Del. Rob Krupicka Announces He Will Not Run for Reelection

Just got this from Del. Rob Krupicka...wow, I did NOT expect that!P.S. My understanding is that there are only 10 days until the filing deadline, which is not much time for anyone to decide to run, get organized, gather signatures, etc. Serving the people of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax has been one of the greatest honors of my life. For the past 12 years, I have had the chance to serve as an elected official in one of the most vibrant, diverse, civically-engaged places in the United States. It is always humbling to talk to my constituents because they always know so much about so many issues and they always teach me something.Coming back from session this year, I was forced to evaluate the number of hours in the day and how I fill them. Between business, family, and public service, it is clear that I'm burning more candles at more ends than I can sustain. I have a growing business with employees and investors that depend on me---a business that gives me a chance to put my values into action by supporting local non-profits, promoting a strong wage, and by giving people a second or third chance to get on their feet. I have also spent time in the last weeks reflecting on the fact that my family has tolerated me missing a lot due to public responsibilities. Having spent over half of my adult life involved in public service in some way or another, it is time for me to step back from elected life to focus on my growing business and on my family. I don't like to do anything halfway and the demands on my time make it impossible for me to be the engaged, active public servant that I have always tried to be.

Video: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Would Be "All Pain, No Gain" For Virginia

See the ad below, and also the the All Pain No Gain website, for more on how Dominion's proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would be all pain for property owners, the environment, small businesses, public safety, local heritage and history, and future generations. As an added "bonus," there would be no serious GAIN from this pipeline either (for jobs, the economy, power rates, etc.), despite the Big Lie propaganda put out by Dominion Power and sadly echoed by Gov. McAuliffe. Bottom line: this pipeline is a profoundly stupid idea any way you look at it. Instead, what Virginia should be 100% focused on is clean energy - efficiency, distributed and utility-scale solar, offshore wind, etc. Clean energy is the (clean, safe, incresingly inexpensive) future for our state, fossil fuels are the (dirty, dangerous, expensive) past. The choice is an easy one, except for those whose income depends on denying the obvious.

New Report by PJM Confirms VA State Corporation Commission Was Wildly Wrong in Its "Analysis"

You might recall a bunch of headlines in the corporate media, mindlessly and uncritically parroting a bunch of nonsensical fossil fuel industry propaganda put out by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) regarding the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan. As the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote at the time, the SCC took a "seriously flawed," "extremely pessimistic and inaccurate view of the state's ability to join a 21st century clean energy economy, claiming it could only do so at a high cost to electricity consumers." In fact, the EXACT OPPOSITE is the case: according to the Union of Concerned Scientists: "the Commonwealth is well on track to meet its goals under the Clean Power Plan (CPP), affordably and reliably. A majority of its electricity already comes from lower-carbon energy sources like nuclear, natural gas, and renewable energy."How the SCC, which theoretically is supposed to regulate Dominion Power and other corporations in Virignia, could have brazenly spewed out such a Big Lie, and how the media could have blasted the headline all over its pages, is beyond infuriating. And now, the Virginia media is compounding their utter lack of journalistic integrity and intelligence by FAILING to publicize the exact opposite finding, one which happens to be correct, by a definitive source: PJM, the "regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia." PJM's new analysis is summarized here, and can read in fullhere (PDF). The key takeaways are as follows. 1. "Virginia can generate net revenue from the CPP as early as 2020 through a market-based allowance trading program among PJM states. In such a regional plan, Virginia efficiently reduces its carbon pollution and then sells pollution 'allowances' to neighboring states that have more pollution to reduce, generating revenue for the Commonwealth in the process." 2. Far from the CPP being "unfair" to Virginia, as some have whined, the fact is the exact opposite: "if Governor McAuliffe writes his state plan utilizing a regional PJM market-based approach, Virginia has the second-easiest target to reach among the 11 PJM states analyzed." Thus, " Because Virginia's cleaner fleet is rewarded in this way by the Clean Power Plan (as currently proposed), Governor McAuliffe should be gunning for aggressive clean energy gains in his state plan for the CPP: right out of the gate in 2020, Virginia could sell the carbon reductions across state lines."

