Very timely and informative. Thanks Grace!

Thanks for keeping us informed, Grace!
Like you, I don't appreciate signs, especially around our beautiful old Town Hall, but it's only once every two years.

What happened to the 30 day rule when it comes to putting out yard signs? During my first campaign in 2002, after checking with the town, I was told that signs can go on the town designated spots 60 days before the election. So I set out and started putting out my signs. Then I was "told" by several candidates that we have an agreement between the candidates that we wait til 30 days. So I proceeded to take back those signs I had put out and waited for the 30 day mark. Yes, spring has sprung but flowers are nicer to look at than political signs

I was unaware of any agreement, as no candidate ever pulled me aside to tell me about it this time or during my last campaign. Nice that you got that courtesy in 2002, Dave. I agree, spring flowers are prettier than signs for sure. I am thankful that Herndon candidates make a special effort remove signs as early as Election Night (which is my plan, and what I did in 2010.) If anyone sees any of my signs around town after May 2nd, please let me know and I will get them myself right away!!

I have run for office twice, once in 2010 and now in 2012, and then as now, no other candidate or incumbent has invited me to be part of any informal agreement on signs. So despite my dislike for campaign signs, the State Board of Election say 60 days is the rule, so when its the 60 day mark and my sign volunteers say they are ready to go put out signs, I say "Thank you!" I would not be unhappy should the SBE choose to officially change the date to 30 days prior to an election.

I am so very thankful to volunteers who helped me put up signs and more importantly, take them down on May 2nd! As with Lisa, if you see my signs around town after May 2nd, let me know so I can retrieve them asap as well!

If so many public servants do not like the signs, why not initiate action to limit or eliminate them? I doubt the SBE would object to local laws that are more restrictive. If Council members are concerned that the citizens you serve would be offended by the lack of signs, put it to a vote. I personally don't see the value of the signs -- I believe the citizens of Herndon are far better informed than to abide by the thought that the person with the most signs wins and that one candidate has more money to spend on signage than others. Perhaps the same money could be spent putting out informative brochures that describes what the candidate believes in best for the future of Herndon and SPECIFICALLY what actions/changes she or he will pursue. A brochure that represents a specific candidate, not the only one I have seen so far that seems to ask voters to vote in a block of candidates to provide a ready-made majority for all future votes. Actually, they had an interesting law in Hawaii when I served there in the military about 20 years ago -- a candidate's sign could be displayed as long as someone (not necessarily the candidate) was holding it. Will any of the current candidates advocate for a reduction (perhaps to two weeks) or elimination of signs?

That's a great question, unfortunately the Town can not pass a law that overrides the state's laws on this matter, so any vote would be symbolic only and not actually be able to pass an ordinance to put a law on the Town's books. And for a great write up of individual positions, I would point all voters to each candidate's website - many of them do have exactly the information Mr. Seevers mentioned.

Hi John, the flyer as well as the group on it is truly non/bi-partisan, there is a wide mix of personal political ideologies (which makes for some interesting discussions!) as well as a Federal Government employee. That candidate's presence on the flyer and as part of the group requires that no "party machines" are employed and that partisan endorsements are not made, among things. There is a long list of can't-do's for Federal Government employees and those can be found in the Hatch Act. One of the mayoral candidates is also a Federal Government employee and is also similarly restricted.

The important thing is that everyone is interested in putting aside personal differences and working together, bringing their own perspectives, the voices of the constituents and personal/professional/community experience to the issues facing our Town and work collectively toward the greater good for all residents. It is what I believe in and why I am on that flyer.

At the risk of wading into a kerfuffle over campaign signs, I'm pretty surprised that awareness of the 30-day "gentleperson's agreement" about campaign signs isn't more widespread. It's not supported by ordinance, and it's not a "rule," but it does represent a recognition that signs are a necessary evil whose use might possibly be curtailed through cooperation to a limited time frame. I'm not exactly at the center of things, and have never in fact run for office, but I've been aware of the understanding for years.

I remember seeing this agreement mentioned years ago, but I do not see anyplace where it was officially codified. I guess it is something that has faded into history now.

I did not notice in recent years - is this the first year that people have put up signs here in March? I remember some of Phil Jones's signs being removed back in 2010 I think, but I have to review the record to see when that happened.

