Bob James - smoke and mirrors, mirrors and smoke

By: interestedvoter
Published On: 5/23/2007 12:01:21 AM

When I first started asking about the treasurer's race I was hoping to hear from someone in Mr james campaign, that hasn't happened. As a result, I have made good use of internet resources and available county records to find out where the candidates for Treasurer really stand and to verify their claims.

Today's mail from the James camp has Louise Fishbein serving as the voice and face for dump the decal so it "won't place additional financial burdens on those least able to pay" with the title "retired educator" under her name.

That may play great in Peoria, but COME ON! Louise Fishbein lives in Westover, her house is worth close to a MILLION DOLLARS, this is not a lady eating cat food out of cans cuz she can't afford her decal fee!
In fact the LAST HOUSE SOLD in that neighborhood went for 1.1 MILLION - is she REALLY the face of those burdened by the $24 decal? She's a very nice lady from what I hear, but unable to pay the decal is a bit of a

sssssssstttttreeeeeetttttccccchhhh

given her home address?-and yes, those are public records, Arlington is very transparent and anyone can look up real estate assessments. I don't know about you, but my dream is to live in a house like Mrs. Fishbein's, worth a million, that would be sitting pretty indeed!!

And why doesn't the title under Bob James read "lobbyist"? That's what it says he is on his company's website, but guess that is another fact best kept hidden.

What was that again, integrity and transparency? NOT. Smoke and mirrors, mirrors and smoke.

Comments



Bob James ought to practice what he preaches. (Troy - 5/23/2007 9:22:38 AM)
Can he pull a "gillmore" on the Arlington constituents with the decal?


Link? (code - 5/23/2007 11:39:04 AM)
Is there some way to view this latest mailing?

On a personal note, I'm a big supposrter of O'Leary, but I think it behooves us to steer away from personal attacks. Louise is the nicest woman on earth, and one of the greatest, most active Dem volunteers in Northern VA. The RK community should stick to James and lay off his volunteers.



That's a Lot of Money (Waldo Jaquith - 5/23/2007 1:58:49 PM)
If I lived in a $1M house, I'm quite certain that I'd be looking to cut any other expense that I possibly could.  Between the mortgage payments and the cost of real property taxes, that sounds like it could easily be a tough burden to shoulder.  When somebody has all of their capital tied up in a home, the only way they can access that money is to sell their home, and that's a terrible thing to be forced to do.  It's bad for people and bad for communities.


Just because you live in a $1 million house (Lowell - 5/23/2007 2:05:08 PM)
doesn't mean you bought it for anywhere near that.  Most people in Arlington have seen a doubling or tripling in their home values the past 8 years or so.  So, if this person bought more than 8 years ago, the house probably cost $300,000 or less.


$24 a year? n/t (jeff04 - 5/23/2007 3:46:56 PM)


It is a lot of money! (interestedvoter - 5/23/2007 10:15:52 PM)
Waldo, you are speculating about possible scenarios as you did when you presumed it was possible for Mr James to happen to be taking time in Arlington on a work day to campaign on his lunch break without facturing in that with congestion that scenario is improbable; same here. The by all accounts very nice and dedicated dem Mrs Fishbein lives on a property that is over 12,000 square feet, that qualifies as a double lot here in Arlington and not likely that it was a humble abode (over 2,000 square feet in living space so more than 25% bigger than the average home in south arlington). I am not sure why you are assuming that Mrs Fishbein has all her capital tied up in a home and is struggling to make ends meet, unless you are falling for the deception intended in the piece that she must be struggling as she is a retired educator. From what I hear, she is also a very gifted artist, not sure why that wasn't mentioned in the mailing - oh wait, I am sure.

She is in fact a very good dem and you can go to fec.gov and see she has made some very generous campaign contributions to dem candidates. So I don't think she is struggling to pay $24, but I appreciate your compassionate for the underserved. They just happen to live in South Arlington. Not North Arlington.

And to those who say it is foul to single out a "volunteer", I say nay, from what I have learned, several dems were sanctioned for endorsing David Foster, independent for school board, including being asked to resign from their positions on the steering committee. So the ACDC has a history of speaking out about dems who permit themselves to be used in campaign literature. Mrs Fishbein by all accounts is a wonderful lady. But that does not mean her portrayal as a frail retired educator struggling to pay the decal should not be called what it is, a calculated and shameful move on the part of Mr James to mislead voters, most of whom do not live in million dollar houses. And BTW, it is not the most flattering photo of Mrs Fishbein, I have seen her in person and she looks much younger and sophisticated than in the calculated piece mailed out about the decal.



I don't know his volunteers (Arturo - 5/24/2007 12:14:07 PM)
It's too bad that Bob James' campaign used a nice lady to carry his dump the decal message.  And it's ironic that this same lady may have to make up the difference if the county no longer had a decal, because she is a homeowner, and home owners usually have to pay the shortages. 

If I were Bob James' volunteer, I would be bothered by the fact that Bob James does not pay his taxes and decal fees on time. 

I would question if that was the reason that he doesn't want to keep the decal fee. 

I would question how he would collect unpaid taxes and decal fees from Arlington residents when he doesn't pay his own tax bills on time. 

How would Bob James, the tax delinquent, perform his duties as the County's tax collector according to the laws of Virginia? 

Who would collect back taxes from Bob James, the tax delinquent?

If I were a Bob James' volunteer, I would seriously consider voting for Frank O'Leary for Treasurer.