Archive for May, 2007
The May 24 editions of the Alexandria Gazette Packet, Mount Vernon Gazette, and Arlington Connection include this letter to the editor from David:
Ways to Keep Voters Informed
To the Editor:
I read your recent editorial on the upcoming June 12 primary election with great interest. I was disappointed to learn that the State Board of Elections still had not published a list of primary Candidates online even two weeks after the filing deadline. As a member of the House Elections Subcommittee, I will be happy to work with my colleagues on legislation to require the State Board of Elections to publish online the names of candidates for all state offices within 24 hours of candidate certification. In the information age, we should expect no less of our government.
Your idea to require the State Board of Elections to publish and mail sample ballots to every registered voter also caught my attention. I would go beyond that and give every candidate on the sample ballot the opportunity to provide a short statement — say, 500 words — so voters have a better idea of what each candidate stands for. While this will certainly cost taxpayer money, it will strengthen our democracy by opening the process and helping voters make more informed choices.
Many of the best ideas for legislation come from constituents, community groups, and other organizations, and these are two that I will add to my agenda if the people of the 45th District honor me with re-election this November.
Del. David Englin
45th District
The May 24 edition of the Alexandria Times includes this letter to the editor from David:
To the Editor:
Jim Roberts’ letter to the editor dividing Alexandrians into different “species” based on their view of the ACPS budget demonstrates exactly what’s wrong with debates over fiscal policy in our community, our Commonwealth, and our country. Too many of us seem ideologically hidebound to the notion that all tax increases are bad and all tax cuts are good, or visa-versa, but the real world is not so black and white.
For example, I do support Council’s very minor real estate tax increase to protect our schools from harmful cuts. I also sponsored legislation to raise state taxes on cigarettes to just below the national average, and I opposed repealing the estate tax — a $140-million annual giveaway to about 1,000 of the very wealthiest Virginians. On the other hand, I sponsored a $25-million “climate change” tax cut to eliminate the sales tax on energy-efficient products, a $72-million tax cut to discount sales of ultra-fuel- efficient cars and SUVs, and a $58-million tax credit for low-income renters. I co-sponsored this year’s successful effort to eliminate income taxes altogether for 140,000 working poor Virginians. In and of themselves, tax cuts and tax increases are neither inherently good nor inherently bad — they are a means to an end.
Let’s not lose sight of that by attacking our neighbors.
Del. David Englin
45th District
Many thanks to the full house of grassroots volunteers who joined us at Campaign Central on Wednesday evening to stuff envelopes and make phone calls helping David to reach out to his constituents and campaigning to build a Democratic majority in the General Assembly.
“With the beautiful weather, the season finale of Lost, and the City Council special election in full swing, I expected a light turnout, so it’s wonderful that so many people came out,” said David. “Thanks to your hard work, we caught up with our latest mailings to voters in the 45th District, and we now have materials to campaign for my re-election during the City Council caucus on June 9.
On top of all of that, we made hundreds of calls to voters in targeted House and Senate races to help pick up seats to win back the General Assembly.”
David took some time out from stuffing envelopes with his team to drop by a 45th District fundraiser for Chap Peterson, who is challenging a Republican incumbent for state senate, and to present a certificate at a meeting of the Friends of Dyke Marsh honoring Ed Eder, their outgoing president.
Join us for Team Englin’s next Volunteer Night on Wednesday, June 6. Let us know you’re coming at 703-549-3203 or info@davidenglin.org.
David joined scores of other Alexandrians Tuesday evening at a public hearing of Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board to support the City of Alexandria’s proposal to rein in the Mirant Plant — the dirty old coal-fired power plant on the Old Town waterfront that is poisoning the air in the surrounding neighborhoods and beyond.
“This has become a balancing act between the health and safety of our citizens and the money it would take to clean up this plant,” said David in his testimony to the board, pointing out the nearly $1 billion in profits the Mirant Corporation reported in 2006 from operations in the region. “When Mirant tells you they just can’t afford to do what it would take to protect our health, look at their own financial report and you’ll see that it just ain’t so.”
After more than five hours of testimony Tuesday evening, the Air Pollution Control Board met today to formally consider regulatory proposals to address plant operations. To the great satisfaction of Alexandria clean-air advocates, the board voted to approve the State Operating Permit option that that included provisions from the City’s proposal, rejecting an alternative Consent Order option that was more favorable to the plant. The State Operating Permit imposes firm, enforceable emission limits for sulfur dioxide (the main pollutant from the plant) and leaves the door open for more comprehensive limits on all pollutants, which will likely be addressed at the board’s September meeting.
“Today’s move by the Air Pollution Control Board is a long-awaited step forward toward protecting the health of our community,” said David. “Our community owes a debt of gratitude to our neighbors who have fought so tenaciously on this issue, and to the City staff who have worked so hard to bring us to this point.”
“As our community, our Commonwealth, and the Nation grieves for the students and teachers who were murdered on Monday, our prayers are with the families and friends of these victims, and with all members of the Virginia Tech community. May the memories of the fallen be a blessing to us all.”
