Opinion

This is what some of Dick Junior's colleagues and constituents think of his priorities and behavior.

Don't Fall For Staton's Tricks
By Stephanie M. Hando, Herndon
[January 27, 2006] Republican Mick Staton is misleading voters in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. A telephone message from the Staton campaign warns voters that Democrat Mark Herring has only lived in Loudoun County for a couple weeks, while in reality Mark Herring is a long-time resident of Leesburg. More

More Qualified
By Susan Contostavlos, Herndon
[January 26, 2006] As a resident of the 33rd State Senate District, I am writing about the special election being held Tuesday, Jan. 31. There could not be a more stark contrast between the two candidates running to replace former State Sen. Bill Mims, and Mark Herring is the more qualified candidate to represent us in Richmond. More

Stunned
By Barbara Wacks, Potomac Falls
[January 26, 2006] I am totally stunned at the hypocrisy of Mick "Dick Black Jr." Staton. I, along with many other people, received Mr. Staton's first robo-call, during which he asked questions about Second Amendment rights, gay marriage, abortion and immigrants. More

Has Experience
By Greg Friedmann, Ashburn
[January 26, 2006] Gov. Tim Kaine has courageously spoken the obvious truth: uncontrolled and uncoordinated development creates suburban sprawl and traffic gridlock. After some initial sky-is-falling hue and cry from the development community, some of them are now - surprise - offering ideas for solutions of their own. More

Focused on Needs
By Tim Buchholz, Broadlands
[January 26, 2006] Warning: Citizens of Loudoun and Fairfax.
Dick Black's son-in law is running for state senate in a special election Tuesday, Jan. 31. You can expect that Mick Staton will focus on the same conservative social agenda for which Dick Black became infamous and was so ineffective at trying to legislate. We don't need that kind of embarrassment from Northern Virginia in the state senate. More

Divisive issues
By Ron Bonica, Sterling
[January 4, 2006] Earlier today I received a phone call from Supervisor Mick Staton's office. An automated polling machine asked me three questions, to which I had the opportunity to answer either "yes" or "no". Any other response would cause the call to be terminated. More

GOP Bad Idea
By Loudoun Times-Mirror editorial staff
[December 13, 2005] State Sen. Bill Mims (R-Loudoun) is still a member of the state Senate, but local politicos already are dreaming of a chance at his seat if he were to take a job with the next attorney general. Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland) is telling the world that he wants the seat, undoubtedly believing the state needs a new member of the Black family. More

Staton misses the point
By Dean Settle, Lovettsville
[August 9, 2005] It must have real bite to be on the receiving end of such a close situation as what the Republican majority inflicted on Chairman Scott York (I-at large) a short few years ago. Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland) was the most vocal member of the majority in an opinion piece here last week. More

Misguided congratulations
By Stephen Budiansky, Leesburg
[April 19, 2005] So Supervisor Mick Staton believes that "building houses does not cause taxes to go up, politicians cause taxes to go up"? (Letters, April 13) Yes, I suppose the "politicians" could have refused to provide any new schools for the county?s explosively growing population. But short of that, the school budget and taxes will keep climbing just as fast as they have in recent years. More

Penny wise, pound foolish
By Loudoun Times-Mirror editorial staff
[April 5, 2005] Would you pay 33 cents a day to keep teachers' salaries a little ahead of the competition? Maybe even pay them enough to be able to live in the county where they choose to work? Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) won't. And he won't let you. More

Board not listening
By Adrienne M. Gardner, Purcellville
[March 3, 2005] If members of the Board of Supervisors were really concerned with what their constituents were saying, they would make the effort to communicate with them based on the results of the petition against the CPAMs, not discount it. More

Delgaudio, Waters, Staton hardly 'kinder, gentler'
By John P. Flannery, Lovettsville
[November 24, 2004] The first President George Bush set - as a standard - a "kinder, gentler nation." It is quite clear that some members of our Board of Supervisors do not embrace that standard. At a recent board meeting, Supervisors Eugene Delgaudio, Lori Waters and Mick Staton let us know where they stood - how magnificently indifferent they were toward our most vulnerable citizens and neighbors. More

