After a long break...I'm back!
I should start by thanking you for sticking with me, dear readers, and not unsubscribing after such a long absence. The last few months of my life have been a bit of a whirlwind as I was given an amazing work opportunity that has taken up the vast majority of my time. While I am so very grateful, it hasn't left me with much time for following county politics, much less writing about it. While there is still A LOT going on, things have settled down a bit and I can finally get back to keeping tabs on the activities of our elected officials. To the few who don't appreciate my....interference, shall we say, sorry to disappoint but I'm still here.
Harry Potter reference for the hubby
Even though it's been over 3 months since the November election, it's shocking how recently results actually became official. Forget hanging chads, this was the world's longest election. Mark Dudenhefer was finally declared the winner in the Garrisonville district and Bob Thomas was finally declared the winner in House District 28. Congratulations to both as well as to Supervisors Gary Snellings (Hartwood), Cindy Shelton (Aquia) and Meg Bohmke (Falmouth) and School Board members Pamela Yeung (Garrisonville) and Dr Sarah Chase (Falmouth) on their victories. I can't wait to see what these new boards will accomplish in the new year.
Of course, with Bob Thomas moving on to greener pastures in Richmond, he leaves behind a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors in the George-Washington district. The seat can't stay vacant for long so the BoS will be meeting in closed session tomorrow to discuss who should be considered to serve in his place until the special election in November of this year.
Seven candidates have applied for the position and I have to say, it's good to see so many GW citizens interested in serving their community and county. The candidates are:
Thomas C. Coen
Anthony “Tony” DeTora
Robert C. Duke, Jr.
Jerry “J. C.” Hall
Susan C. Henderson
Gordon Silver
John C. Van Hoy
I haven't met many on the list so I can't speak to all of the candidates qualifications. I do know Tom Coen well and I believe he would make a great supervisor. You may recognize the name from the Coen and Kerr public access TV show that Tom puts on with fellow local political pundit and my neighbor, David Kerr. The guys let me come watch the debates they held with all the candidates for supervisor back in the fall and they did an excellent job. I may be a little biased here because Tom has always been a big supporter of this blog effort but I wish him the best of luck.
Unfortunately, I don't have the opportunity to reach out to all the candidates so we can all get to know them because this decision will be made by the BoS on Wednesday of this week. Since the list of candidates was only released on Friday, we are just going to have to hope that our current board does the right thing by choosing an individual with a strong moral compass and the ability to stand for what is right for Stafford County. As soon as I know who the BoS chooses, I will post it here.
The BoS has a lot on it's plate and there could be some big changes in our near future. I will be here to report on it all. Thanks for your patience with me, guys.