I personally don't mind the signs. I think they are fun, actually. They will be gone after the election.

A necessary evil? We just reviewed the wisdom of campaign singage after last years general election. I believe this issue was discussed on this very piece of the Internet (Centreville Patch). There may be no law forbidding signs, and I think doing so would be an infringement of free political speech, but it certainly isn't all that wise. Candidates putting out their signs advertise their arrogance, ignorance, and complete disregard for those of us who complained about signage last fall? Do you really need 4 signs for each candidate in one park?

Fairfax Democrats disagree with you, Ms. Wolf - Do you really believe that your fellow "slate" candidates aren't engaged with local political parties? Perhaps it was a coincidence that Ms. Olem's February 22nd fundraiser was hosted by Fairfax County Democrat Committee Chairman Cesar del Aguila with special guest Supervisor John Foust (D)? Lets not pretend that party politics have not inserted themselves in the race. Your "slate" boasts endorsements from several elected officials, all but one a Democrat. So, lets be honest - for once.

After the things I have seen in my lifetime, I have little use for EITHER party. I look at the candidates, and decide whether they will do what is needed and what is right.

As for the campaign signs, maybe this issue can be discussed, and the candidates can say what they think about it. If voters are offended by them, then the early appearance of signs may have an undesired effect on their associated campaigns.

Personally I am not offended by them, but some others seem to be. It will be April 1 very soon, so it is moot for this year, but maybe the Herndon 30-day pre-election signage agreement should be made official, or semi-official, for future elections. I don't see this as anywhere near as important an issue as the Metro Area Plan, but maybe the candidates should have a brief discussion of the idea. Probably it can not be enacted as law if Virginia does not call for it, but it can be an understood agreement locally if people want it to be.

". . . the flyer as well as the group on it is truly non/bi-partisan"

Nice try Ms. Wolf. The long tradition, and legal necessity, of Herndon elections being non-partisan was breached in 2010, and totally destroyed in this election.

Cesar del Aguila, recently elected as Fairfax County Democrat Chairman with the help of everyone on your "slate", brags on his website the following about the 2010 election:
"Lead the Democratic slate in the Herndon Town Council race – we beat the Tea Party!" That slate included candidates Merkel, Olem, and Singh. We hear no denial of del Aguila's claim from them.
You can also watch Cesar's video on how helpful he and the Dulles Area Democrats he headed at the time were for the candidacies of Merkel, Wolf, Olem and Cesar himself. Watch it here quick before he pulls it down (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuHts9PG1Kw). Especially listen to this year's fellow slate candidate Eric Boll state that Cesar and friends "turned Herndon into an emeging stronghold for the Democratic Party".

That's NON-PARTISAN Ms Wolf? There have been no disclaimers on del Aguila's or Boll's comments of a Democrat slate in 2010 or 1012 from fellow video performers on that video like you, Ms. Wolf, or slate partners Mesdames Olem and Merkel, so what other conclusion is there other than, as Mr. Boll claims, you want to turn Herndon's non-partisan elections into "an emerging stronghold for the Democrat Party"?

Care to explain all that "non-partisanship"?

The “team” concept of Town elections is deeply disturbing whether it is strictly “partisan” or not. We all know what it means to be part of a team and to be a team player. Teams have a common game plan and their loyalty is first and foremost to the team. In addition, by pooling their resources, they have a financial advantage over those candidates who choose to go it alone. If Ms. Merkel and enough members of her “team” of Wolf, Olem, Davidson, Jonas, and Boll are elected, she will control the Town agenda and the others will vote as a block to back her up. That is far too much power. There will be very little room for independent, critical thinking and healthy debate on the issues. I will be looking for candidates who are independent, analytical thinkers and do not need a “team” to get elected.

Thanks for posting the link to the video. One of the men interviewed does not even live in the Town. Another outsider trying to determine the Town's future.

This is not a plus. Council should represent the people of Herndon, not the local head of one of the major parties. And Council should be a deliberative body, not a resolution passing machine. Recently we almost got a very bad Metro Area Plan because of a mad-rush mentality. Did somebody also direct the people who were calling for its immediate approval? We need more deliberative care, and less political direction, I think.

