Navigation

Political Popcorn

By Nicholas F. Benton (nfbenton@fcnp.com)

Scott, Connolly, Hanley Endorse Kerry Candidacy

State Del. Jim Scott, who represents the 53rd Assembly District that includes the City of Falls Church, announced his endorsement of Sen. John Kerry in the bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Fairfax County chair Gerry Connolly and past chair Kate Hanley have also thrown their support to Kerry, who will be on the ballot with the other major Democratic contenders in the Virginia primary Feb. 10.

Kerry finished first in both contests for delegates to the Democratic National Convention to date, at the Iowa caucuses Jan. 19 and the New Hampshire primary Tuesday.

Best Wishes for Speedy Recovery To Sen. Whipple

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, who represents the 31st District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church. Sen. Whipple suffered a broken arm from a fall on Jan. 17, following her participation in a Town Hall meeting in Falls Church with Del. Jim Scott.

She continues to fight the good fight in Richmond despite the injury, which was to the upper arm and therefore very painful. She can be reached by e-mail at mmwwhipple@erols.com.

Richmond May Further Clamp Down on Cities

A measure aimed at further restricting the ability of independent cities, such as Falls Church, and towns to raise revenues through taxes passed the House Finance Committee by a 12-9 vote in Richmond Monday. The bill by Del. John Welch III (R-Virginia Beach) would cap hotel taxes and require a voter referendum for any increase in the meals taxes.

These two taxes are among only a handful of revenue-generating options available to independent cities and towns, who are burdened with unfunded mandates from the federal and state governments, cutbacks in federal and state aid and must rely almost solely on real estate property taxes for revenues.

If passed, the Welch bill would impact the next fiscal year budget in Falls Church. It would limit hotel taxes to two percent of the cost of a room, or up to five percent if the amount over two percent is used to promote tourism.

Also, the Finance Committee tabled a motion for a cap of five-percent on annual property tax increases, another proposal that would be a major blow to Falls Church, given its need to begin financing a recently-approved school bond referendum for the construction of a new middle school. The bill could still be resurrected later in the session.

Wedding Bells In Store for Rep. Moran

U. S. Rep. Jim Moran, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, has announced he became engaged on Christmas eve to LuAnn Bennett of McLean, the president of Bennett & Owens, a Washington sports representation and real estate business.

No date for the wedding is set yet. The two have been dating for about nine months. Bennett is a widow with three sons. Moran has been married and divorced twice before and has four children. Moran said he and Ms. Bennett met when his daughter and a son of Bennett's "fixed us up," according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Dem Challenger To Rep. Wolf Announces Bid

Sam Kubba, an architect from Herndon, announced this week that he'll seek the Democratic nomination to run against 12-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf in the 10th District of Virginia encompassing western Fairfax and Loudoun counties. An Iraqi immigrant, he is a member of the Dranesville Democratic Committee and the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. To date, he is the only candidate to announce he will challenge Wolf.

Meanwhile, Wolf plans to announce his bid for a 13th term on his 65th birthday this Friday in Herndon.

Richmond Nixes Addition to Hate Crimes Law

A bill in Richmond to add the term "sexual orientation" to the list of prosecutable "hate crimes" in Virginia was defeated by an 8-7 vote in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week. Every Republican on the committee voted to defeat the measure, and every Democrat voted for it.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Patsy Ticer and had the support on the committee of Sen. Richard Saslaw, Henry Marsh, Janet Howell, Louise Lucas, John Edwards, Roscoe Reynolds and Toddy Puller.

This Week