Bad for the Bottom Line

Dick Black thinks he has a mandate to:

Make Human Resources decisions for Virginia's privately owned companies;
Hold our legislative process hostage at public expense
Take credit for other people's work
Put partisan politics above the economic health of Virginia

Business leaders smack Black

Not one to let facts get in the way of a good sound bite, Dick Black stated during the October 12 debate that he supports tax cuts because of an impending economic downturn. When times are bad, "people need to keep more of their money", the argument went. Except that Black continues to make the opposite argument to justify his vigorous obstruction of last year's budget reform: The revenue wasn't needed because the economy was growing so fast. Which is it, Dick?

Leadership for Virginia apparently values logical consistency as well as effectiveness, because they just made a second contribution to Black's opponent. The Republican-led political action committee isn't generally in the business of supporting Democrats, but this is a special case.

"Dick Black does not have a record of accomplishment," said Leadership for Virginia co-chair James W. Hazel. "He likes to get headlines, but he doesn't get things done for Loudoun County. His ineffectiveness has been a frustration to me and many other moderate Republicans."

Experts agree: Black is ineffective, and a lousy steward

The Virginia Foundation for Research & Economic Education, Inc., a statewide organization providing non-partisan political research and analysis to business and industry, has rated Dick Black in the bottom 3 of 99 Delegates on Effectiveness. The annual rating is a measure of how effective each legislator is in accomplishing his or her legislative objectives, without regard to the legislator's position on business issues. To derive the Effectiveness Rating, Virginia FREE member government affairs professionals complete a confidential, anonymous survey in which they rate the effectiveness of each legislator on a 10-point scale from 10-100, where 100 represents "extremely effective." The results of all survey forms are then averaged to determine each legislator's Effectiveness Rating.

Black was also rated dead last on Stewardship, a measure of each legislator's advocacy of the best interests of business and industry in Virginia. Raters are asked to take into account each legislator's commitment to responsible governance that rises above partisanship and serves the long-term economic health and competitiveness of the Commonwealth.

Sources: Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education, Bacon's Rebellion

Black can't even muster support for a positive idea

Is it because he has squandered all of his political capital on eye roll-inducing sex legislation that Dick Black can't even influence his colleagues to support a pay increase for Virginia's public defenders?

There is broad agreement that Virginia's indigent defense system is a national laughingstock. Public defenders carry workloads far in excess of national norms. Caps on court-appointed attorney fees are the lowest in the nation. Errors in representation are frequent. The executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission described Black's proposal as "a major step forward" for the Commonwealth in upholding its constitutional obligation to the accused. Then why did Black's bill die in committee on a 22-1 vote?

Perhaps there are some credibility issues involved. Black announced to anyone who would listen that Virginia has a "huge free cash flow . . literally an embarrassment of riches" that had to be spent somewhere.

Sources: HB 1596, Washington Post, Jan. 25, 2005, Roanoke Times, Jan. 31, 2005, Virginian Pilot, Jan. 31, 2005, Leesburg Today, Feb. 16, 2005, Leesburg Today, Feb. 10, 2005, Leesburg Today, Oct. 20, 2005

Black wants to tell private employers who they may insure

HB1016, sponsored in 2004 by James Dillard (R - Fairfax), simply allows insurance policies to be extended to any person designated by the insured group member with the mutual consent of the insurer and the group policyholder. An identical bill, strongly backed by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, passed the General Assembly in 2005, and will be signed into law by Governor Warner. According to spokeswoman Ellen Qualls, "The governor views it as an economic development issue. There are companies that have indicated a desire for the measure so that they can attract and retain the good workers." Virginia has been until now the only state in the nation that limits health care coverage to the insured group member's legal spouse and children, making it impossible for an employer to choose the policy that best serves the needs of their own employees and company interests.

"If you believe in a free market, then restrictions like this don't make any sense," said Stephen D. Haner, Virginia Chamber of Commerce vice president for public policy. Dick Black, allegedly a believer in the free market, wasn't concerned about that. He was concerned that market forces might make it attractive to offer these benefits to same sex domestic partners. Indeed, as American Psychiatric Association Medical Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D testified in favor of the bill, "From a business perspective, we are now at a competitive disadvantage to professional associations in Maryland and D.C., which are able to offer domestic-partner benefits. Such benefits are inexpensive, but pay off handsomely in terms of productivity and morale. APA has been hindered by this unwarranted intrusion into how it competes in the employment marketplace." Scully also noted that such a restrictive law just adds to the number of Virginians compelled to go without health insurance.

Dick Black vigorously lobbied against this common sense, pro-business bill, claiming that his email indicated overwhelming opposition to "same-sex insurance benefits." Other delegates reported that constituents supported the bill by a 2 to 1 margin.

Sources: HB 1016, SB 1338, Psychiatric News, March 5, 2004 , Boston Herald, Feb 17, 2004

Black takes credit for the hard work of other people

Voters in the 32nd district can expect to be inundated with robo-calls and slick brochures from Dick Black from now until November, in which he takes credit for "saving" Route 28. To understand how disingenuous this is, a timeline will be useful.

