Vince Onorato says local politics is corrupt

Was not necessarily what he was saying (which I personally think was wrong half the time but that is beside the point) it was HOW he chose to say it. He was an arrogant and pompous person. I was a Spotsy staff worker who on a few occasions ended up on the wrong end of a Vince “mightier than thou” tirade. No one listened to him because no one LIKED HIM. It doesn’t matter how right you may be, if you are arrogant and pompous person, they won’t listen! If he had treated others with respect then he would have had alot more success during his tenure in Spotsy politics.

If you want to compare a politician who is also honest and could not even be remotely characterized as “developer friendly” AND
who manages a persona that is not perceived to be arrogant and pompous – my vote would go to Mr. Jackson.

If Mr. Onorato had managed his persona to be more like Mr.. Jackson.. he may well have been a “successful” politician.

He was so disliked by some that they were willing to vote into office – someone who would return MLC to County Politics – which
is so ironic because it was her performance with development and land-use decisions that swept Mr. Onorato into office to start
with.

so .. in the end.. what voters decided.. in essence.. was to put Mr. Onorato out and put MLC back in….

that goes to show you the very real consequences of the public perceiving their elected to be rude and pompous – even if they
are pretty honest… out they go…

Mr. Jackson is no cuddly teddy bear by anyone’s standards… he has quite a sharp tongue… at times.. but he is respectful and
IMHO very conscientious at trying to understand the issues – and not opposed to working with others if it does not violate his
basic principles.

Simply stated – one can disagree – without being disagreeable. Body language and tone do count and discussions at the BOS
level can … bring out the worst in people unless they work very hard at keeping the under control.

Mr. Onorato never held public office as far as I know.. he was a neophyte – the very opposite of a seasoned professional
politician…. and his behavior became the issue not only with the public but others ..even potential allies on the BOS.

Well said. Mr. Jackson is a good example of one who typically understands the issue, makes thoughtful (ie. intelligent) comments and is generally easy to get along with.

are not doing your job. Of course he could be wrong. But if he is right than that would make you asleep at the switch? Or in bed with friends? Maybe you could blog about that.

I thought it best to look at all comments made on BOTH SIDES of Dan’s baited hook. Please notice Dan supplied us with a “here.” You should see the poison generated in Dan’s coverage on Vince and then to make his blog available to the hard core, should be published in “Spotsylvania County’s published version of Politics 101.”

After all, we’re invited guest, which allows anyone to get as close to the fire as we might wish. The burning embers alone should keep us all warm enough to stand before the plucked chickens and listen to and what we learned in Biology 101; the dissection part of the coarse study.

Let me please come back with my list of what constitutes “getting along, only to go along.”

Larry, we’re not plowing old ground.

While Vince Onorato may be old news, I’m sure you can appreciate he never surrendered his sword.

You may or may not agree but Onorato, after asking Tricord 3 questions on how they were going to bring $50 million dollars to the County, the BOS rejected Tricord’s “New Post” project. If it were not it not for his findings the BOS would NOT have voted against Tricord’s New Post Project.

Have any questions? If you do, I suggest you first schedule a meeting with the Spotsylvania County Planning Department and have them provide you a complete day to review the New Post Project as well as the Summit Crossing Project, which remains active, but rejected by our current BOS.

While Vince may have been rejected by the voter’s emotions, he was replaced with Gary Skinner, and his platform of Common Sense Government.

The County’s Registrar’s Office records Mr. Skinner list of benefactors and citizen contributions: 2007.

1. Timothy J. Welsh, owner/ operator of RCCI (Rappahannock Consytruction made his $1000 contribution to Skinner on 7/24/2007.

2.Thomas Y. Welsh, engineer w/ Sullivan, Donahoe and Sullivan contributed $2000 to Mr. Skinner’s campaign on 7/24/2007.

3.Hugh C. Cosner/ Renna H. Cosner, for all things Cosner contributed $1000 to the Skinner campaign on 7/27/2007.

4.William J. and Betty M Meadows of Meadows Farm regional landscaping contributed $1000 to the Skinner campaign on 7/31/2007.

5. Carl Silver, of all things Silver contributed $300 to Skinners campaign on 7/6.2007. AND

6. Pohanka Auto Center contributed $500 to his campaign on 8/20/2007.

7. AKA Printing & Mailing contributed $1395 in printing/mailing, and political handouts (labor and material) to Skinner’s campaign.

31 public contribution, under $100, amounted to $3,075 for the Skinner campaign…

Now, put Mary Lee Carter into the Lee’s Hill District’s planning agenda and we’ve come full circle to TODAY.

You’re telling us now to move on. From what point? Pre-Onorato, Post-Onorato, Pre Skinner or who we’re going to vote for November 2009.

Any of the people listed above are not strangers to you or me. All you have to do is turn around
and look in the mirror and you will find them standing directly behind you, even though Supv. Connors may appear to be standing closer, and just to your rear.

It’s 2009 and nothing has changed. Even the players are the same, from top to bottom, and still talking the same talk for change, expecting a different result while using the the same business model.

If you wish to champion the political skills of Supv. Gary Jackson, why is it that part of this blog site references Mr. Jackson’s continued and open efforts to challenge Mr. Marshall’s 3 acre agenda and propaganda that has yet to produce nothing more than a number. Where are the reports Supv Marshall keeps referring too? Why can’t we get the details? Who bought three acres from whom and how much was paid and where these three acre lots are located in rural Spotsylvania County, or is that a secret?

You might want to check out Supv. Jackson’s voting record. Even he will conclude he’s only a single vote out of seven. To suffer in silence is not a solution, but his vote and how he votes speaks volumes to the importance of his presence and how valuable his vote is, as it relates to balance of County business agendas from a single vote perspective.

Check the record. Our BOS are today what they were 10 years ago. If you have any doubts, just check with Supv. Marshall who has represented his constituents for more than 30 years.

The fields we once plowed are the same fields we are plowing now. Same stakeholders.

If I were permitted to attend the Planning Department’s FOCUS meetings with Spotsylvania County’s power brokers I might have a better perspective on where the BOSs are taking us. However, the public are not invited, but Mary Lee Carter and another Planning Commissioner of her choice just recently got permission to attend these meeting.

As a member of the public, what kind of message does this “No Admittance” mean to you. It’s not what I call transparent, in the wake of decisions being made by our BOS claiming to serve in our best interest.

Put the VRE Master Agreement on the table and you’ll see what I mean.

If your intentions are to weild Mr. Onorato’s sword, I suggest you use both blades. One side goes around and the other side comes around. If you’re going to swing his sword only in one direction you’re sure to suffer what comes around.

I haven’t finished but believe I have made my point, whether you have more questions or not.

I’m still holding on to Gramps’ tea leaves which I’ve come to regard as prophetic while not being explicit. Political, while not being too far from the left or right, has always been close to center, without being in the middle and ready to settle for less. I call it spunk. He calls it something else. I’ll stick with spunky.

I’ll assume then that you are a real person, and support the conclusion brought to this blog by Vince Onorato that Spotsylvania County Government/ BOSs are corrupt.

Once your emotions, name calling, and righteous distain for politicians are put to the side, you are actually in agreement with Mr Onorato’s take on what’s going on in the hallowed halls of Spotsylvania County government.

Don’t worry. You’ll be all right, no matter where you stand or set your feet.