From a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous..Delegate Dave Albo is the Chair of the House Courts of Justice Committee which has jurisdiction over the appointment of judges. He signs all of his letters to his constituents as "Yours for Good Government."
The way Delegate Dave Albo does it, the Committee approves whoever the Republicans in the jurisdiction want to pick. In Norfolk, there is only one Republican office holder (Sen. Rerras), so Delegate Dave Albo's committee approves whoever Sen. Rerras selects.
Last week, Albo Must Go featured how Sen. Rerras has a fascination with querying female candidates about abortion, graduation prayers, and Republican Party donations and activism. This is nothing new - in 2003, then Del. Bob McDonnell threatened and then blocked the reappointment of the first black female judge in Virginia history because he said she was "a law breaking sodomist" (e.g., a lesbian). The same year, his committee grilled two female Virginian appellate justices during reappointment hearings on written opinions involving lesbians - prompting one reporter to ask Del. McDonnell if he had ever violated the Commonwealth's prohibition on "crimes against nature."
Because of this recent incident, the Virginia Women Attorney's Association asked Del. Dave Albo and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Stolle, to investigate Sen. Rerras' methods and to review the entire process for selecting judges in Virginia. What was Del. Dave Albo's response? So long as "nothing illegal" has occurred, so what?
Well, it turns out that Delegate Dave Albo and Sen. Rerras enjoy something else in their endless pursuit of Good Government:
In an article in today's Virginian-Pilot, they point out that many Norfolk judicial candidates and their family members have been making some campaign donations to Sen. Rerras and his Republican buddies. For example, one candidate's father has given $5,500 to Sen. Rerras and donated $1,900 worth of food (probably for a fundraiser). Another candidate's husband has given over $10,000. A judge Sen. Rerras appointed in 2003 has donated over $6,900 to Republicans over time.
Del. Dave Albo has a long history of hooking up donors. In a March 2006 piece entitled "Delegate For Sale," Albo Must Go pointed out Albo's history of going against his constituents for special interest donors representing tobacco and alcohol interests and foreign investors looking to buy the Dulles Toll Road. It's no wonder Del. Dave Albo doesn't want to investigate Sen. Rerras or review the entire system. He'd have a hard time looking at himself in the mirror every morning.
You'd think their criteria for appointment would be qualifications and demeanor, not political donations and politics.
Given that the GOP seems to like to single out women candidates for mistreatment, it's no surprise the VWAA wants reform.
Why would one slime ball (Albo) want to investigate another slime ball (Rerras)?
For them it is a game of C.Y.A., my friends.
All these guys want is to be reelected, and all we want is to be represented. In our representation we want those who represent us to think more about their constituency, and yes "bend over backwards", than their own reelection.
It is time to clean House and Senate!
2007 will be one fun year!
If you had taken the time to do any research before writing you would have discovered that Dave Albo has actually worked to keep the judge selection process bi-partisan. If anything Albo deserves credit for keeping the process as such considering he is not only the Chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee, but also a member of the majority party. If you think, for example that Brian Moran in the same situation would conduct the selection process in such a bi-partisan manner, then you're really lost.
Finally, research would have shown you that Fairfax County is actually the only County in the state that gives every Senator and Delegate an equal vote. As a life long Democrat it's a disgrace what our party is becoming.