I will continue to consider candidates on their individual merits and track records.

Just like all the writers on this website, individual residents, in their private lives, have the right to associate themselves with any party they want, or support/vote for whomever they want. However, there are no “R’s,” “D’s” or “I’s” in the Herndon election. Ironically, the group of candidates who have chosen to support Lisa Merkel is made up of variety of people who represent a variety of political persuasions. The thing they DO have in common, however, is that they have a shared vision to move Herndon forward. It speaks to Lisa’s leadership ability that she could rally such a group of diverse and talented group of people together. I encourage readers to read each candidate’s website on the Patch’s “2012 Herndon Election Candidate Directory.”

Barbara, That may have been true in the past, but in the video the man doing the interviews, Caesar, identifies himself as a Democrat. The vice-mayor's comment is that she did whatever he told her to do. It is very difficult to take the words of these candidates back when they have gone on record publicly.

How sad that Jeffrey Davidson has taken it upon himself to decide what signs get to go up on our PROPERTY.. SHAME ON you. Let me just quote "Bill,
I'm glad to see that you have your signs up. Congratulations! I want to bring your attention to one of your signs that has been placed on Towns on the Greens HOA private property. It is just to the left of the entrance to Lisa Ct. near Crestview and Bond. The other signs there are approved by the HOA president, namely me! You and Lisa have caused me to have to choose between you, and I have chosen to support Lisa. I hope you understand. I would like you to have that sign removed.
With respect for all that you have done,
Jeff Davidson"

Im sorry but I do not remember anything in the by laws saying who could put up signs where on our property. If this is any indication of what kind of Councilman you would make, it is shameful.. shame shame.. I have sent you an email demanding a meeting of your board of directors to close this dictorialship in your handling of our affairs.

Dear Matt and "Concerned" (Sorry – I don’t know who you are),
You say “party boss” as if Cesar is an evil person whom Lisa is beholden to. Nothing could be further than the truth. Lisa has proven herself to be a leader who can work with people from any political stripe for the good of Herndon. Lisa has not only worked with Cesar, who is a Herndon resident, but she has also worked with Richard Downer, Harlon Reece, Tom Rust and Stu Mendelssohn. The video mentioned shows a variety of people from diverse political backgrounds talking about all the good things that are happening in Herndon now --– a focus on economic development, Herndon’s “Virginia Go Green” award, rail to Dulles, an aggressive recycling program, the downtown master plan, etc. It talked about good candidates who work for good causes, who are there to do things for the town. That’s what I mean by a “shared vision.”

It is the way Ms. Merkel and her team have chosen to implement this “shared vision” that I find so troubling. In bringing together this “team” of like-minded individuals, they have created a political entity, whatever you choose to call it. I am sure that Ms. Merkel and her team want what they perceive to be the best course for Herndon to take in the future, but they are attempting to push forward their vision with a built-in majority on the Council, effectively silencing dissent. Remember that it was dissenting voices that stopped a flawed Metro Plan that would have had traffic at a stand-still and stopped the installation of a round-about on Dranesville Road that would have been impossible for school buses to negotiate. We need dissenting voices in this Town to provide healthy debates on important issues and to do that we need independent candidates not tied to any political group or “team”.

I never used the phrase "party boss" in either of my comments. The video speaks volumes.

I beg to differ. The video does not show a lot of people from diverse backgrounds. It shows three sitting council members, you, a man who is currently running for a seat on our Town Council, and a gentleman who does not even live in the Town, but consistently demonstrates his desire to shape the Town's destiny.

The current Vice Mayor has not been a leader. She opposed the Campaign Finance Initiative when it was proposed by our current Mayor, Steve De Benedittis as well as other initiatives. You should probably go back and watch some of the videos of the council meetings where these things occurred. They are all on tape. I see that she is now taking credit for this. Perhaps Mr. Campeni can post a link to that video as well.

Thank goodness for the clear sightedness of Jasbinder Singh, Bill Tirrell, Steve De Benedittis, and Connie Hutchison who were able to stop certain council members forcing a very bad Metro plan on the Town.

I can only speak for myself, but like Mr. Bruhns, I want a deliberative council not a "slate" who push through ordinances for the Town that reflect only their views and agenda.

