Interesting Breakdown on 6-4 Saudi Academy Vote

As you probably have heard, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted 6-4 to approve a zoning exemption to allow the Islamic Saudi Academy to expand. The school has generated controversy over its teachings, and "has undergone a series of high-profile examinations of its religious curriculum, which has been revised repeatedly to remove passages that extolled militant jihad and martyrdom." Also, in 2007, "at least one textbook still said that the killing of adulterers and apostates was 'justified.'" For their part, "students, parents and teachers say the school does not teach intolerance."

Anyway, what I'm hearing is that the vote breakdown over the school's expansion was:

Sharon Bulova: No
John C. Cook: No
Pat Herrity: No
Linda Smyth: No

John Foust: Yes
Michael Frey: Yes
Penelope Gross: Yes
Catherine Hudgins: Yes
Gerald Hyland: Yes
Jeff McKay: Yes

What I'm wondering is the reasoning behind the votes. It seems to me that if this school is teaching hatred and intolerance, then nobody should have voted "yes." If it isn't teaching hatred and intolerance, then it's hard to see why anybody should have voted "no." Unless, of course, there are other considerations, like zoning, traffic, etc., that were paramount in the voting decisions. Regardless, it's an "interesting" coalition of "no" votes...two Republicans and two Democrats, with the "yes" votes overwhelmingly Democratic. I'm not sure what to make of this exactly; any thoughts? Thanks.

Charlie Hall Clears Up a Mystery?

See here for the whole story about what happened with the Providence district school board vote the other day. Thanks to Charlie Hall, who I strongly supported in 2007 for Fairfax County board from Providence district, for his report!

Mary Ann Hovis Endorsement Letter

The only question at this point is what lonely soul doesn't want Mary Ann Hovis to be the next chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee? :)

Dear FCDC Friends,

We are writing to endorse Mary Ann Hovis as the next chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. As elected officials, we have all seen first-hand the hard work that Mary Ann has done to elect Democrats at all levels. We’ve seen her dedication, her organizational skills, and her tireless work ethic. Frankly, this list of Democratic Delegates and Senators would be shorter had it not been for her hard work!

Mary Ann has hosted fundraisers. She and her husband Bob have written checks. She’s planned events. No task was too big for her to undertake—and no detail was ever too small for her to manage.

Most recently, she has served as the Vice Chair for Finance of FCDC. Now that Scott Surovell has resigned to run for Delegate, we can think of no one else who is as well qualified to take over FCDC.

Make no mistake: this election is critical, and the Republicans are serious about winning. We need to assemble the very best campaign teams and local committees to make sure Virginia continues to move forward.

We know Mary Ann will do that. We ask you to join us in supporting Mary Ann Hovis for FCDC Chair.

Sincerely,

Kris Amundson
George Barker
David Bulova
Chuck Caputo
Adam Ebbin
David Englin
Charniele Herring
Mark Herring
Janet Howell
Dave Marsden
Chap Petersen
Ken Plum
Toddy Puller
Dick Saslaw
Jim Scott
Steve Shannon
Mark Sickles
Patsy Ticer
Margi Vanderhye
Vivian Watts
Mary Margaret Whipple

P.S. My endorsement of Mary Ann Hovis is here.