Yes, I'm afraid it is true. Walk with me through the evidence.On May 20, Charlie weathered the probing onslaught of Blog Talk Radio, taking questions from hosts Lowell and Ben and citizen callers concerned about incumbent Linda Smyth's record on land-use. You can tell from the tape he enjoyed it.
On May 23rd, Charlie braved the hot lights, a faulty microphone and a format that made him always speak first, in order to answer a raft of questions from citizens at the first Citizens Forum in Tinner Hill. He positively relished it. He even pledged to answer on his website the 82 additional questions that the moderator didn't get to and promised to send to the candidates.
On May 29th, Charlie participated here on a Live Blog to answer yet MORE citizen questions.
Just two days later, Charlie for nearly two hours answered questions at a second Candidates Forum sponsored by five community groups in Vienna. (Linda did not have time to attend). He politely asked at one point if the audience was suffering "candidate fatigue" but you could tell he enjoyed the back and forth with citizens.
By this time, I was suspicious. I started thinking about the fact that Charlie was a moving force behind three different Citizens Town Halls sponsored by the citizens' grass-roots group FairGrowth over the years, which collectively drew about 1000 very concerned citizens to speak their minds about traffic and land-use in Fairfax County.
In short, he's been engaged in this behavior for years!
There's more. Last night he took a red-eye back from his brother's wedding in California so that today he could walk the umpteenth neighborhood on his schedule of citizen outreach. Yep, talking to more citizens about their concerns for the future of Fairfax....
Then later today at 5-7pm he will be talking with yet MORE citizens at a barbeque fundraiser here.
But wait, AFTER THAT he will be calling in on this week's Blog Talk Radio to engage with Scott Monett, Director of TysonsTunnel.org, whose group now represents the views of about 20,000 Faifax citizens!
And TOMORROW he'll be on one of the TysonsTunnel.org buses heading to the Government Center so he can talk to yet MORE citizens, none of whom, unfortunately, the Board wants to hear from.
If he's elected, we'll never be able to stop him.....