Dear BK,
The townspeople did have a very healthy debate on those issues, with many people writing to the town council, as well as coming to council meetings to testify. This can all be viewed on the town's webcast. Lisa Merkel was very open about soliciting public comment and getting peoples’ feedback. She did not make any attempt to “silence dissent.” As a matter of a fact, as you recall, the roundabout at Dranesville Road and Park Avenue did not go through exactly because Lisa and others on Council determined, after hearing much input from the townspeople, that there was not enough public support for this project, so she ended up voting against it. Had Lisa wanted to silence dissent and push forward her own view despite the public’s will, she would have voted for the roundabout. But that did not happen. She listened to the people.

Dear Concerned,
Regarding your above comment about previous councils being strong on Anti- solicitation ordinance and 287g, I would have to agree with you that those kinds of topics dominated those previous councils' agenda. But I think that represents a fundamental difference in vision. Lisa Merkel supports 287g but she is also eager to take care of the Town’s other important business –-- bringing metro to Herndon, getting the bike trails and downtown streetscapes completed, preserving our town services, attracting new businesses to town so that we can keep our tax rates low, working on the downtown master plan, etc. So, I think there is a fundamental difference here. We can either have a new council who wants to prioritize immigration issues, or we can have a new council who wants to prioritize economic development, services and land use issues. The townspeople will choose the priorities of their new government.

"Had Lisa wanted to silence dissent and push forward her own view despite the public’s will, she would have voted for the roundabout. But that did not happen. She listened to the people."

As for the roundabout issue she is running for public office and recognized defeat.

"-- bringing metro to Herndon, getting the bike trails and downtown streetscapes completed, preserving our town services, attracting new businesses to town so that we can keep our tax rates low, working on the downtown master plan, etc."

Lisa Merkle can take no credit for bringing Metro to Herndon. It was and is coming whether or not Ms. Merkle becomes mayor, and was in the planning stages long before she became the vice-mayor. The actual stop will be in the center of the Toll Road, with primary access on Sunrise Valley NOT Herndon Parkway. Currently there is a plan for a pedestrian walkway from a point just off of Herndon Parkway. A pedestrian walkway that we, the residents and tax payers of Herndon, will have to pay for that has no parking access for commuters.

Lisa'a website has lots of lovely slogans, and what she thinks are the issues, but unlike her two opponents she does not tell the voters just HOW she intends to solve these issues on her website. Reread what you have written here as Lisa'a agenda. Pie in the sky with no real solutions. Nowhere does she explain how she will accomplish her agenda. Is she relying on stacking the Council to just vote in her agenda.

I have to wonder why Grace and Lisa have been silent in this discussion since Mr. Campenni posted a link to the video that has been referenced by you, Concerned, Matt and Bob? Shouldn't they be speaking for themselves here? While I enjoy your posts, they are running for office Ms. Glakas, not you.

Dear "a voter,"
Of course Lisa did not literally bring metro to Herndon. The intent behind the expression “bringing metro to Herndon” is that one of Lisa’s primary goals is to make sure that Herndon takes full advantage of the metro line for the town’s economic benefit. She is the one, for example, who got the Metro sign erected along Herndon Parkway to start generating interest amongst the townspeople and the business community about the metro line.
The previous council refused to talk about metro for the majority of time they were in office. I attend most council meetings. Councilman Downer at the time asked the Mayor many times to put Metro on the Town Council’s agenda so that Herndon would not get behind in planning, but the Mayor would not..... (continued....)

.....(continued from previous post....)...It wasn’t until the Chamber of Commerce took the initiative to have a town meeting about Metro that finally forced the town council’s hand. Since the previous council had delayed in talking about metro and refused to ask the County for any help, Herndon had nothing but a plan for a sidewalk with no real drop-off/pick-up point for commuters. The other stations along the Silver line had plans for their metro stops because Fairfax County moved forward with their planning while Herndon didn’t even have Metro on their agenda.
Lisa and her colleagues on the current town council made sure that the planning around our metro stop got back onto the Town agenda. She also started talking to Supervisor John Foust and the Fairfax County Planning staff to solicit their help. There is currently a proposed plan to put in a drop-off point with pull-off areas for busses and improved sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks, leading to our Herndon Metro stop. These actions are a result of the work of Lisa and her fellow council members on this current council.