Time for a Change
By Glenn Maravetz, Ashburn
[October 27, 2005] We at the BlackOut 2005 organization always knew both sides of the aisle had issues with Del. Richard H. "Dick" Black (R-Loudoun). What has been most encouraging is the momentum all parties have created in providing an environment for change in the 32nd District. It has been humorous to hear Black try to tie our activities to the Democratic Party. Black shouldn't be the least bit surprised that Democrats are against him. What should really surprise him is the number of Republicans who have joined the effort. BlackOut has truly hit upon a bipartisan issue. More

Black's Empty Promises
By Deborah Hawk, Sterling
[October 27, 2005] I voted for Rep. Richard H. "Dick" Black (R-Loudoun) in the past because I believed his promises to work hard on education and transportation issues as my delegate. It also helped that he ran as a Republican, making it likely that he would succeed with legislation to benefit us in Loudoun. Well, now he has a record I can look to, and I see clearly that his promises were empty and that his record is a miserable failure for Loudoun. More

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. More

Solid, Middle Ground
By Greg Friedmann, Ashburn
[October 26, 2005] I consider myself a moderate centrist - from a middle-class, Democratic background, but pragmatic enough to vote the person over the party when it makes sense. My wife and I have voted for Frank Wolf on several occasions since moving to Loudoun in 1985. We may disagree with Mr. Wolf on certain issues, but believe him to be an honorable, moral and hardworking man who's done pretty well by his constituents. After witnessing the Cascades debate and reviewing his sparse record of achievement, I cannot say the same for Mr. Dick Black. More

Untitled
By Barbara Wacks, Potomac Falls
[October 26, 2005] Well, it has come around again. Has it been two years already? Just like clockwork, about this time every other year, we see all sorts of ugly accusations from Dick Black about his opponent. They come in the mail, they're stuffed in our newspaper boxes, they are emailed. Could inserts in church bulletins be far behind? We'll have to watch and see. More

Free the Taxpayers
By George Hidy, Sterling
[October 26, 2005] Thank you Del. Black for the increase in fire and safety money, changing the road and school distribution formula so that we the taxpayers of Loudoun County receive a greater return of our tax dollars. Also, thank you for sponsoring the bills controlling development and giving county governments greater authority over growth management and proffers. We, the taxpayers, are deeply blessed. The citizens of Loudoun County will have a much better place to live thanks to you and what you have done by listening to the taxpayers and the Board of Supervisors for the past four years. Well, if you can tell by now Del. Black did not do any of this. More

What About Ideas Instead of Insults?
By Denise Moore, Sterling
[October 26, 2005] At the Oct. 12 debate at the Cascades Senior Center between Dave Poisson and Dick Black, candidates for the House of Delegates, Dick Black divided all the attendees in to two camps: those who were for him and those who were agin' him. Has it ever occurred to him that voters might just want to see what their delegate is like and hear about his ideas? He insulted the attendees by proclaiming all of the people clapping for his opponent were "liberals" and that they must have been bused in from Arlington, as if Dave Poisson couldn't have four times as many supporters in attendance as he had. More

No Justice
By Taylor Jarnagin, Sugarland Run
[October 26, 2005] I have been a resident of Sugarland Run and District 32 since 1998. I attended the debate between Mr. Black and Mr. Poisson at the Cascades Senior Citizen Center Wednesday night, Oct. 12, and was appalled at Mr. Black's hateful speech and vicious personal attacks on Mr. Poisson and his supporters. Mr. Black accused us of being from out of town or "liberals" just because we didn't agree with his views. More