Video: Del. Lopez, Sen. Petersen, Sen. Puller Speak at Scott Surovell for State Senate Kickoff

I just got back from the kickoff for Scott Surovell for State Senate in Woodbridge. I'd say there were at least 100 people there, including a large number of Democratic candidates (e.g., Joana Garcia and Paul Krizek for House of Delegates; Atif Qarni for State Senate; Justin Wilk for Prince William County School Board, Earnie Porta and Rick Smith for Prince William County Board of Supervisors, etc.) and elected officials (e.g., Senators Dave Marsden, Chap Petersen Toddy Puller and Jennifer Wexton; Delegates Patrick Hope, David Bulova, Marcus Simon, Alfonso Lopez). I shot video of the speeches, which I'll post here and in the comments section of this post as soon as they're uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy!P.S. Photo of Sen. Toddy Puller and Del. Scott Surovell by Steve Bunn. P.P.S. In his speech, Surovell thanked Sen. Puller for her great work over the years, including for veterans and for the Route 1 corridor. Surovell stressed several main things he'll fight hard for in the State Senate: 1) revitalizing and redeveloping the Route 1 corridor, also extending both the Yellow and Blue Metro lines; 2) strengthening and investing in public education; 3) promoting economic fairness and social justice; 4) expanding Medicaid ("there are 32,000 people in the 36th district...currently getting their healthcare from Medicaid"); 5) putting "predatory" payday and car title lenders out of business; and 6) promoting clean energy and environmental protection (e.g., storm water management) in general. Finally, Surovell stressed the importance of helping other good Democrats get elected through a "broad, coordinated campaign," as well as continuing to build the party and the grassroots through the district.

Thou Art the Man: A Message to the Republican Base

This piece has been appearing this week in the newspapers of my very conservative congressional district (VA-06). It embodies the strategy I think we in Liberal America should be pursuing: See the evil. Call it out. Press the Battle.A story from the Bible comes to mind: King David has taken for himself Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. The prophet Nathan comes to him and tells a story of similar wrong-doing. Not recognizing himself in the story, King David becomes righteously outraged.  At this point, Nathan springs the trap and declares: "Thou art the man!" David accepts his own behavior, because it serves his own interests. When he sees it from the outside, he is so indignant that he says the sinner should die. In the spirit of that biblical story, I would like to ask the conservatives reading this column what you would have thought, not long ago, if you had heard about political conduct like this: 1) An American president is elected after promising to solve a long-standing problem that costs thousands of American lives and a trillion dollars every year. His proposal is so moderate that its roots are actually in the other party. But that party does everything it can to prevent passage. Then it tries to overturn the law. When that fails, it tries sabotage. All this - including voting more than 50 times to repeal a law, knowing it won't be repealed - is a spectacle unprecedented in American history. 2) This is part of a pattern in which this opposition party has made it a priority to prevent that president from accomplishing anything. It opposes even ideas that were once its own, even measures that are clearly supported by an overwhelming majority of the people. Although the president proposes nothing outside the American mainstream - he is more moderate than a great many in his own party's base - the opposition paints him as an extremist. No party in American history has ever before made the president's failure its top priority.

State Senate Candidate Atif Qarni: "It's Time Virginians Got A Raise!"

