If you didn't read today's Washington Post article on Loudoun County corruption ("Influence of Developers, Allies Runs Deep"), I strongly recommend it. But maybe not right after dinner. I mean, seriously, if this isn't sleazy, what is?
Six months after they took office in 2004, members of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors demonstrated in a single afternoon their ability to help a friend.First, they voted 6 to 3 to boost the number of homes that could be built on the family farm of Dale Polen Myers, a former supervisor who had been instrumental in getting many of them elected. The next month, a builder bought the property from Myers's family for $12.2 million -- four times its assessed value before the zoning decision, records show.
Next, the board agreed unanimously to authorize the county to purchase a different parcel for $13.5 million, once again helping Myers, who was acting as the real estate agent. That earned Myers and her boss a commission that by industry standards would range from $270,000 to $675,000.
What the heck is going on here? As an astute RK reader e-mailed me:
...the GOP Board of Supervisors totally sold out to developers to get elected, created a big backpatting influence scheme driven by developers and developer buddies, wrote a zoning code written by and for the developers, and now the chickens are coming home to roost. Typically Republicans, money, greed, using government for big money and rich people instead of using it for the best interests of the People, just like the last Republican Congress. Same Party, different legislative body. What else is new?Just like Huey Long said, the Republican Party is the party of power, privilege and greed. The Democratic Party is the Party of the People. It's time for the People to speak.
Yes it most certainly is time for the people to speak. It's also high time for the FBI to conduct an investigation of these shenanigans, if they aren't already (in the Post article, an FBI spokeswoman said her office is "looking into reports of possible public corruption, unfair business practices and the like . . . in the Washington metropolitan area").
P.S. Interestingly, in 1999, Myers had this to say when accused (by a fellow Republican) of giving special treatment to "development interests" that gave her lots of money: "I'm not for sale. Never have been. Never will be." Uh huh.
[UPDATE: But wait, there's more! NOW how much would you pay? Ha.]
According to Dion's campaign, in the short amount of time that he's been on the Prince William County Planning Commission, Mike May has approved "the construction of nearly 2500 new homes and the development of more than 3000 acres of open space."
Kinda makes you wonder who Mr. May is working for, eh?
Loudoun Democrats - do something before it's too late!
An examination of thousands of e-mails, telephone records and county land databases and scores of interviews shows the extent to which this network of development advocates was able to influence land-use decisions in one of the country's fastest-growing and richest counties.[Washington Post
Not certain how the information was dug up but my guess is a lot was "FOIA'd" (via Freedom of Information Act Request). Under proposed VA Senate Bill 1106 : It would provide an exemption for the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address contained in correspondence from a constituent to his elected representative on a local governing body or school board and such information contained in correspondence responding to the constituent.
The Loudoun County investigation provides another example why SB1106 does not serve the public interest.