Originals

Last week, I called it a day. The numbers just didn’t add up. I couldn’t squeeze another qualified voter out of the 1,259 signatures that lay before me. 

In order to appear on the ballot for U.S. House of Representatives as an independent candidate, I had to present signatures of registered 11th District voters to the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) by June 10. SBE then distributed the petitions to the general registrars of the jurisdictions that constitute the District – the counties of Fairfax and Prince William, as well as the City of Fairfax – for verification that at least 1,000 signatures were registered as voters in the 11th.

Most families in Northern Virginia are still feeling the effects of a sluggish economy and a federal defense spending trajectory that remains uncertain.  Last week, I visited with a husband and wife who expressed to me their concern that they won’t be able to stay in their home because his company may lose its federal contract.  Despite the empty assurances of some politicians, people understand that there is still a need for caution and for restraint in local government spending just like the restraint they practice in their family budgets. 

On August 15, Governor McAuliffe announced a $2.4 billion projected budget shortfall in the state budget that he attributed primarily to cuts in defense spending caused by federally mandated sequestration.