Untitled
By Deborah Hawk, Sterling
[October 26, 2005] Mr. Black has been very busy trying to convince us that he passed five bills that brought $200 million to Route 28. After hours of research, I find there are only three bills he ever introduced that dealt with transportation, and they had no funding impact whatsoever. HB 1287 in year 2000 extended by 15 years the expiration of the special Route 28 transportation district created in 1987. HB 735 in year 2002 merely amends the language of existing code to add flexibility to the expiration of the tax district. HB 1972 in year 2005 modifies existing code to include the Sterling Blvd./Route 28 intersection to the transportation district program. Again, there are no funding impacts associated with these bills; any money generated for Route 28 is the result of bills passed long before Dick Black held office. I am amazed at the temerity of someone who boldly takes credit for something to which he has no right! It's all there in the legislative records. Look them up be bill number in the year they were passed; the amended language is show in italics. More

Send Black Packing
By Eileen Levandoski, Purcellville
[October 28, 2005] If Delegate Dick Black (R-32) wants to continuously call a plan to reduce the housing density in Eastern Loudoun by close to 50% as "density packing", then he's guilty of dense ignorance. Without the zoning changes in the Comprehensive Plan passed in 2003 by the then-Board of Supervisors, the suburban areas of Loudoun would have seen 64,692 more residential units. The revised plan reduced that number to 33,352. It also reduced the land area where suburban growth would occur and reduced from 4 to 2 the number of high-density town centers developed. More

One choice
By Diana Bendit, Sterling
[October 25, 2005] How does Del. Dick Black get re-elected with his record? The pretty fliers we get in the mail? I am amazed at what they imply about Mr. Black's commitment to transportation, because it only lasts until he gets re-elected. More

Mainstream Needs to Vote
By Bob Moses, Ashburn
[October 19, 2005] Del. Richard H. "Dick" Black believes that his views are "mainstream" (Black Gets In Touch, Loudoun Connection, Sept. 29). Let's take a look at a few of his "mainstream" views. Mr. Black doesn't see how a married man could be convicted of raping his wife "when they are living together, sleeping in the same bed, and she's in a nighty." That's what he said on the floor of the House of Delegates in 2002, arguing against a bill to remove the "marital exemption" from Virginia's rape statute. More

Getting It Done For Loudoun
By Tim Buchholz, Ashburn
[October 19, 2005] As you know, Loudoun County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. With all of these new voters coming into the county, I feel it is my civic duty to alert all incoming Republicans to the incumbent Republican candidate for the 32nd House District. His record, not his rhetoric, needs to be looked at closely before casting that semi-automatic vote for a fellow Republican. I know I used to vote the straight Republican line, but not any longer. More

GOP Can Do Without Black
By John Feegel, former chief of staff for Republican leader, House of Delegates
[October 20, 2005] As former chief of staff to the Republican leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, I take pride in how far the GOP has come in the last 10 years. None of it, though, is thanks to Del. Richard H. "Dick" Black (R-Loudoun). He is the 800-pound gorilla the party no longer need suffer. More

New Voter
By Liney Pugh, Ashburn
[October 17, 2005] Usually turning 18 isn't too exciting unless it is a presidential election year, but I am ecstatic to be able to vote this year in the local/state elections. One of the reasons I am so excited is because I want Dick Black out of office. More

Right track
By Barbara Wacks, Potomac Falls
[October 18, 2005] I was very impressed with David Poisson at the debate. He gave thoughtful and informative answers to the questions given to him, and didn't stray from the questions' topics. More

Smart, reasonable
By Howard Swinimer, Sterling
[October 18, 2005] If all voters had the benefit of viewing the debate between Del. Dick Black and David Poisson, Mr. Poisson would be a landslide winner. Mr. Black deployed a variety of dirty tricks from misrepresenting Mr. Poisson's position on a number of issues, to questioning the residency of the members of the audience and finally deliberately mispronouncing Mr. Poisson's name, trying to to discredit his opponent, but the only one he discredited was himself. More

