Virginia Beach City Councilwoman injecting race into campaign?
By JR Hoeft | Friday, October 29th, 2010 | PoliticsVirginia Beach City Councilwoman Barbara Henley is facing strong competition from attorney Tanya Bullock for the upcoming election Tuesday for City Council.
Unfortunately, it looks like some of Henley’s supporters are a little leery of Ms. Bullock because of the color of her skin.
A recent mailer sent to voters in the Pungo section of Virginia Beach starts off this way:
IN LESS THAN THREE WEEKS THE VOTERS OF THIS RURAL PUNGO AREA WILL BE GOING TO THE POLLS TO MAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE DECADE, WILL WE TURN THE DISTRICT OVER TO A YOUNG, BLACK ATTORNEY FROM THE BAYSIDE AREA WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE AREA…?
Oh, where to start. This letter is a triple-header: discriminating against Ms. Bullock because of her youth, where she lives, and what her skin color is.
The rest of the flyer is policy related, which is fine. But will Barbara Henley condemn this voter for their blatant discrimination?
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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34 Responses to "Virginia Beach City Councilwoman injecting race into campaign?"
JR: Now what are you going to do since the UNIONS endorsed Bullock? Are you going to bash the unions, the members and their Bullock endorsement or are you going to welcome the UNIONS into the Big TENT? Your killing me with your BS. Anyone can see you want it both ways… LOL
You guys have to attack somebody everyday and it makes me sick. Sometimes I want to vote against my own union just because of your anti-union stance. Congratulations to candidate Bullock for earning the support of the UNION MEMBERS in VB. No thanks to bloggers like Kirwin and JR…
William Bailey
Proud Union Member
Poor choice of words, yet the real issue, that is, the aggressive attempt by the republican party to stain the non partisanship which has characterized our local elections in Virginia Beach. Frankly, when citizens of good faith review the challenges facing our city, no one but the ultra partisans want party affiliation to be a factor. Tanya Bullock is an attractive candidate, one I could support if she gained some experience, but she has built her campaign upon endorsements from the political establishment in Richmond. Frankly, we need council members who put us, the citizens of Virginia Beach, first and foremost in their decision, no matter what the Governor says. That is what Barbara Henley has always done, and she will do so again.
Given the very first two people to comment so quickly on this post, one can tell who the more conservative candidate is in this particular campaign.
William – if you’re so disgusted, please, feel free not to read or comment.
Also, notice how these two liberals totally could care less about the discrimination.
JR: Henley didn’t write it so she isn’t guilty of discrimination…
Might I remind you: Liberal is what you call the GOP candidate who opposes your favorite choosen GOP one. I’m tried of your both sides of your mouth comments on local political candidates and issues. You all eat your own for breakfast and complain when things don’t go your way…
I only post here to stop or slow down some of your GOP folks from drinking the “Cool Aid” and following the rest of your lemmings off the cliff. Some of you will drink and jump no matter what I say and I’m ok with that.
Funny how we are on the same side with Bullock but you can’t even say “thank you.” LOL
J.R., I don’t know the folks who sent out the letter. Certainly the letter is not discriminatory, it is descriptive. The most disturbing part of the Bullock campaign is her dependence upon the republican political establishment. Fact is, when the Commonwealth refuses to send our tax money back to us for roads, human services, schools, public safety, the courts, jails, and clerk’s offices, I want a Council that will stand up for us, not for the Governor nor his party. This intrusion of partisanship is disturbing to me at every level; better for her to have shown her inteligence, her wit, and her capabilities here, on the ground, not depend upon republican party connections to get elected to a non partisan office.
Neither can you, William. Neither can you.
Remind me again which is worse: racism or using racism as a political weapon?
WOW.
I guess you can’t necessarily blame Barbara Henley for this, but it never ceases to amaze me how small some people truly are…
@ Mike Barrett – you write: “Certainly the letter is not discriminatory, it is descriptive.”
Are you joking? This is a blatant appeal to racism — what other possible relevance does this woman’s race have?
FYI: Its not my blog to say “Thank you” on. I’m just one commenter in your big GOP fish bowl. It would be too easy just to walk away and let you spin the BS without a desenting view.
Your Big Tent doesn’t really hold many people in it and you keep pushing out those who try to get under the big top. And you wonder why you can’t draw more voters other than the angry old white guys(generally speaking)… No
Honstly, “Liberal and Conservative” have lost all meaning because you all use it everyday to discriminate against those who hold a view/prosective different than yours. You call each other those dirty names in every primary. Now your using it on Golden and Nye. Oh and don’t forget the “RINO” word either… It is a shame.
I guess I should say, “Thank you” for pushing me out of the tent?
William, nice to see you work the word “discriminate” into your comment so it relates somehow to the post.
Ok, so you are implying that when Tanya puts her picture on her campaign brochures and sends them out to voters that she is discriminating? Are you suggesting that her picture on her web site is an act of prejudice? Of course not, but my concern, that she uses pictures of the Governor, the former Governor, and touts her connections to the republican power structure (or the Democrats, if she were so inclined) is a telling sign that she has not made the community connections on boards, commissions, community groups, that are the normal means to establishing oneself as a community leader at the Beach.
Mike, if boards, commissions and community groups were so important to you, you’d be electing me.
Is that an announcement? MJB sends!
Heaven help us if it is.
This flyer is meant to inflame and present Ms. Bullock in a negative light. If she were white, you wouldn’t be describing her as a “white attorney”, just as an attorney. When are we going to stop sizing people up by their race!
F’ing outrageous. I a white Republican member of the HOuse of Delegates sent such a letter describing his opponent this way the Democratic Part of VA would go f’ing nuts. Rightfully so.
