Secret Socialist?

I don't often troll by to read swacgirl's gibberish, but I wanted to see how she'd misreported Francis Chester's day in court. When she finally posted something, it was a doozy of a stinker - we can all agree that comparing Francis Chester to Thomas Jefferson as a modern day incarnation of the "Citizen Farmer Patriot" is beyond absurd. I'd call it chicken sh*t.

But, that's not the subject of this post. Seems swacgirl/Lynn Mitchell is a closet socialist. Yep, if you scroll a bit on her blog you'll find she really admires government involvement in private business and government ownership of our most precious resources.

The evidence - she extolls the virtues of the Staunton trolley, which is city-owned and free to anyone. Damn the city - a private entrepreneur is denied the chance to make a profit! Then in series of posts she sings the praises of our National Parks and Shenandoah National Park in particular. Our National Parks are one of the greatest examples of government acquiring (sometimes by eminent domain) our most treasured resources for the common good so that all may enjoy them no matter their economic means. Mountaintop KOA, anyone?

I like the trolley (but have never taken a ride) and love our National Parks. But, then again, I believe government can be a positive influence in people's lives and think many government programs are good even if they don't benefit me personally. Lynn, and her ilk only like government when they reap the rewards. Does she have a problem living in a "commonwealth?"

Will he ever just go away?

Yesterday, Francis Chester got his day in court. And he'll get another sometime after mid November. Perfect timing for this turkey.

You can read accounts in the News Leader or the News Virginian for background on the cases which Chester filed against the Commissioner of the Revenue and the Board of Supervisors. But, media reports miss much of this "drama" that continues playing out not only in the Augusta County Circuit Court, but also among right wing teabaggers and bloggers.

About two dozen spectators endured bad acoustics and an inadequate sound system trying to hear the judge, lawyers, and witnesses discuss the issue of sanctions against Chester who had a little band of supporters and piled his "petitions" high on the table in front of him. Most others in the courtroom were from the county government or the news media. Two members of the Board of Supervisors - Wendell Coleman and Nancy Sorrells - were there. On a beautiful fall afternoon, there had to be better activities than sitting on hard seats in a majestic but gloomy courtroom.

A few random observations:

Chester's attacks on Commissioner Shrewsbury were mostly hollow attempts to question her and her employees' salaries and the amount of time they spent researching his demands. He made cracks about computing average salaries in his head while she used a calculator, but it was hard to discern his point on that or anything else. I guess he's trying to reduce the amount of any sanction, but beyond that, it is hard to see any coherent strategy by the "country lawyer."

At one point the attorney representing the county requested a five minute recess. He promptly left with the County Administrator, the Commissioner of the Revenue, and others to discuss strategy. Mr. Chester was left sitting until he and Lynn Mitchell, aka swacgirl, slipped out the backdoor. Guess that constitutes his brain trust. I awaited a hard hitting defense when the trial resumed. I was to be disappointed.

Chester had asked the judge for a "nonsuit" to withdraw his original cases as a way to dodge sanctions. Judge Victor Ludwig would have none of that since doing so would place a time limit on the county's sanction case. The judge ordered the county to file a written brief in 30 days with Chester's response two weeks later. He noted a number of issues he wanted argued in the briefs including the Virginia Code that deals with sanctions against lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits and several legal precedents. For example, shouldn't Mr. Chester have been aware that Virginia does not permit class action suits and that Boards of Supervisors have immunity.

After the judge finished outlining the relevant Code sections and case law to address in the briefs, Mr. Chester requested that the judge again give him the citations. Before patiently doing so, Judge Ludwig admonished him saying, "Those are cases you should have known before you walked in the door, Mr. Chester."

Chester brought this litigation as part of a broader political campaign against the reassessment. To him, suing raised his credibility in the eyes of his supporters and gave him more fodder to fire up the crowd. But, judges rightfully bristle at anyone's attempt to use the courts in this way, especially when there is no sound basis in the law. For that reason, the court should sanction Chester to deter him (and other lawyers) from wasting the court's time and to pay the county back for some of the costs incurred in meeting all his irrational demands.

Like most states, Virginia law holds that frivolous litigation occurs when a competent attorney knows or should know the claim has no merit and little chance of success. So, Mr. Chester may have some creative arguments up his sleeve that can convince the judge that sanctions should not apply to him. But, I'm not holding my breath.

Cleaning out the barnyard

With Del. Chris Saxman's summer surprise, the rumor mill has been running overtime. Speculation centers on why he dropped out? Why now? What's next for him? Some of the rumors about why he quit what looked like a sure thing deserve to be spread on the fields - mostly BS that is unsubstantiated.

Of more interest are the "what next" discussions. Very few buy the school choice campaign that he floated. Yes, he may do that, but only as a stepping stone to something else. Could he have advance word that Bob Goodlatte may not seek reelection in 2010 and he's prepping and posturing for that? Is he betting (far from a sure bet) on an appointment in a McDonnell administration? Or, are there other plans? Yeah, the rumors are all over the board - about the only thing we can be sure of it this - Chris Saxman won't be staying home to redecorate the house. One hint may be what he does (or doesn't do) with campaign funds he's amassed - follow the money, as they say.

The other part of the rumor mill has to do with who (and how) the local GOP nominates as a replacement candidate. Most of the speculation and rumors have swirled around Staunton councilman Dickie Bell. Will the Augusta County School Board give him the leave to run, and if elected, to serve. The running point is really the issue - if elected he'd quickly become the new best friend of the School Board and they'll figure a way to make it work. At least the teaching part; the coaching is probably something he'd have to give up. Other teachers have, and do, serve in the General Assembly.

For about 24 hours it looked like the local GOP committees would rush to anoint Bell, but then a pause. Was it for appearances of fairness? Probably. So now they are going to have a "public" forum and are accepting "nominations." But, make no mistake about it, in spite of this forum, this will not be a public decision. They'll make a display of listening, and the media will report on it, but the deal will be made behind closed doors, maybe before that forum is even held. Unless there's some SNAFU for Bell, or he opts out, if I had to bet it would be on him. But, the delay and the inevitable behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing may give a dark horse an opportunity. Plenty of rumors on that point, including some in CCC's previous post. The scariest and most absurd is about Lynn Mitchell, aka swacgirl. While some Democrats may welcome the right wing gadfly as easy to defeat, any sane person would have to be afraid, very afraid, that she'd somehow back into the seat.

Some pundits are saying the district leans (was gerrymandered) so Republican that Saxman's withdrawal and an open seat won't alter the outcome. But, make no mistake that the dynamic has now significantly changed. Erik Curren, who was out of town on a business trip when the news broke, reacted quickly. Responding to the local media and getting a fresh appeal out to supporters, his campaign took on a new urgency. After wishing Saxman well in future endeavors, Erik said:

"I can win in November. The experts say so. But I can't win without your help."

An open seat, an unknown and unproven opponent, Democrats eager to pick up six seats and capture control of the House of Delegates. You can bet this is a whole new ball game - back in the spring when Curren announced nobody expected the campaign ball to take this bounce. Consider - if Erik hadn't stepped forward and the Democrats hadn't nominated a good candidate, we'd now be leaving the choice of delegate to a backdoor deal made by a handful of Republican activists. That's scary.

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