Chesterfield County – Good Ole Boys – and Perry DeMay for Sheriff

It’s taken 400 years to get us here – I mean the Chesterfield County, Virginia and its 300,000 population that exists ostensibly as a bedroom community for the city of Richmond. I grew up here, went to high school here, and after a long absence have returned to the area – and I’m appalled. The first election I went to had not one Democrat on the ballot. Now I had been a small business owner, a long time business consultant to major companies, and for most of my life a Republican – but I found that local politics was still very much in the tight grasp of a few Republican good ole boys, hardly unchanged for decades. And that riled me to no end, as I am firm in my belief that a vigorous debate of ideas is essential to the evolution of a democratic society.

Which brings me to last night’s meeting of the Chesterfield County Democratic Committee that featured four Democratic candidates vying for county office in this fall’s election. I add here that the county’s five supervisors and most other county officers are – of course – from the Republican good ole boys school. So it was most refreshing that one of these candidates is true grit. Has energy and apparent integrity and a driving intention to upset this Republican stranglehold and attempt to wrench some political power from the steely grasp of a group of county conservatives who view office holding as some ancestral right.

And this “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” of Chesterfield County is none other than A. Perry DeMay – and he gave an electrifying and inspiring PowerPoint presentation that illustrated he is committed to win, committed to changing the county’s balance of power, committed to changing the “nepotism” networking between greedy developers and the county’s blue blood families. And he has specifics of what is wrong and specifics of what he intends to do to change the operation of the county’s Sheriff Department.


Perry DeMay is a stout truth telling common man – so uncommon in these times and particularly in this locale. Candid, self effacing, and committed – one only hopes that should he win, that he won’t be deterred by the powers to be or the general indifference of county residents.

By recent voting patterns, the county is about one third Democratic, liberal, or progressive leaning, and it’s about time the county begins a vigorous debate about it’s future – or the county will become increasingly irrelevant in this metro area and fail to provide the opportunity and quality of life its residents deserve.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Am Ashamed That Eric Cantor Is My Congressman

I understand that most don’t have the leisure I have, as a retiree, to follow issues, to stay tuned to political debates, to spend time and become involved in local politics. However, it is appalling that those fellow citizens of my 7th District in Virginia have such a knee jerk reaction to this current financial crisis such as to swallow the political rhetoric of Congressman Cantor and to not see this partisan politician for who he is. To see Congressman Cantor spotlighted on national news holding up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s floor remarks and using this as the reason that Republicans failed to pass their administration’s backed financial crisis bill was nauseating. Cantor was playing politics. Cantor was petty. Cantor was being used by his party handlers to try and shift this failure to reach accord onto the Democrats for political gain. Cantor was seen as a safe spokesman who is from the brightest red district of a red state with little formidable opposition to push this mal
Read more

Top 10 Consequences Of Voting Yes On The Virginia Marriage Amendment

The following is offered as there are opposing lists being circulated by the religious right. So, here are my Top 10 Consequences of Voting Yes on the Virginia Marriage Amendment. 1. Voting Yes is unnecessary, as marriage is already defined in Virginia by statute. 2. Voting Yes ignores the facts – ignores the accepted medicine and science on this subject. 3. Voting Yes to constitutionalize such a socially charged issue, in flux, is clearly in opposition to Jeffersonian Democracy. 4. Voting Yes is an unabashed ploy by cynical Republicans to get out their base. 5. Voting Yes is in opposition to the maintaining of a bright line between church and state. 6. Voting Yes could bring about a myriad of unintended consequences to unmarried heterosexual couples. 7. Voting Yes will continue to paint Virginia as a cultural backwater and an unfriendly place for the location of new high tech businesses. 8. Voting Yes will hardly benefit the thousands of children in gay families nor give hope to many
Read more

Inauguration Day 2009 Predictions

It’s over a year and half away but here is the podium on Inauguration Day 2009 President - Hillary Clinton Vice President – Bill Richardson Secretary of State – Joe Biden And reaching across the political divide Secretary of Defense – Colin Powell What arrogance is this to go out on such a limb so early? Well I can tout my bona fides that out of grad school I spent four years in a small corporate planning group reporting to the executive committee of the then world’s largest chemical company, as a futurist and technological forecaster. I could mention my lifelong interest in futurism and strategic planning. Or my heightened political junkiesm in my semi retirement. But truth is this is not based on some formal extrapolative or normative crystal balling – it is entirely an intuitive conclusion and I would be interested in anyone else who is willing to stick their neck out and make an early prediction.
Read more