The ONLY reson to include the word black is as a perjorative. No one ever describes a white opponent as a white opponent, except maybe in black neighborhoods wqhich is just as bad.
If Henley refuses to disassociate herself from the letter then she countenances it – It’s filthy, racist nonsense.
Oh and Barrett, you say Tanya needs experience. What experience did Henley have before she was elected to Council? Was she governor or a state senator first? I don’t see that in her bio. What a convenient excuse for the incumbent and her apologist – my opponent doesn’t have the experience. Sounds like you think Tanya is a bit uppity and you want to keep her in her place. What will you tell us next? That she she is articulate?
Oh and where did the Baumgartner’s get the Henley fliers to include wuth their letter – Henley gave them the fliers. Sure looks as though Henley approved of the letter to me. Her name in on the flier.
@Mike Barrett is demonstrating real bigotry.
The flier is NOT racial?
Mike, why did they use the term “black attorney”? Why should her race matter? Is it because they know that Pungo is 90%+ white?
If its NOT racial, why did they inject race?
The fact that you have your own bigotry issues is absurd. You know if a Republican candidate had mailed to rural areas with a flier about how we need to stop the “young black attorney” Obama you would cry foul.
Henley can’t be responcible for the Baumgartner’s letter anymore that Paul is responcible for his supportter stepping on the head of a female protester…
Sometime folks just do dumb things and others try to use it for political gain.
William, that’s a very enlightened attitude – I hope you said the same thing about the attempts to smear Scott Rigell with the things David Bartholomew said.
Bottom line is there’s no reason to bring up race here, and it’s pretty sad that it was brought up.
And as for Brian and JR being “inclusive,” they’re letting a former union lobbyist and moderate Republican blog here. So I would cut them some slack.
do you want to turn over the country to a young, black attorney from Hawaii…
Actually, William Bailey’s first comment was criticizing JR for not being tough enough on Bartholomew and implied that he condoned it.
William Bailey “JR: I would think you and BD would also call for his immediate resignation. Terming the email “disapointing” is condoning the content and racism that email contained. I am “disapointed” by your inaction…”
An email joke, and Bailey wants action and wants it now. A racist letter, and Bailey excuses it away.
Brian: You show your inability to comprehend the english language everytime you post. FYI: I was critcal of JR and his inaction on Bartholomew racist email and implied that JR condoned it. I still find the racist letter (see the blog links above) sent out by the Baumgarters to be offensive but your entire thread is to blame Henley when SHE DIDN’T WRITE IT OR MAIL OUT THE LETTERS…
Big difference. So go ahead and respond with some cute BS smart a*s comment that once again shows you don’t understand the issues before you.
And you should stop asking my to come here to defend Mrs. Henley when she is not the candidate my union and I are supporting. And I hope you can comprehend this point…
Brian Schoeneman: i never tied the Bartholomew email to Rigell as there was NO EVIDENCE connecting the email to Rigell. Rigell had nothing to do with it from what I’ve seen. Same defense I feel Henley deserves. SHE DIDN”T DO IT. But in both cases, parties are trying to gain an advantage. Its wrong…
Both communications were racist and have no place in 2010 politics. I’ll defend anyone if I feel there are being misrepresented or blamed in error. JMO
That is an absolutely horrible mailer.
William, one thing I have never done is ask you to come here. I don’t understand why you are getting so personal.
I watch year after year while Republicans are forced to defend things that their supporters do.
Today, a big, tough sometimes-against-racism Democrat blog wrote a post called ‘DPVA Blasts Rigell on “Hate Group” Support’ making Rigell responsible for a group that endorsed him.
Fair is fair.
Barbara Henley is equally accountable.
Don’t you have to honest ability to look past the BS party politics and see the same things are happening to R, D & I candidates all across this country? They are have to defend against made up or issues that their supporters have done. I hold folks accountable when you can PROVE they did it.
I don’t support Rigell or Henley but both of them are forced to defend themselves against attacks they had nothing to do with. BD is just as guilty of contributing to these problems and attacks just as the Dem Blogs are. All I pointed out was Henley was wrongly targeted by this thread when she is not responcible. Two wrongs do not make a right…
Barbara Henley was the only current Councilperson to come and stay through tonight’s NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet. (A couple others stuck their heads in a minute and left.)
Henley is running scared. Very scared. (Henley wasn’t at any of the previous Freedom Fund Banquets I’ve been to.)
You are absolutely correct. It was included only to remind voters that the candidate is black.
And yes, it was racist. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it still was racist.
Answer to first question: YES. Answer to Second: No. What possible innocent explanation can there be? Barbara Henley knows darn well what is being written here about her and her supporters. The fact that she does not have the courage to come on BD and defend herself about this mailing – sent with a document authorized by her campaign – speaks volumes about her complicity in this matter.
Answer: Your missing the boat. Clue: Mrs. Henley is a old farmer woman who didn’t grow up with the internet, email or blogs. I’d bet you she has no clue BD even exists unless somebody printed it out and handed it to her. Not everyone blogs, lives politics and that includes politicians… Dude get real and look at the people outside your little world…
OK, I have to interject here. Although I am not a political supporter of Henley, I am her neighbor. I can see her farm from my farm. If I had any reason to think she was a racist I would confirm it. That is the problem. I am not aware of her being a racist. It is easy to stereotype us folks living “down in the county” as white trash rednecks but truth be told I see no more or less racism out here than in town center. I grew up at the north end of VB and to be fair back then there was much more racism evident there than what I sense out here in Pungo.
Politics should not be personal. This is destructive and it is wrong.
Final Post on this one for me: Fact is HENLEY DIDN”T WRITE OR SEND THE LETTERS!!!
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