It's been an interesting few weeks in Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County.Steve Chapman, attacker of commonsense everywhere, announced he was going to run again, challenging City Council's designated "No" man Jackson Miller and local attorney Carol Weimer.
Chapman announced to a disappointing crowd, threatened to sue a local Republican blogger who was critical of him and send out a letter asking for financial contributions and support at the upcoming nominating convention.
In the whirlwind of all his activity, he forgot to do one important thing: file with the local Republican party!
Now, because he didn't file, and what looks like strategic indifference by the local GOP leadership, Chapman is out of the race.
On the same day that the news article about his disqualification arrived at homes in the Manassas Journal Messenger, Chapman's plea for support arrived in our mailboxes.
In 2005, many of us questioned how much Chapman's campaign was a front for the people that couldn't stand Harry Parrish's unique combination of moderation, humility and local focus. Was Chapman a candidate, spokesperson, or puppet?
Candidates make mistakes everyday, and campaigns make mistakes obvious to the public on a regular basis. I've made more than my share and the ones that you lose, especially the close ones, still haunt me. Good people sometimes lose races they should win and when we, as staff or trusted advisers, make mistakes, it's hard not to carry the responsibility around for a long time.
In this case, we've got the opposite.
Steve Chapman, extremist crusader/puppet of the right, demonstrated no respect or understanding for the area, our leadership or the views of the 85% of people to the right of Barry Goldwater and Jerry Falwell.
His exit from the race is a good thing for everyone. He was likely to be demolished by Jackson Miller in the nomination anyway, an embarrassing result for him personally, and a loss for all Democrats who hope he has a long career of winning Republican nominations and losing general elections.
Instead, we get a one-on-one battle between Miller and Weimer and a single Democrat, Jeanette Rishell, waiting for the Special Election in November.