Dick Black was elected in 1998. The special tax district to finance transportation improvements to Route 28 was created in 1987. Bonds were issued to fund the construction, the debt service was paid by these tax district revenues, and construction was underway in 1988. The two-lane road was widened to six lanes and interchanges were added at Routes 50, 7 and the Dulles Toll Road. This 14-mile project, from Route 7 in Loudoun County to I-66 in Fairfax County, was completed in 1991.

Virginia's Public-Private Transportation Act was passed in 1995; this legislation enabled the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to build partnerships with private companies to propose, construct and finance transportation improvements. In 2000, proposals were submitted by private firms to further widen Route 28 and upgrade ten intersections. In 2002, VDOT, The Clark Construction Group, Inc. and Shirley Contracting Company, LLC signed the Route 28 Corridor Improvements Comprehensive Agreement that provides a combined commitment of approximately $200 million in improvements over the next four years. Under this phase, six at-grade, signalized intersections will be replaced with high-capacity grade-separated interchanges. Ultimate plans call for construction of a total of ten interchanges and widening Route 28 to eight lanes.

So what did Dick Black have to do with all of this? PPTS, the consortium putting together the proposal, drafted a bill that simply amends the existing code to extend the term of the tax district by 15 years, in order to give public-private partnerships more financial flexibility than was permitted by the 1987 law. They went to State Senator Bill Mims for sponsorship, and Mims handed it to Dick Black to sponsor in the House. That was the extent of Dick Black's involvement. It wasn't Black's idea, and it wasn't Black's work, yet every two years we again get to hear the tall tale of how Dick Black is leading the way to improve Route 28.

Sources: HB 1287, 28Freeway.com, Loudoun County News Release, Washington Post, Feb. 2, 2005, Loudoun Connection, Oct. 28, 2003

What is Black afraid of?

We know that there are a lot of candidate questionnaires, and no candidate could be expected to respond to all of them. But the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce? The Loudoun Chamber questionnaire was sent to all candidates who had filed with either the Loudoun County Electoral Board or the General Registrar for the 2003 election. The Chamber did not receive a response from Dick Black.

Black also would not respond to a candidate questionnaire from Project Vote Smart: "Over the course of several weeks in 2003, this candidate repeatedly refused requests by citizens in the candidate's own state, leaders of both major political parties, major news organizations and Project Vote Smart staff to provide voters with essential issue information in the 2003 National Political Awareness Test. This candidate would not provide this information to citizens in the candidate's own state - no matter who asked them, when they were asked or how they were asked."

Sources: Project Vote Smart, Loudoun Chamber of Commerce

Black's failing grades with business lobby

In addition to awarding Dick Black failing Business Ratings (52% in 2004, 62% in 2003), the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education in 2004 rated Black a 49% for his effectiveness in office. The purpose for the Effectiveness Rating is to determine, in the informed opinion of nearly 100 leading business lobbyists, how effective each legislator is in accomplishing his or her legislative objectives - without regard to the legislator's position on business issues.

Source: Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education

Black takes the budget hostage, exceeds the limits of logic

In the heat of the 2004 budget stalemate - which Black himself greatly contributed to - he and Del. Marshall decided to play games with the legislative process. They claimed that the state budget submitted by Gov. Warner violated the Virginia Constitution by mixing two purposes, and they sued him. The two purposes? Raising taxes and spending money.

Gov. Warner and Attorney General Kilgore countered that courts have no business meddling in the legislative process. "Courts don't referee these internal workings of the legislature," said Warner's attorney. "Couldn't the same impasse happen with two bills? 'I won't vote for your budget if you don't vote for my tax bill.'" The State Solicitor suggested that Black and Marshall were seeking "political leverage" from the courts. "They could potentially force their colleagues to go a different direction and vote for a bill more to their liking," he said. "Courts ought not engage in this kind of parliamentary maneuvering." The judge threw the lawsuit out.

When questioned about their legal standing, Black and Marshall claimed to have been financially affected by the budget impasse, which required them to spend extra time away from their regular jobs. A lawyer for the governor argued that did not give them standing. "When you sign up to be a legislator, there are special sessions. That comes with the job," she said. Black and Marshall both accepted the $115 payments per diem that the House of Delegates voted to pay itself during the General Assembly's special session to break the budget impasse. Sixty members of the House, including Black, chose to accept the per diems which have cost taxpayers $53,245. Other legislators, including Loudoun Del. Tom Rust, did not accept the per diems or donated the money to charity. Meanwhile, the Senate voted not to accept the money on the grounds that taxpayers should not be billed for the failure of the legislature to adopt a budget during the scheduled 60-day session.

Sources: Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 12, 2004 and April 28, 2004, GOPtrainwreck.com

extreme. ineffective. dick black.