The Case of the Disappearing Yard Signs [Updated]

[Updated: mystery solved! It was an honest mistake and the signs have been re-planted.]

Van Metre gave Cliff (and only Cliff) permission to put his signs on their properties in the Broadlands - near the fountain, alongside both shopping centers, and on their vacant lots.

So on Friday, Cliff went and planted his yard signs in those places. More than 15 feet in from the road so as to be out of the VDOT right-of-way. And today - poof! - they're gone.

If you, or anyone you know, took the signs, it'd be a nice gesture if you'd return them.

If you're thinking about taking the one in MY yard, please note that we've got a security system set up.

(this is a duplicate post from doorbellqueen.com. After the election, I'll be turning this site off)

Doorbell Queen is moving

Please set your links to doorbellqueen.com

I'm making this move to help keep commenting open and free, while maintaining a bit of order. I just couldn't figure out how the heck to get Blogger to allow anonymous commenting, without allowing anyone to comment as "anonymous".

See you over there!

Andrea's aides speak up on the record

Dusty Smith and Erika Jacobson Moore have the story.

But it was the cat that prompted action. During a meeting among the supervisors’ aides, McGimsey’s current aide Alex Delgado mentioned he was going to feed her cat and clean out the kitty the litter.

“That upset so many of us that one of the aides went to [County Administrator Tim] Hemstreet about it,” said an aide from another office. At least four aides present at the meeting confirmed the account, including Jessica Echard, who made the complaint.

“I went to the county administrator,” said Echard, who worked for Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) before leaving town for an internship. “The meeting was actually over,” Echard explained, saying Delgado raised the cat care half-jokingly. “’Oh yeah, she just told me to put it on my time sheet.’ We all just stopped and said, ‘Whoa, that’s not OK.’”

Delgado said the entire situation was a misunderstanding with the other aides and that the situation got blown beyond what it actually was.

“No county money was spent to take care of her cat,” he said. “She and I have a friendship beyond [supervisor-aide]. That’s all that was.”

I think it's important to remember that staff aides are at-will employees, entirely dependent on their employer's good will to keep their jobs. If you were in that position, and your employer asked you to do them a favor, whether or not it was on the clock, would you feel like you could say "no"?

And, as a reminder, here is an example of how she treats COUNTY staff, on camera:
[first posted on Without Supervision]

I did tell you so.

Meanwhile, in the school board races...

Items of interest from races I'm watching:

1. Joe Guzman endorses John Stevens:
   

   School Board Rep. Joseph Guzman (R-Sugarland Run)
   "The School Board is no place for partisan politics. John Stevens has been a fantastic Chairman. We both believe in putting children first. I am proud to have supported John and I would vote for him again!"
   
   Read more endorsements at StevensForSchools.org.

    Now, I'm no fan of Guzman, but him snubbing Debbie Rose to endorse John Stevens is definitely big news. Good work, John!


2. Bob Ohneiser has a terrific quote in Leesburg Today about the problematic LCPS discipline policy:
   

   School Board member Bob Ohneiser (Broad Run), an attorney who has been openly critical of the district's discipline process, said in the eight years he's served as a board member, the number of lawsuits and appeals has grown from "fitting on one page to eight pages long on both sides."
   
   "Those parents are spending hundreds and hundreds per hour to set the record straight out of principle," Ohneiser said. "People don't do that unless they feel wronged."

   Bob Oh! is outspoken and not afraid to face down his board mates and Hatrick.


3. The one really bright spot in the Loudoun Times Mirror's confusing endorsements was their endorsement of Joy Maloney:
   

   The Broad Run race is a difficult one. While impressed with Kevin Kuesters and the work he has done preparing for the position, we remain troubled by the accusations of assault which cannot be fully resolved by Election Day. Candidates have a time and a place, and perhaps the problem is that Kuesters needs to resolve these issues in his personal life before making another run for public office. While concerned about write-in candidate Joy Maloney’s ability to organize a successful write-in campaign and balance an elected office with her work life, we endorse her candidacy and are impressed by the level of commitment and involvement with the community that she has demonstrated.

As you all know, I'm going to be voting for Joy and Bob on Tuesday. I hope you will all join me!

Still curious: HOW much money have MC Dean etal put into Loudoun Races this year?

When I added it all together a couple of weeks ago, it came to $27,250 for the BOS races alone.

The fresh reports show Bill Dean giving another $2,500 to Suzanne Volpe, MC Dean giving another $7,500 to Eugene Delgaudio (in two installments) and a whopping $20,000 to Va Rep - Nova Business Forum for the anti-McGimsey mailers that my husband, Stevens, reported on.

So let's see...

$27,250
$ 2,500
$ 7,500
$20,000
-------------
$57,250

We haven't even gotten the final reports yet. And this doesn't count their donations to Black, LeMunyon, and Rust.

We're looking at one company, here. MC Dean and Bill Dean together make BY FAR the largest contributor to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors races.

What are they hoping to get for their money?

You may remember, the BOS decided NOT to have a Dean district. Loudoun shouldn't have a Dean BOS, either.