Thanks to teacher, US Marines combat veteran and Democratic State Senate candidate Atif Qarni for the following issue statement on the importance of raising the minimum wage in Virginia. This is the first in a series of issue statements that you'll be seeing here in coming weeks from Atif Qarni, on a wide variety of issues, demonstrating why he's a great choice for Democrats in the 29th district (Manassas/Woodbridge), and also why I'm strongly supporting his candidacy! Twenty-two years ago, I held my first job at Pizza Bolis. I made minimum wage, earning just $4.25 an hour. In the twenty-two years since, our minimum wage has only gone up by a rate of 14 cents per year. We have seen deliberate campaigns at the federal and state level to keep minimum wages low, and Virginians have paid the price.I want to make this campaign about more than a Senate seat. This is a campaign to push Virginia to make the progress that should be expected of a state that boasts booming industries and political power. I teach GED students that struggle to make ends meet because the minimum wage is too low, and they haven't been afforded the opportunities many of us have. I believe is time we immediately raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, and implement a plan to raise it to $15 over the next 6 years. It is time to take strong action. There are three key reasons for this: First, we owe every Virginian the chance to earn a living wage if they work full-time. No family should question whether or not 40 hours of work a week will put food on their table and a roof over their heads. Pushing wages up to $15 an hour over the next few years is the best solution, though an immediate increase to $10 will give workers the relief they need as Virginia approaches a living wage. According to the AFL-CIO, Virginia is one of top 10 states with the most minimum wage workers in the country. The American Progress Action Fund projects that 511,000 workers in the Commonwealth would directly feel the results of a minimum wage increase, and over 365,000 children would benefit from their parents' wage increases. These folks would be able to make more money, have a higher spending power, and be able to spend more time raising their families under positive circumstances here in the Commonwealth. Second, this is good for businesses. Companies like Costco and from businesses in Seattle who have taken it upon themselves as both private and public entities to raise their minimum wage with great success. Even companies like Wal-Mart acknowledge that wages need to be raised. With more money in their pockets, Virginians will have the money they need to be active participants in their local economy. As a member of Governor McAuliffe's Small Business Commission, I have seen small businesses in the area and throughout the Commonwealth struggle because of economic hardship. When citizens flourish, so do the businesses around them. This minimum wage increase would lift the economic burden from businesses and increase income for families who would now have the ability to patronize local businesses to get the goods and services they need. This small fundamental change could provide a huge boost to local economies everywhere.Finally, Virginia has an obligation to lead. We are a state full of patriots and good citizens concerned about the well being of our neighbors. I believe that the values we preach should echo in our actions. We need to exhibit that in our state lawmaking. Virginia has never been a place to wait and see what Washington has to say, nor should it be. We should act of own accord and make sure government is responsive to an evolving society and economy for both businesses and workers. I hope for the opportunity to fight for the change we need in Richmond. For too long, our elected leaders have prioritized big business over local economies and hard working employees. In Richmond, I would be a leader in making government more effective and more responsive. For me, that means fighting to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

Video: Your Daily Dose of Right-Wing Craziness Comes from Leesburg, Virginia

I saw this story in the Loudoun Times, and thought it would be worth posting the video on YouTube. Here's the short version of what happened earlier this week in Leesburg, as Council member (and self-described "proud" "conservative") Tom Dunn rambles on about how government didn't really free the slaves (uh...ever hear of the emancipation proclamation? the Civil War fought by the Union army and government? the 13th amendment to the constitution?), and how "God" supposedly did (even though God and religion were used by many/most slaveowners as justification for holding slaves). Dunn also rants against diversity and commissions and government in general, commenting, "I don't know why folks feel that the government has to give their race legitimacy." More to the point, why did voters give this guy and his out-there views any "legitimacy," and when are they going to do something about that situation by booting him out of office?

Tuesday's hours-long hearing on the diversity commission was punctuated with a weighty oration from Dunn, who said American slaves were freed by God, not government.Within his speech, Councilman Dunn chided Phillip Thompson, the local NAACP president, for invoking slavery into the conversation.
"Shame on you, Mr. Thompson, for throwing slavery into this discussion," Dunn said. "There are people who feel that government, I guess, is supposed to be the answer to everything. Mr. Thompson, I don't believe government freed our slaves that we had in this country. That was an evil that this country had. It was the hand of God touching the hearts of man that freed those slaves.And it's the same hand of God touching the hearts of man that will bring unity within diversity. It's not government."
Dunn continued, "Jesus said, 'I give you one commandment, and that is to love one another.' He could have said, 'go out and create a diversity commission,' but he didn't ... I don't know why folks feel that the government has to give their race legitimacy."