Hi, everyone. Chiming in to say thank you for all your participation and discussion here! Looking forward to continued discussions on the election over the next couple weeks on Patch.

Also wanted to remind everyone to try to stay on topic on article/blog comment threads, and be civil to each other (I don't see anything objectionable on here at this point). If there is anything that's objectionable, or things start to get out of control, I do have the ability to moderate/shut down comments. Again, this is just a reminder—nothing happening now.

If you would like to check out what's ok/not ok on Patch, head over to our Terms of Use (http://herndon.patch.com/terms). There's a bulleted list under "Acceptable Use Policy" that pretty much outlines what users need to know. For example, no profanity or veiled profanity. And if you see anything that you find questionable or want me to check out, you can flag it and I'll see it in the moderation queue, or feel free to send me an email at leslie@patch.com.

Thank you!

Once again, I have to ask - Why isn't Grace Wolf responding or Lisa Merkel? They are running for office. This is Grace's blog. Grace initiated the "non/bi-partisan" issue/discussion in one of her comments. The now two posted video links speak volumes as to partisanship on the part of several incumbent council members and one person who is running for office.

As a voter I would really rather hear what Vice Mayor Merkel and Councilwoman Wolf have to say in response to all of this.

Dear "a voter,"

I think Lisa, Grace or any other Council member would be happy to hear from you and answer your questions on this or any other matter, if you would just e-mail or call them. Their contact information is on Patch's Candidate directory.
Thanks. Have a good day!

But why won't either Grace or Lisa respond to this publicly? This is Grace's blog, and she did bring up this issue?

This issue isn't partisanship but sign policy, or I am on another blog? Oh, wait, self serving republicans have hijacked this thread to spew their position. No thanks.

Dear CriticalVoter, FYI I do live in the town, and am a registered Democrat. I will vote in this election. I am still waiting for a public response from Councilwomen Wolf, Olem, and Merkel on the serious issues raised in this blog. A public response is critical at this juncture from these ladies themselves.

Dear CriticalVoter, Because these videos are public and there has been so much public discussion on this very important topic initiated by the author of this blog in her comments, many of us who will be voting in this election feel that the Councilwomen who appeared in the video and who were referenced in the Virginia New Majority video need to respond publicly. Just because I am a Democrat does not mean that I approve or want to see the Town elections become partisan. They have always been nonpartisan, and that has always been part of the attraction of Herndon. For that reason these ladies need to become part of this public discussion.

Ok. Another warning to be nice. No name calling. If someone calls anyone a troll again (or any other name calling) I'm closing the thread. Our Patch policies boiled down are:
“Keep it clean,” “Don’t try to trick people,” and “Treat others as you’d like to be treated.”

Additionally I'll point this one out:
Patch believes in transparency, and we ask that all your registration information be truthful. You may not use any aliases or other means to mask your true identity.
(That's a hard and fast Patch rule, but I've been lenient with it.)

These campaign blogs are getting a lot of attention, which is good. But a healthy dialogue has quickly devolved into name calling and vitriol. I give the candidates a huge amount of credit for putting their necks out on the line. I know it's not easy because I've stuck my own neck out there recently on the Metro Area issue and had a few people take their best whacks at it.

We are and will remain neighbors in a fairly small town and we should have the decency to speak well to one another even when we disagree on the issues. I would hope that out of respect for the candidates, people will use their full names when commenting on these campaign blogs.

Leslie, I believe that these candidates are being a little bit disingenuous with you.

This thread started out with a proper discussion of the issues, and was itself originated by a candidate, Grace Wolf.
It was that same candidate who made the verifiably wrong statement that a slate of candidates were "non-partisan", when there is a mountain of evidence, with videos posted here, that she and her slate are indeed running as "Democrats" with the full imprimatur and support of the Democrat Party. That is a first for the Town of Herndon, where truly non-partisan elections were the standard, and required by Town charter. One member of this candidate "slate", another first, is publicly boasting as to how he and his video co-stars, Wolf, Merkel, Olem, Boll, are "turning Herndon into an emerging stronghold for the Democrat Party". The same video ends with the following: "DEMOCRATS DON"T GIVE UP". That is the essence of the discussion herein.

