Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Virginia Statewide Ballot Issues, 2010

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Citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia will be voting on three state constitutional amendments in this year’s general election. These amendments would each add, remove, or change text in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Question #1: Property Tax Exemptions for the Elderly and Disabled

Currently, the Virginia Constitution (Article X, Section 6, Part B) allows the General Assembly to give localities authority to grant partial or complete property tax exemptions for the elderly and disabled. The exemptions can apply to persons 65 years old or older and to anybody suffering from permanent, total disability, provided the General Assembly has deemed that they bear an “extraordinary tax burden . . . in relation to their income and financial worth.”

The constitutional amendment (PDF link) being presented to the voters as question #1 would modify this provision in two ways. First, it would remove the requirement that the tax exemptions only be granted to people suffering an “extraordinary tax burden.” Second, it would devolve authority from the General Assembly to the localities themselves to set income and financial worth requirements for granting the tax relief.

Read more . . .

Loudoun County Bond Referendum, 2010

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Note: Since the last general election I have moved from Fairfax County, Virginia, to Loudoun County, Virginia.

Virginia county governments are required to put bond issuance to a voter referendum in order to borrow money on behalf of the county. Bond issuance is usually used by governments to raise money for large capital expenditures, and those bonds are repaid to their purchasers at a later date with interest. Bond referendums in Virginia almost always pass by a large margin, in large part because people think they are voting in favor of the agencies that will benefit (after all, who wants to vote ‘against’ schools, parks, or transportation?). Many voters do not realize that bond issuance contributes to government debt and should be used sparingly.

School Bonds

Citizens of Loudoun County will be asked through a bond referendum to authorize the Board of Supervisors to borrow up to $26.8 million to finance, in whole or in part, the building of a new elementary school near Leesburg, Virginia.

Read more . . .

Four Random Photos

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And now for four more random photos! First, a truly high-tech security system at a CVS that apparently requires passing customers to call 911 when a bell is ringing. Second, our two cats secretly liking each other. Third, our youngest cat Vincent cuddling with an octopus toy. Finally, some stacked containers at a WalMart helpfully labeled, “DO NOT STACK.”

35 Miles in 50 Years: Your Governments at Work

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Ashley Halsey III writes in the Washington Post about the Fairfax County Parkway, a 35-mile long thoroughfare that has been talked about for fifty years and took a quarter-century to build. I [vaguely] remember when I was in kindergarten or 1st grade riding my bike with my dad through the construction zone where a segment of the highway was being built. I remember it being called, at different times, the ‘Springfield Bypass’ and the ‘Fairfax Center Parkway’ before the powers-that-be settled on its final name.

I remember that, after the segment I had biked on opened, I noticed two errors on signs. I wrote a letter to the Virginia Dept. of Transportation (VDOT) about it and the errors soon got fixed. Even today, if you’re driving on Fairfax County Parkway heading north, you’ll notice that the signs saying ‘Fox Mill Rd. Next Signal’ and ‘Sunrise Valley Dr. Next Signal’ both have corrective ‘patches’ over the Dr. and Rd. appellations. I’m responsible for that; they originally said ‘Fox Mill Dr.’ and ‘Sunrise Valley Rd.’

Well, today—six years after that kindergartener finished college—the last segment of this 35-mile highway is finally about to open. Way to go, guys. At this rate our transportation infrastructure will catch up with 2010 traffic volume no later than, say, 3827.

2010 Endorsement & Election Plans

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Since 2004 I have made political endorsements on this web site for every election in-which I am eligible to vote. The 2010 general election is no different. Next week, I will be publishing the Off on a Tangent endorsements for Virginia’s 10th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, three Commonwealth of Virginia constitutional amendments, and a Loudoun County, Virginia, bonds referendum.

I will also be introducing something new this year: a sort of ‘general endorsement’ (I haven’t come up with a real name for it yet). Especially in years like this one, the elections in which I’m making endorsements only matter to a relatively small percentage of my readers. In addition to these specific endorsements, I’ll be adding an overarching ‘things you should consider when voting this year’ piece that will apply across-the-board to U.S. voters. I will not specifically endorse any particular candidates or party in this piece, but will hopefully provide you with some ‘food for thought’ as you consider your respective votes.

As I have done since 2004, I am planning to provide live election coverage from approx. 7pm until approx. midnight on 11/2/2010. This will include results for all races in which I’ve made endorsements and a feed of any relevant national news that might come up. I project winners based on my own method that includes analysis of media reports, exit polling, and official returns. I have been known to occasionally call an election winner correctly before any mainstream media outlet does, if the data supports it. (For example, I called the 2004 Presidential election for George W. Bush [R] several hours before any major media outlet had done so.)

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.