Brian Moran's Pancake Breakfast

Environmentally friendly features of the school include: "a 450,000-gallon underground cistern to collect and store rainwater for use in toilet flushing, air-conditioning operations and irrigation; a rooftop garden to provide stormwater management; waterless urinals to reduce the amount of water used inside the building; and a permanent measurement and verification system to track water and energy usage at the facility."

This is what every new school, and frankly every new building in America should look like from now on. There's really no excuse not to build this way, as it makes sense from a wide variety of angles. The bottom line: every new school in America should be built like T.C. Williams.  Period. As Brian Moran said, we must be good stewards of our environment for generations yet to come, and T.C. Williams is a great example of how to do that.

Now, back to Brian Moran's pancake breakfast at T.C. Williams.  Attendance was around 350, including a LOT of elected officials: Rep. Jim Moran, Sen. Patsy Ticer, Del. Bob Brink, Del. Kris Amundsen, Del. Margi Vanderhye, Del. Jennifer McClellan, Del. Mark Sickles, Del. Adam Ebbin, Del. Al Eisenberg, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille, Alexandria Vice Mayor "Del" Pepper, and many others. I also saw Fairfax County Democratic Committee chair Scott Surovell, Alexandria Democratic Committee chair Susan Kellom, and former FCDC chair Ginny Peters. Jon Bowerbank, who is planning to run for lieutenant governor in 2009, was there, along with advisors Brian Patton and Joe Puckett. Mame Reilly, Mark Warner's former political director and now director of Brian Moran's Leadership for Virginia's Future PAC, was there as well. By the way, Brian Moran is not yet a formal candidate for governor in 2009, but everyone knows he's running, so that pretty much goes without saying.  Also, just for the record, I remain neutral in this race at the present time.

In his remarks, Brian Moran talked about the importance of family for him, particularly given that he is the youngest of seven children. Brian said that he learned from his older brother Jim the importance of public service, of not "sitting on the sidelines," of getting in the game and making a positive difference.  Not surprisingly for an event at T.C. Williams High School, Brian talked about investing in Virginia's colleges and universities and about the importance of education in general. Brian concluded by saying that he's up for a challenge, isn't going to just leave it to someone else, and that "we can do great things together."
Jim Moran spoke for a few minutes -- short for him, actually! :) Jim spoke about how Mark Warner had laid positive foundations for Virginia that Tim Kaine is building on, BUT Jim noted that Kaine has been frustrated by conservative legislators who "look to the past rather than the future." According to Jim, it's "criminal" when parents have to see their kids sick but hesitate to take them to the hospital because they don't have health insurance.

In other matters, Jim Moran commented that it makes no sense at all for people to sit in traffic 1-2 hours per day. He said that we have the solutions, but we don't have the resources and we don't have the commitment. He talked about a bridge in Arlington that received a score of 2 out of 100, and related that Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters suggested putting a toll booth there to raise money.  According to Jim, that's laughable and certainly not "rational."  

Jim Moran believes strongly that "this has been the worst presidential administration in history."  Unfortunately, according to the congressman, we're not going to be able to impeach Bush and Cheney in the next 10 months for their violations of the U.S. constitution, violations of human rights, etc., so we just have to hope we survive the next 10 months through January 2009.  On the bright side, Rep. Moran pointed to the large number of independent voters who are turning out to cast ballots for Democratic candidates this year, and how this marks a "sea change" in Virginia (a "bellwether state"). The next president will inherit terrible problems, meaning that a lot will fall to the states to make necessary investments.  According to Rep. Moran, Virginia should serve as an example for the rest of the country.

Finally, Jim Moran praised his brother as being "thoughtful," "conscientious," someone with a strong work ethic who cares about people, believes "every person is precious," and wants to "fulfill the potential of the Commonwealth."

Overall, it was an excellent event, apparently a big success.  I presume there will be a lot more of these events as the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial campaign starts to heat up.

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