Debate was eye opener
By Terri DiCamillo, Ashburn
[October 18, 2005] I'm a Loudoun County citizen of the Virginia 32nd District who attended the debate between Democrat David Poisson and Del. Dick Black (R-eastern Loudoun). I attended for two reasons: My personal stake in the future of Loudoun County and some alarming literature I received from Mr. Black regarding Mr. Poisson. More

Censorship risky
By Stevens Miller, Ashburn
[October 18, 2005] I agree with David Poisson that our children must be protected from exposure to pornography. His opponent, Del. Dick Black, goes disturbingly further. He says that when it comes to the censorship of anything obscene, he's "for it." But, where does that lead? More

Shocked by Black
By Lisa Fredrich, Ashburn
[October 13, 2005] I attended the League of Women Voters Forum held Oct 12 and was very interested to hear from both candidates. I, like most people in Loudoun, am not far right or far left; instead I try to vote based on what the candidate's positions are on the issues. Unfortunately, too few of us middle-of-the-road average citizens of Loudoun have the time, or ability to get to hear the information presented directly from the candidates. If they were able to hear the two candidates speak, I think the voter turn out would be much higher. I certainly hope many more average citizens make it to the polls on Nov 8. More

Support Higher Education
By Taylor Jarnagin, Sterling
[October 13, 2005] Our family is doubly blessed because we have two daughters, both of whom were accepted at and are now attending Virginia Tech University. However, many more of Virginia's young adults who wanted to attend and were capable of doing so, were not accepted. The plain truth is that the state of Virginia does not have enough capacity in her higher-education system to accept all of her young adults who should be able to attend college in state at in-state tuition rates. More

Invest in the Future
By Muriel Gardner, Ashburn
[October 13, 2005] What would you think if you observed the incumbent of seven years and his volunteers only identifying their party affiliation while distributing flyers at recent "Back to School Night" in Broad Run schools? I thought that it was indeed telling that there were no achievements that could be identified or highlighted. More

Black's campaign letter 'made decision very easy'
By Robert J. Guerra, Ashburn
[October 13, 2005] As a relatively new resident of Loudoun County, I have read the many opinion pieces in your paper regarding the candidacy of Richard Black and his opponent, Mr. Poisson. I am a fiscal conservative and have some specific thoughts about the role of government in allowing me to achieve my goals and ambitions based upon my willingness to work hard. While I take my responsibility as a citizen to vote for the most effective candidate seriously, I do not want government involved in my private life. More

College Solutions Can't Wait
By Greg Friedman, Ashburn
[October 3, 2005] It all comes around. Winning office by promising to cut taxes, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore essentially bought votes with our future. With recessed or flat economies and exploding populations, tax cuts are just robbing Peter to pay Paul. The lost revenue has to be recovered through cuts in vital infrastructure, like roads, schools, healthcare - and Virginia's universities. Universities serve as economic engines, fueling technology-driven growth and providing essential education to our children to ensure their economic future. About $530 million was cut from Virginia's higher education budget between 2000 and 2004. Thank you, Gov. Gilmore. And thank you too, Del. Dick Black. (Mr. Black supported the Gilmore tax cuts, but doesn't seem concerned with recovering this lost revenue from other sources.) More

Del. Black's intolerance
By Lee Hadden, Sterling
[October 11, 2005] Del. Dick Black (R-eastern Loudoun) is once again running a negative and unethical campaign for delegate. Again. But this time he has crossed the line. His opponent, Dave Poisson, has had his named deliberately mis-pronounced and mis-spelled by Mr. Black and his followers so as to be "poison." Ha Ha. Very witty. Actually, this kind of wit is seen on the playgrounds of second-graders who laugh at someone different, or who has a different last name or who simply looks funny. More

What Really Matters
By Glenn Lintelman, Sterling
[October 5, 2005] Getting into college these days is getting increasingly difficult. And our current delegate, Dick Black, has done nothing about it, even though he sits on the House subcommittee on higher education. More

