Before everyone gets too excited about the election results in Herndon, which are being breathlessly headlined as all about a "backlash" against the immigrant day labor center there, let's look a bit more close.Point #1: Steve J. DeBenedittis won 1,363 votes yesterday, compared to 1,233 votes for incumbent Mayor Michael O'Reilly. That's a margin of 130 votes, out of 10,203 registered voters in Herndon. About 1% of all Herndon voters, in other words. Not exactly a landslide.
Point #2: DeBenedittis does not exactly apppearto be a radical on the issue of immigrant day laborers, having said simply that he has "some concerns about the day labor site." Here's DeBenedittis, elaborating on the issue in an interview with the Connection Newspapers:
What are your thoughts on the decision to approve a regulated day-labor site?
There were many problems with the decision-making process. The decision was cast as a land use decision, which it clearly was not. Also, the question implies that the primary reason for the day-labor site is keep workers from waiting for work along street corners. It seems to me that they are now waiting for work in parking lots. From the reaction of our westerly neighbors, it appears that Loudoun County was not consulted and an agreement reached in advance and Herndon's relationship with our neighbor to the west has soured as a result. In addition, we are paying legal fees to dispute the border. At the time of the decision and since I began campaigning, numerous residents have complained to me that their elected leaders do not listen to them and feel that their valid concerns have been ignored. Town policies appear to have violated Federal and State laws and as a result the Town must pay more hefty legal fees.A more appropriate solution would be to encourage a private sector labor agency that complies with all laws for employees and contractors to provide employment services in a commercial district.
Doesn't sound like a Minuteman to me, just someone who wants changes to the current day labor site setup and who won about 1% more registered voters than his opponent yesterday. Not exactly a revolution.