It is rather amusing, therefore, when caught in the act of making an election a partisan one, that these candidates, including Wolf who started the thread, now use the rudeness of one of their own supporters, the anonymous CriticalVoter, as their excuse for not participating.

And the Patch itself, if it is to a news entity and not a political blog, has a duty to ask these candidates to explain themselves and their actions, and to discuss issues, not self-aggrandizing puff pieces more appropriate to the Post Style section.

Despite its brawl-like qualities, this discussion has been interesting and informative. But it seems inappropriate that the candidates should be dragged down from their virtual podiums and beaten up by the crowd, even though some in the crowd have a valid point to make. This is especially true in this case, because Grace Wolf - whether you agree with her or not - is the one who has really put herself out the most, many times, to report the Council goings-on online.

Yes, all of the people on that flyer and on that video are members of one major party. But the flyer itself did not push the party, nor did it even mention the party at all. It presented a group of candidates, it highlighted in very general terms their purpose and policy, it portrays them as team of candidates working on a certain group of issues, and it provided contact and website information for them. Agree or disagree with these candidates, that is really all I see in the flyer. Maybe the idea of a team is out of place, maybe the team leader is unelected and too high above the team, maybe not, this can be discussed. But the flyer is not really a smoking gun.

The video, though not part of this election, is nonetheless interesting, and it will be very significant to some, if not many. It should indeed be discussed, but probably in a different discussion thread.

What worked in the past was candidate interviews, with comments and remarks by readers kept separate. It is good and proper that people should be able to comment, and Patch has been an excellent place to do that. But although this blog arrangement allowed serious issues to be discussed, it also dragged the candidates down to the same level as anonymous pen-name posters, who can make outrageous and damaging claims, true or false, without consequence. And that has detracted from the value of the forum.

Probably there should be no comments allowed in the candidate blogs themselves. They should be a place where a candidate can make his or her statements. Comments there, however valid, are too much like graffiti.

Comments and discussions should happen elsewhere nearby, in another blog-like forum here on Patch.

I will bet that the candidates (some, anyway) will get into those comment discussions, and slug it out like champions. But I can understand if they don't want their own blogs filled with so much graffiti that it is hard to find their comments in it at all.

Agreed, Bob. Maybe Leslie will write an article on the video, or otherwise post it as a separate discussion?

Good idea Matt, and if the Patch is truly a news entity, and not a recipe exchange blog, it needs to start a discussion on the pending arrival of the Virginia New Majority and its plan to set up phone banks and canvass thousands of homes for "its" candidates.

Who are "its" candidates? Why is the VNM waiting to start until after the April 15 due date for campaign finance reporting, thereby hiding its role in the Herndon elections? Where are the candidates' statements renouncing the support of this self-admitted race- and class-exploiting arm of the SEIU? And that means not just saying you have not received any direct support from the VNM, but that you don't want them campaigning for you, or canvassing for you, or setting up phone banks in Alexandria for you, or providing any other indirect support.

Or should we ignore that, and talk about the candidates favorite cookie recipes?

Bill, you are great, but I disagree. The candidates got hundreds of signatures in order to appear on the ballot for these offices. I think that gives them standing to be presented in an op-ed form. These are the ones who offered themselves, and who the people have chosen to run.

Citizens should have a place to comment here as well. But we have 24,000-some citizens, and maybe a dozen candidates. The candidates will be buried in comments if they do not have an elevated platform of some sort.

If a candidate uses that platform to talk about cookie recipes, well then the voters can decide if that's what they want from their representatives. Competing candidates might use the platform to better advantage. But if they all stay away... hmmm. Let's see, maybe we can see them mix it up one afternoon at the Chamber of Commerce's Candidate Meeting.

As for VNM, I think VNM represents a challenge, if not a threat, to the political structure we saw on the video. VNM made them out to be anti-immigration thugs back in the Street Solicitation hearings, and showed up singing fractured Christmas carols at their doors. That was a bizarre political power struggle from a bizarre group. I think they are more connected with the old 'Alliance' than anything else, and Herndon will be better off when they find something else to do.