Need Solutions
By Celeste M. Descoteaux, Ashburn
[October 5, 2005] How do you solve the looming over-population crisis in public higher education in the state of Virginia? Well, if you are Del. Dick Black, your solution involves a kind of stick-your-head-in-the-sand and cause a diversion approach. One of Del. Black's "solutions" is to curtail enrollment of foreign students. He says foreign nations should "pay to educate their own students at home." There's nothing like a little jingoism to deflect attention from the real problem. But wait, there's innuendo too. He indicts the state university system with absolutely no examples or evidence of wrong-doing. Just a smear statement: "Beyond that, public universities must control runaway expenditures and operate in a more business-like fashion." And then there's Black's xenophobia: "We must end in-state tuition for illegal aliens." I'm wondering about the number of actual slots that would free up at UVA and VTech? More

Time for Change
By Thom Beres, Col., USAF (Retired) Chair, Loudoun County Democratic Committee
[October 5, 2005] I feel I must respond to the letters by Steve Hanley and Phil Sandoe attacking the Democratic Party and Dave Poisson. Once again we see the Republican tactic of name calling, fear and distortion justified by guilt by association in some grand conspiracy theory. Why can't Dick Black and his supporters admit he voted for the principle of increasing teacher pay but when it cam time to fund it as part of the bipartisan budget agreement he voted against it? No need to call Dave Poisson a liar for stating the facts. If Dick Black does not want to balance the budget in this state and fund the education initiatives in the last budget, just say so. Stand up for what you believe, Dick. The voters have not heard anything directly from Dick Black. He does not knock on doors nor speak to the voters in public forums. Silent Dick must think he can buy this election with his more than $300,000 campaign chest while his supporters smear the opposition. More

Why Bother?
By Ed Burrell, Leesburg
[October 7, 2005] I just received the most hilarious campaign mailer I think I have ever seen, from Delegate Dick Black.

Does Dick Black know that he's running against Dave Poisson? It's a little hard to tell. From this mailer it looks like he thinks he's running against Senator Dick Durbin, or possibly filmmaker Michael Moore. He goes on and on about the independent PAC opposing his reelection, Blackout2005.com, but he doesn't have anything to say about Mr. Poisson or his campaign. The only references Black makes to his opponent are when he tries to link him with other people and organizations that have nothing to do with Dave Poisson's campaign or the issues facing the 32nd District. More

Dick Black does, says little of substance
By Thom Beres, Col, USAF, Ret.
Chair, Loudoun County Democratic Committee
[September 29, 2005] Renee Henderson from the Christian Fellowship Church in her letter last week attacked Dave Poisson for pointing out how inconsistent Dick Black is in supporting teacher pay raises. Truth is: Mr Black voted for the concept but against the funding in last year's budget reform bill and then turned around and took credit for things in the budget he fought against. No need to get worked up about it. That is how Dick Black operates. The voters can decide if that is the type of political leadership they want or if it is time to elect a real representative like Dave Poisson. More

Failing Grade for Black
By Greg Friedmann, Ashburn
[September 29, 2005] In their campaign against Democrat David E. Poisson in the 32nd District, Del. Richard H. "Dick" Black (R-Loudoun) and his supporters have made a lot of noise about an editorial error in one of Poisson's fliers (a mistaken bill number used in reference to Black's voting record), while offering no critique of Poisson's plan nor any plan of their own.

I fear that labeling such an editorial error as an "outright lie" may be an attempt to divert voters from a simple fact: In seven years as our delegate, even as a member of the House Education Committee, Black has never sponsored legislation that helped Loudoun obtain more state funding for its public schools. When it comes to getting additional funds for our schools from Richmond, Black has not brought home the bacon. More

Real Leadership Unites
By David Weintraub, Lovettsville
[September 29, 2005] Like most places, Loudoun County has become host to a few politicians on the prowl for divisive wedge issues around which to build campaigns.