Virginia Connection Continues to Strengthen on Nascent Hillary Clinton Campaign

I agree with former Del. Bob Brink on the hiring by the Hillary Clinton (soon-to-be-formal) campaign of former DPVA and Brian Moran staffer Jesse Ferguson -- great choice! Ferguson joins 2013 McAuliffe for Virginia Governor campaign manager Robby Mook (also an excellent choice), and possibly 2013 McAuliffe press secretary Josh Schwerin in the growing contingent of Clinton 2016 staffers with strong ties to Virginia. We'll see how many more former McAuliffe for Governor staffers the Clinton campaign picks up. Personally, I'd strongly recommend Alex Kellner, who I thought did a superb job as McAuliffe's digital director in 2013. Anyway, congratulations to Jesse Ferguson, and good luck!

"We Know Bill" Site Leaves Out the People Who REALLY Know Bill Howell...and a Bunch Who Never Will

Among other problems with this website of fawning quotes about Virginia House Speaker Bill "ALEC" Howell: 1) in a district that's about 30% non-white, the only people who apparently "know" Howell are...well, not exactly the most diverse; 2) the site leaves out the fact that the people that really matter who "know" Howell are not ordinary voters in his district, but these folks (the Virginia Beer Wholesalers, the Virginia Wine Wholesalers, the Virginia Bankers Association, Verizon, Alpha Natural Resources, Altria, the Virginia Coal Association, ExxonMobil, Dominion, etc.) who have donated over $3 million to Howell over the years; and 3) also not mentioned on Howell's site is a group which knows him VERY well -- the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a notorious corporate front group that introduces "model bills" which "reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations." Those are the relevant folks who "know" Bill Howell, but you don't see any of them on his "We Know Bill" website. Gee, I wonder why THAT might be. Hmmmmm...let me think.P.S. A few things we DO know about Bill Howell is that he doesn't care about uninsured Virginians, thinks women should have invasive transvaginal ultrasounds mandated by the state, does what his corporat masters tell him, does not support serious ethics reform, etc, etc.

Come Clean Mr. Blue! What is Dominion trying to hide?

Thu Mar 12, 2015 at 09:17:38 AM EDT

( - promoted by lowkell) An Open Letter to Robert Blue:Robert Blue, President Dominion Virginia Power Dear Mr. Blue: On behalf of the Sierra Club and also as a Dominion customer who received your letter regarding SB1349, we are calling on you to fully discuss the financial information required by the State Corporation Commission to analyze Dominion electricity rates, possible overcharges and the costs of implementing the EPA's Clean Power Plan. Dominion's entire justification for SB1349 was that costs of implementing this EPA rule would be high, and that Dominion wanted its shareholders to absorb those costs rather that passing them on to your customers.  As absurd as that argument was and is, the General Assembly passed your legislation on your representation that you would continue to give the SCC full access to Dominion's financial records. In your letter, you said, ""Nor would Dominion's books be closed to SCC inspection, as some contend. The base rate review scheduled for this year would go on. Beyond that, we would continue to provide the SCC with full access to our financials." Additionally, your lobbyist John Rust at the House hearing on SB1349 in responding to a question from Delegate Tom Rust about the audits said  "In terms of the review by the commission, the commission has the authority to do the audit, do the inspection of the books, to get the reports from the utility during this period, but the rates stay frozen during this period." Now we learn that you want to withhold the financial information that would permit the SCC to evaluate the very claims you asserted to justify passage of SB1349. We find that position unconscionable. What exactly is Dominion trying to hide. Mr. Blue?  Come clean Mr. Blue and give the SCC full access your books as promised in your letter. Glen Besa, Director Sierra Club-Virginia Chapter