Yeah, well, you know.

One of the members of the group did say something on the video about making Herndon a Democratic stronghold. The combination of the flyer and the video is definitely a subject for discussion, and something for voters to consider.

Now that people have stopped calling each other trolls, let me weigh in. I also take issue with the team approach. I can understand the need for pooling resources during a campaign, but unfortunately it seems to carry over into the councilmembers' work on the council. Olem, Wolf, and Merkel worked and voted as a block on most of the issues, effectively shutting out any opposing views. You might ask how a block of three can make a majority on a council of seven. The reason is that Bill Tirrell effectively became part of their block, giving them a majority and the ability to rubberstamp things like the Metro Area Plan. The manner in which these three councilmembers operate is more like a clique than a team, and the worrisome thing about a clique is that they don't listen to outsiders, including their constituents who may have different ideas on the issues.

Out of curiosity, would anyone who has a copy of the flier being spoken about be able to take photos of it to send to me? I don't live in Herndon (I live in Reston, less than a mile from the town limits) so I didn't get one. I'm doing some research and would like to see it. Email me at leslie@patch.com!

Since the essence of this blog is signs, I would love to know the stand of the political canidates about signage for commercial property. As a former owner of a retail service business, I can tell you that proper signage, or the lack of it, can either make or break a business. Now that at least some of the canidates see the importance of getting their name out there, will they be willing to allow our commercial neighbors enough signs to survive?
Think this isn't a problem; pretend you are going through downtown for the first time and tell me what businesses you would patronize after looking at the inadequate little signage that is allowed.

Tom,

I have no position on the permitted size of commercial signs other than I would be willing to consider any suggestions the business community has. I also would be willing to look at our parking space requirements for businesses to see if those need to be revamped.

Cookie recipes and cliques? Sounds sexist to me.

Jane - The "slate" candidates write happy , little blogs that do nothing to address the issues facing the Town. This is Grace Wolf's blog. I am amazed that she has not responded to the two video links. If she is making a statement that this is a nonpartisan election then she should want to respond here. As I said in a post on Ms. Merkel's blog, the silence is deafening, and, I might add, very telling.

Councilmember Tirrell,
I didn't mean to belittle your efforts, they were a good second best and I appreciate your efforts to put the brakes on and take a second look at some of the analysis. But you carried the deciding vote on whether we reject this plan and develop a plan that makes sense. It is indeed a bad foundation and it is doubtful that the Town staff and their consultants will find anything wrong with the previous analysis if they don't want to. As the analysis to date shows, these studies are easily manipulated to give the client their desired results - objectivity is elusive. For example, the latest Metro Area Plan simply changed the assumptions from the previous plan to come up with the density they wanted. This is unacceptable and they should have been taken to task then and there.

Jane,
As far as I know, cliques are not gender specific (clique - a small group of people with shared interests, who spend time together and exclude others). And I think that men and women alike enjoy a good cookie recipe (although that was not my comment).

Merkel 5:20 Mar26 “I agree, spring flowers are prettier… Kirby 12:23 Mar26 Yes…flowers are nicer to look at than political signs

One reason for signs: to remind citizens about an election. Sadly, it doesn’t increase turnout; too many simply do not “get it” that local government is important in their daily lives. Thankfully, in the town, you will NOT find signs in medians, or in other roadsides. When they are put there, they are removed by the Town staff (another unnoticed small service). As Grace said: “…if you see campaign signs in public places and parks that aren't specifically listed above, please call the Town or the candidates…to have them removed.”
One of the best traditions has been that candidates (often except for Hutchinson) remove their signs while waiting for returns, though the Code stipulates to remove within 15 days after election.

SIGN STORY: ”Flowers are nicer”. That’s why we made John De Noyer’s signs as in the photo above. After his first 2 terms the slashing, stealing or spray-painting of his signs did not occur as it had earlier, so we used the same heavy-duty signs for 6 or 7 more terms. AND, more candidates started keeping signs for another run instead trashing them. We got a few more printed in the mid-1990’s because people WANTED tulip-signs to go with their real flowers and we always ran out.

Only mentioning that because there are more decorative
options. BUT once you have a sign design, it’s good to keep it.