This sad trend is becoming more pronounced, especially among some who are misleadingly using the label Republican. More

Black, a flip-flopper?
By Ed Burrell, Lansdowne
[September 27, 2005] A bill that Del. Richard Black touts in his education flier is HB 2323, a bill "to increase our share of education money."

He proudly says he was co-sponsor. But when the bill came before his own Education Committee, it was tabled by a vote of 22-0. That's right - Mr. Black voted to kill a bill he co-sponsored. More

Black No Friend to Education
By Tim Buchholz, Ashburn
[September 19, 2005] Oh, the forces of darkness, otherwise known as the Black Brigade, are at it again, this time trying to convince voters that Dick Black's "F" in education stands for fantastic. Witness Mary Blackburn's letter of last week. As much as she may try, it's like Del. Jim Dillard, the Republican chairman of the House Education Committee said last week: Black's failing grade is "richly deserved!" More

Black Has History of Opposing Education Bills
By Greg Friedmann, Ashburn
[September 19, 2005] In her letter to the editor last week, Mary Blackburn sought to make a mountain range out of a molehill, citing a mistaken bill number in Dave Poisson's "Back to School" flyer to claim the flyer contained "outright lies." Truth is, the mistaken bill citation represents (at most) a relatively minor editorial error. Mr. Poisson took immediate responsibility for this error and has corrected that bill reference in his flyers.

Through this shrill, exaggerated attack over a minor editorial mistake, and using language eerily similar to Mr. Black's own overblown complaints about this flyer, Ms. Blackburn seeks to hide the core fact: In seven years as our delegate, and as a member of the House Delegates Education Committee, Dick Black has achieved shockingly little to support the financial needs of Loudoun's exploding school system. More

Black Out
By Eileen Levandoski, Purcellville
September 15, 2005] Already we have the letters to the editor calling Dick Black "honest" and "virtuous". Say what?

Are they talking about the Dick Black who illegally puts violent pornography up at a public library and runs away from it, leaving the material in view of library patrons and forcing a librarian to order him to close the site? Maybe it's the Dick Black who sent each of his colleagues in the Virginia State Senate (who he also accuses of being "aligned with elements of vice"), a pink plastic replica of a fetus, along with a note containing graphic descriptions of abortion procedures. One Senator's legislative aide, who was still mourning a recent miscarriage, had the experience, thanks to Dick Black, of having the "doll baby" fall into her lap as she opened the mail. Is this what you call "virtuous"? More

Dismal
By Joe Maio, Round Hill
[August 26, 2005] In the August 19, 2005 article about the ratings our Virginia legislators received from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters in the 2005 legislative session, you report that that Delegate Dick Black received a 13% rating. Delegate Black says he supports clean air and water, but is not "aligned with these Democrat leaning groups." This statement is false in every respect. More

Google campaign
By Celeste M. Descoteaux, Ashburn
[August 17, 2005] I find the need to respond to Michael Meador's letter to the Easterner entitled "Democrats and Blackout." While there were significant portions of his letter filled with innuendo attempting to link Mr. David Poisson, the Democratic candidate for the 32nd District seat, with the Blackout2005.com PAC, an actual link was never made. It's rather simple, Mr. Meador: there isn't one. More

Left GOP, backing Poisson
By Tim Buchholz, Communications Committee Chairman, Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Former Republican
[August 17, 2005] I, too, read Letters to the Editor every week and find Mr. Meador's letter of August 3rd quite comical, accusatory and inaccurate. First, Dave Poisson does know about the blackout2005.com site. But he has been quite open in his wish that the site and organization did not exist. He has no control over those folks first amendment rights. Dave is focused on the positive issues for Loudoun County residents. You know . . issues like bringing our state tax money back to Loudoun County for things like transportation, better education for Loudoun County students and economic development. More

