Fair is fair, and I’m nothing if not fair. [Hold for laugh track to kick in …]
A judge earlier this week tossed the recall petition against Fairfax School Board member Laura Jane Cohen of Springfield District, bringing that particular political contretemps to an end for the time being.
Here is where I agree with Cohen:
“It was a case that never should have been filed in the first place,” she said in a press release after the judge ruled. “Elected officials cannot be recalled because of differences of opinion. We have elections to decide who should represent us on school boards.”
Wow, sounds like something that should be a Sun Gazette editorial. Wait, it was — some months back, in fact. And a blog, too. (Click here for that one.)
We opined the same sentiment then as the board member does now: If you don’t like the way an election turned out, go and win the next one. But until then, suck it up and deal with the fallout.
Do not confuse this with support of some of the loopy-loos currently on the School Board. One can hope many will be ousted. But, as Cohen said, the way to make that change is at the ballot box.
We are not California, for goodness sake ….
SPEAKING OF THE NEXT ELECTION: Yesterday morning provided some discussion on WMAL talk radio of an initiative of Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti.
Grumble, grumble, grumble, went the conservative talkers, over an effort that continues the policy of you-can-do-the-crime-but-probably-won’t-have-to-do-the-time emanating from that office in recent times.
I’m with ya on the lunacy of the new initiative, WMAL-ers, but elections have consequences and people need to live with them. Dehghani-Tafti didn’t exactly win a landslide against incumbent Theo Stamos in the 2019 Democratic primary, and her campaign did itself no credit in its questionable behavior during that race, but win she did. Arlingtonians who don’t like the theory, now being put into practice, that criminals are the real victims, police are threats and actual victims are irrelevancies should start trying to recruit a candidate who can take on Dehghani-Tafti in next year’s Democratic primary. Because otherwise, she’s going to cruise to another four years . . . with all that will bring.
AND SPEAKING SOME MORE OF THE NEXT ELECTION: It was, mmmm, interesting that Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) announced this week that he’s seeking re-election when his term comes up … in November 2023.
Seems a tad premature, doesn’t it?
Question is, what is the supervisor trying to get ahead of? Could it be either the far-left in his own party, who might start making runs at the so far only moderately far left incumbent supervisors, or perhaps the average everyday residents of the county, who while not making a big stink about it can’t be happy that Fairfax continues to drift along leaderless, meandering with the rudder more or less stuck in the tack-left position.
In any event, nobody announces this early for no reason. So there has to be one.
- Scott McCaffrey