| Virginia Governor | |
|---|---|
| Creigh Deeds (D): | 41.25% |
| Bob McDonnell (R): | 58.62% |
| Other: | 0.13% |
| Virginia Lt. Governor | |
|---|---|
| Bill Bolling (R): | 56.51% |
| Jody Wagner (D): | 43.41% |
| Other: | 0.08% |
| Virginia Atty. General | |
|---|---|
| Ken Cuccinelli (R): | 57.51% |
| Stephen Shannon (D): | 42.40% |
| Other: | 0.09% |
| Virginia House, 86th | |
|---|---|
| Stevens Miller (D): | 46.00% |
| Tom Rust (R): | 53.83% |
| Other: | 0.17% |
| Fairfax School Bonds | |
|---|---|
| Yes: | 70.20% |
| No: | 29.80% |
Melissa and I got up early this morning and headed to the polls. We always like to get our voting done bright and early. If you don’t believe me, you can see me with my sticker at the right.
I thought it would be funny to get a picture on a cell phone of me standing next to the ‘CELLULAR PHONES PROHIBITED’ sign ;-).
Anyway, as is typical for non-Presidential elections, there wasn’t much of a crowd. For gubernatorial elections there’s usually a gentle stream of voters—not as sparse as the off-off years, but not nearly as busy as the Presidential years either. It’s the ‘middle of the road’ year in the cycle.
If you haven’t voted yet, and you live somewhere that voting is happening today, be sure to get out before the polls close! Voting is your chance to participate in your government. Go do it!
This Tuesday is election day. If you happen to live somewhere that is holding an election—like the entire Commonwealth of Virginia—be sure to vote. Virginians will be casting ballots for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, the House of Delegates, and various other local issues. While these elections consistently get less attention and fewer voters than elections for President of the United States, they are arguably more important. State governments have a huge impact on individuals’ quality of life, often much more so than the federal government.
As has been the case since 2004, Off on a Tangent will be providing live election-night coverage on Tuesday. Coverage will commence as the polls close at 7pm and will continue until I have made calls for all elections I’m following, or midnight (whichever comes first). In addition to live results for all races in which I have made endorsements, I’ll also report any worthy election night news in a ‘live blog’ form. If any races remain un-called at midnight, coverage will re-start with occasional updates (as time permits) on Wednesday.
I’ve stated my opinions about these races, but whether you agree with me or not it is very important that you exercise your right to vote. See you at the polls!
Melissa and I both celebrated our birthdays over the last week. Yesterday, we went out with my parents to Chevy’s—a Mexican place we like. Well, we picked right because both of us got these spiffy Birthday Sombreros!
I figure these will be good for the new job, or church, or just driving around the neighborhood. I’m sure some of the MS-13 gang-bangers up in Herndon will get a kick out of it.
Oh, MS-13 is Salvadorian? Hm. Maybe not then.
;-)
If you work for the Washington, DC, city government, you can usually be sure you’re doing something right if the City Council hates you. If you work for public schools, it’s also usually a good sign you’re doing something right if the teachers’ unions hate you. If you happen to be leading the Washington, DC, public schools (DCPS), and you manage to piss off both the City Council and the teachers’ unions, well, you’re almost definitely on the right track.
DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has managed to accomplish exactly this. Her leadership, now entering its third year, has drastically improved DCPS’s average test scores. The worst teachers and administrators are being weeded out of the system, while the best are being retained. Slowly-but-surely, waste, fraud, and abuse in the system is being eliminated. Johnathan Swift once said, “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” Well, the dunces are now in confederacy against Michelle Rhee.
I don’t really approve of what Rhee did in her most recent controversy—when the DC City Council instructs that something be done, no matter how stupid it may be, it should be done. But Rhee’s approach of actually trying to do her job, even in the face of moronic decrees from the Council and union bosses, is laudable. I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that some times the best way to get something done is to ignore the ‘process’ and just do it, especially in government (and other dysfunctional organizations) where the ‘process’ hurts more than it helps.
In this case, the DC City Council, the now-dissolved school board, teachers’ unions, former mayors, and educational administrators have conspired for decades to destroy the city’s schools. Rhee has been weeding through the school administrators, she doesn’t have to deal with the non-existent school board or former mayors, but the Council and unions are still thorns in her side. They helped make the mess; I’d humbly suggest that they shut up and let Rhee fix it.
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.