Thanks for the publicity
By Wade R. Sharp, Treasurer, Black Out 2005, Potomac Falls
[August 12, 2005] First, I would just like to thank Mr. Michael Meador for mentioning www.BlackOut2005.com no less than six times in his recent letter to the editor. Readers who are fed up with the disruptive antics of Dick Black have found this information useful, and our mailing list has increased noticeably. More

The Facts
By David Weintraub, Lovettsville
[August 4, 2005] Regarding "Incumbent Delegate Black Defends Record, Moral Stand" (July 29): After months of controversy and 2,000 man-hours of school staff time creating a policy on theatrical presentations, Dick Black has learned nothing. He is still defending the same laughably ignorant position of his original action alert - the one he sent without having seen the play he was attacking. More

Stop Playing on Fears
By Thom Beres, Colonel, USAF, retired; Chair, Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Potomac Falls
[July 28, 2005] The recent Supreme Court decision on eminent domain where the court supported the city of New London, Conn., in taking away a person's home to sell it to a developer for higher tax revenues is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen. I cannot find one Democrat (or Republican) in Loudoun who supports this decision. Bad as the decision was, it is even more disappointing to hear politicians use this to stoke the fears of people that it could happen here. Dick Black, the trained lawyer, has once again jumped on the fear band wagon by stating he will submit a bill in the next session to prevent what happened in New London from happening here. More

No "BlackOut" connection
By Greg Friedmann, Ashburn
[July 20, 2005] It's disturbing that Cheryl Forbes (Letters, July 6) seeks to affirm the honesty and decency of Dick Black by leveling an attack against Dave Poisson, Dick Black's opponent for Delegate for Virginia's 32nd District. More

Time for Debate
By Thom Beres, Colonel, USAF, retired, Potomac Falls
[July 14, 2005] I see Dick Black's disinformation machine is already in high gear. Once again, Del. Black and his cronies - in this case, John Saia with his letter - are out to malign the Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates, David Poisson, of having "promoted a radical agenda" because he once worked for Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin. More

Again, where was Del. Black?
By Tim Buchholz, Ashburn
[July 5, 2005] Now that the School Board has voted and approved a policy on theatrical presentations, let's look back at the results of Del. Dick Black's innocent little e-mail. You'll recall it was his e-mail that attacked the content of a young Stone Bridge High School student's play about intolerance. More

No Magician
By Chuck Harris, Ashburn
[July 1, 2005] I read with great bemusement reporter Dan Tevlock's article on Delegate Dick Black ("Black's Supporters Say He is in Touch with Loudoun's Families").

If Delegate Black is truly in touch with Loudoun's families, a highly charitable and debatable contention at best, then both he and those families are out of touch with economic and financial realities. Delegate Black's self-proclaimed status as a "staunch anti-tax Republican" and alleged strong supporter of the Route 28 Transportation (Tax) District raises serious questions about his level of understanding and/or intellectual honesty about taxation in general and the public mechanism used to finance Route 28 improvements specifically. More

Do Own Research
By Rosemarie A. Pelletier, Leesburg
[June 23, 2005] With reference to the letter of June 9 [written by Scott B. Cypher], I'd like to clear up a few things. First of all the Route 28 Tax District legislation was passed in 1987 - a long time prior to Dick Black's Loudoun County appearance.

Second, the tax district came to be because of the work of Sen. Charlie Waddell, Secretary of Transportation Vivian Watts and the Boards of Supervisors of both Loudoun and Fairfax and most especially the landowners who agreed to tax themselves in order to get the improvements. I find it interesting that Dick would support a special tax district - it is an added tax on the commercial landowners. More

Unfounded
By Muriel Gardner, Ashburn
[June 16, 2005] Before Delegate Black sends out his attack dogs, he should at least ensure that they have something substantive to address. Ms. Brookhouse's attack on David Poisson's wife was shrill and totally unfounded, indicating that things are indeed getting desparate in the Black camp. More

Look Beyond Route 28
By P. Roberts, Sterling
[June 16, 2005] I have read with anger and disgust the recent spate of articles and letters to the editor about the greatness of the Route 28 corridor. In the competition to lay claim to its "success," I say, let Messrs. Black and Marshall take credit for this waste of Virginia time, energy and money. More

Phi Beta Kappa's Black Mark
By Eileen Levandoski, Purcellville
[May 12, 2005] To placate or not to placate, that is the question.

