through the end of the year, and thus will still be an influence in any recommendations the Commission may make to the General Assembly about legislation to be considered in 2010.
AOBA Victorious Against Harsh Towing Regulations
At the strong urging of AOBA and its members, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has voted to rescind onerous towing regulations which affected towing on private property in Prince William County. This momentous victory caps a three-year effort by AOBA to restore common sense to the enforcement of the local towing ordinance in the County. Changes adopted by the Board eliminate the “second signature rule,” which had required that an agent of the property be on site to authorize the removal of a trespassing or illegally parked vehicle-- regardless of the nature of the parking violation or time of day. The Board also did away with the ridiculous “30-minute rule,” which prevented a vehicle from being towed unless the property agent could document that it had been in violation for a period of at least 30 minutes.
Overwhelmed by the strong response and turnout of AOBA members at the public hearing, the Board voted unanimously to rescind the two offensive provisions; the effect will be to streamline the local towing ordinance, and facilitate the enforcement of parking rules on private properties. Members testifying in person were: Debra Sauls, Southern Management Co.; Patrick Burton, Woodbridge Forest Apartments and William McClain, Community Realty Company; Charles Clohan of the Dittmar Companies also appeared. In addition, several other members submitted letters for the record.
State Revenues Drop Yet Again
In what is fast becoming a monthly tradition, Governor Tim Kaine announced further declines in state revenue collections. Though the Governor and General Assembly adopted a revised budget last year based on already gloomy forecasts of a 7.3% decline in tax revenues, actual collections have fallen off by 9.3%. This month’s decline was attributed to individual and corporate income tax collections that fell far short of predictions. Sales tax collections have also declined at a greater clip than expected. This means that the Administration will need to make further cuts in existing services and operations to close the shortfall. But it will also necessitate further corrective action by the General Assembly next year, to account for the gap between revenues projected and those actually collected. Having already cut services significantly in 2009, legislators are certain to feel pressure to consider tax increases on businesses.
Alexandria Changes Election Schedule
Just a month after two Republican-backed candidates won seats on the Alexandria City Council, which had long been the exclusive domain of Democratic candidates, the Council voted 5-2 to move the Mayor and Council elections to November. The Republican candidates were able to capitalize on low turnout during the May City elections to win two seats. The city elections will now take place in conjunction with the November general elections beginning in 2012.
State Strives to Set Example on Energy Efficiency
Governor Tim Kaine has issued an executive order to implement a variety of energy efficiency measures by Virginia government. The mandate is aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions produced by the State. The executive order follows a number of other instructions issued by the Governor last year which established a goal of reducing the State’s energy consumption by 19% by 2025. The executive order will require that buildings owned and leased by the State meet “green certification standards.” The order further calls for increased use of recycled office supplies and renewable fuels.
|
