Every year there’s this thing called Sunshine Week. Or maybe Sunshine Month. I forget. The Roanoke Times does a bang up job pointing out local governments that are not living up to the standards of Virginia’s open meetings laws and FOIA requests.
I applaud that effort.
That’s why yesterday’s [Friday] editorial left me staring into my bowl of grits wondering who had kidnapped the ladies on Campbell Ave. and hijacked the editorial page.
You see, they came out very harshly on Delegate Scott Lingamfelter and his proposal to cut out county BoS slush funds.
Really came out swinging. First two paragraphs.
When it comes to slamming big-government blowhards, the chorus from the political right often is loudest. Republicans, however, are just as prone to regulatory overreach. Consider Del.Scott Lingamfelter.[sic]
He plans to introduce a bill next year that forbids local governments from providing discretionary funding to elected officials. It is a solution in search of a serious problem.
Actually, it seems it might just be a serious problem. Two Prince William County bloggers are digging up the stuff indictments could be made of. Greg Letiecq and Sheriff of Nottingham have found some serious abuses up there in the frozen North. I know Greg, he’s reliable and unafraid of twisting noses. I don’t know the Sheriff. But Greg endorses him. In a few days Virginia’s only estrogen driven editorial board may wish they had not written this. (All links above will open in a new window or tab, so you won’t lose your place)
The ladies allude to this further down in the editorial.
The whole thing came to a head when one supervisor tried to give $100,000 to an equestrian center. He withdrew it in response to public outrage over news that his wife serves on the center’s board.
But then, just down the page a bit, it all came into focus for me.
Nevertheless, Lingamfelter’s reflexive turn to big government is bad policy. Richmond imposes too many mandates on localities as it is. It is one thing to say counties and cities must spend money on something. Declaring that they may not spend their own local revenue in a certain way goes too far. If a locality wants to make the foolish choice to allow effectively unregulated spending, its elected officials should answer to voters, not the General Assembly. (emphasis mine)
Where they swung back into Roanoke Times Land is when they assume all revenues belong to the government. Returning excess moneys to the voters is never an option. They also failed to point out that it is their job to show when stuff like this is happening. Not Greg and the Sheriff. Journalism 101.
Scott, I’m looking forward to seeing your bill. After I read it I’ll be able to decide whether I like it or not. Unlike these ladies I will not jump to confusions based on your party affiliation.
UPDATE: The Washington Post has now grabbed the story. It seems there were some retaliatory amendments to a measure designed to stop such shenanigans in Prince William County and now family members, old campaign staffers, even the post office cannot be paid.
This story is not over yet folks. The Roanoke Times will come to regret that editorial very soon.
