Yes, gold leaf pavers. Your tax dollars. And nobody seemed to care.
All in Politics
Can you imagine being fearful that candidates promising to create a “level playing field” might emerge victorious?
Virginia Beach’s most famous developer, a man who’s financed his projects with tens of millions of tax dollars, is threatening to pack up and pull out of the resort area if good-government types are elected in November.
As a writer, words matter. I don’t like this sloppy tendency to award public offices to individuals, as if they own them.
Look, we all know Trump brought this on himself. His remarks about John McCain’s war record during the presidential campaign were unfathomably nasty. Especially given his own lack of military service.
Already there are rumors - fueled in part by a speculative piece in The New York Times - that John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, is being considered.
Nobody’s saying what you’re about to read is illegal. This is simply how deals are done in Virginia Beach. Featuring investigative commentary by John Holland.
It’s right out of the old-school politicians’ handbook. Crowd the race by encouraging a weak candidate to enter as an independent to dilute the vote against you.
For much of 2018, however, he’s been back at the Beach, working for an undisclosed benefactor or benefactors. Holland’s been doggedly doing what he does best: using the Freedom of Information Act to sift through thousands of documents and emails.
Maybe this would be a good week for us to vow to spend a pleasant meal with someone who voted differently than we did in the last election. Not with the intent of changing their minds, either.
The all-you-can-eat-taxpayer-funded buffet could close down and developers might have to start paying for their own projects.
The horror of it all.
In Virginia Beach, where the majority on city council are drooling lapdogs for developers, the notion of putting people first is laughable.
The man my former colleague, columnist Dave Addis, once described as a “goat boy" for the developers.
With the curious departure of the mayor and with six City Council seats up this November, there is - at last - a chance for disgruntled Beach voters to bypass the good-old-boys with their slick campaigns and vote instead for good government.