Says Mabry May Have Political Motives, Too
Editor,
Here’s an audience reaction to a certain local politician’s attempt to in inject sectarian political spin into the elections day calendar change proposition:
Now, electoral trial balloons?
Former City Councilman Sam Mabry’s letter last week showed his political acuities are alive and well.
He alleged the present City Council majority’s idea of maybe shifting our municipal elections day from May to November is sheer politically driven. But then everything more he wrote patently politicized the discussion!
His line is just so much Swiss cheese – full of holes and sliced thin for ill-informed citizens. Of course, all here know the severe recession besieging the country is entirely the Council majority’s fault. Right? So, Mr. Mabry declared, the elections shift idea is a slick ploy to obscure Council’s screw-ups behind the recession-impelled fiscal and budgetary shortfalls sparked beyond our borders. (Nice try, Sam.)
Mr. Mabry vented the customary (threadbare) rant that earlier Councils continually thwarted his and David Snyder’s pushings for concerted commercial-use development of groundspace available for boosting the city economy apace of cumulatively greater needs for revenues. Instead, we got 100% assured constant-intake revenues from the new missed-use condominium buildings – while the sort of retail Messrs. Mabry and Snyder is fading.
The recent abrupt departures of Hollywood Video (kaput) and Duron Paints (moved) enlarge the commercial vacancies inventory, but the comings of Foster’s Grill and Mad Fox Brewing Co. – both in groundfloor space in a new mixed-use building – pose timely offsets. And meanwhile, the property taxes the new condos render auger well for revenues-intake stability. Moreover, the new condos’ incoming residents regularly spend money here, too, no?
Mr. Mabry rightly noted Arlington and Fairfax counties enjoy development latitudes that our confining 2.2 sq mile geography denies us. Even more reason Mabry and Co. should think vertical, shed the horizontal development mindsets and schematics that misuse land, pollute, waste resources.
Mr. Mabry deemed the elections day shift idea in unpleasantly melliferous “red herring” and should be taken off the table. Other’s olfactories catch whiff of portents for a Mabry electoral candidacy in 2010. Whatever, let the public debate of the elections day shift idea proceed – but everyone please without political posturings.
Charles R. Langalis
Falls Church
U.S. Public Education is a Form of ‘Socialism’
Editor,
As to the Tea Party’s fear that the U.S. is going to become a socialist country if we have health coverage for all Americans, may I point out that by definition of “socialism,” the U.S. has know a form of socialism since the middle of the 19th century!
The adoption of public schools for all children, fire protection for all, police protection, and public libraries are “socialism.”
Where should we start “desocializing” the U.S.?
Do away with public education? No more fire protection (back to the 18th century) – and of course, no more public libraries?
It is difficult to understand their argument against health coverage for all Americans!
Madeleine Field
Falls Church
