Opinion
Time For Change
By Ron Phillips, Potomac Falls
[October 26, 2005] The 2005 campaign season is coming to an end and I have made my final decision on the election of the Virginia state delegate from the 32 district. I intend to cast my ballot for David Poisson. This decision does not come lightly. As a life-long Republican, there are a number of issues on which I differ with Mr. Poisson. Indeed, my support for him may extend only through this current election cycle if he strays from his stated positions or fails to make satisfactory progress towards his goals and the Republican party puts forward a credible and compelling candidate. But this is now and we are real people dealing with real issues that have not been satifactorily addressed.
For me the decision comes down to how much time you give one individual to execute on his or her agenda and generate the improvements you hope and expect to see. Are we in fact moving forward or just standing still? The time is past. Delegate Black has held office for a long run and in my opinion has not delivered to expectation. It is now time for someone else to give it a try. Make no mistake, Mr. Poisson has no easy task ahead of him should he be successful in the upcoming election. The political environment is treacherous and voters want it all. Their priorities are often hard to distinguish. I expect my delegate to hold the line on taxes as much as possible. Mr. Poisson has indicated that he will work to uncover areas of opportunity to re-distribute existing budget dollars away from senseless or low priority items and towards our biggest problem areas such as traffic and education. It is as much his job to educate and convince the voters that these opportunities exist and should be acted on as it is to blindly represent the "give me everything" mantra that many voters preach. For now, I'm willing to take Mr. Poisson at his word and trust that he will make every effort to find creative solutions to the long standing problems of our area. Should he be elected, Mr. Poisson's first performance appraisal will be in about two years. Let's hope he passes. For all our sake, someone has to.
[Published in Loudoun Easterner, October 26, 2005]
- extreme. ineffective. dick black.