Last year, Dick Black had a hissy fit about GMU booking film maker Michael Moore, complaining that the fee was too high and that Moore was too partisan. Yet not a peep from Black when the College of William and Mary, also a state school, presented the equally controversial and partisan Newt Gingrich. Judging from what the Loudoun Republican Committee paid Newt to speak at a recent fund-raiser, Gingrich's speakers fee would have been at least $12,000 had the event not been canceled due to weather. Plus, Black had his own suggestion for a speaker. In a letter to GMU President Allan Merten, Black suggested that students would be fascinated by infamous swift boat veteran John O'Neill's partisan attacks on John Kerry. More

Opinions Differ, Intolerance Offends
By David Weintraub, Lovettsville
[May 6, 2005] Susie Chapman's uninformed response to Jeri McGiverin ("Offending Others Shouldn't Be Sanctioned at Schools," The Observer, April 25) reveals two things about the writer: She didn't see the play "Offsides," and she is unfamiliar with the law pertaining to student expression. More

Curb Censorship
By Ginger Walker, Sterling
[May 5, 2005] I want to thank the Loudoun Connection for reprinting Nikki Buchholz's powerful short story, "Ava Lynn's Fear." It is troubling that the advisor of Stone Bridge High School's literary journal believes this important short story must be edited prior to publication. Like Tim Buchholz, Nikki's father, I don't blame the advisor, however -- I blame Dick Black for creating an atmosphere of censorship so severe that even a story intended to call attention to the atrociousness of child sexual abuse must be made "inoffensive." More

Divisive family values
By Susan Ernst, Leesburg
[May 5, 2005] I read with alarm and sadness Sabrina Audrey Jess's story of her homosexual friend's inability to talk with his parents because the priest at his church labeled his behavior as "evil" ("Teen Widens Audience," April 27).

Apparently, up to that point, he had enjoyed an open relationship with his parents. Is this what Del. Richard Black (R-eastern Loudoun) and his fellow conservatives have in mind in promoting family values? More

Switching Parties
By Tim Buchholz, Former Republican, Ashburn
[April 28, 2005] Dick Black has got to go. The consequence of his recent attack on Stone Bridge High School's Sabrina Jess and her brave play about human acceptance has created an unconstitutional environment of thought suppression and censorship in Loudoun County Public schools. Even before the School Board weighs in on Mr. Black's over-reaction to this student's creative output, teachers and the administration are censoring students' work. More

Nothing to Brag About
By Michaelann Keefe, Sterling
[March 31, 2005] I was surprised to see the Connection has become the PR machine for Del. Dick Black, especially when even the greenest reporter could have learned how disingenuous are Black's claims of "legislative success." More

Old Bones
By Pat Turner, Sterling
[March 25, 2005] Once again, when developer Hobie Mitchel says "Jump!" Delegate Dick Black says "How high?"

Back in 2000, Hobie tossed Dick Black a bone in House Bill 1287. And since then, every election year, Dick Black comes home from Richmond, packs away his little plastic fetus "Barbie dolls" (as he likes to call them) and dusts off his one and only transportation bill that doesn't have something to do with license plates. More

Republican Voter Supports 'BlackOut'
By Mack Gardner, Cascades
[March 18, 2005] The BlackOut story in the March 7 edition ("'BlackOut' PAC Forms in Opposition to Dick Black," Observer Xpress, March 7) caught my eye and raised my ire.

I haven't voted for a Democrat since LBJ until I met Mr. Black. More

Black's misguided attack
By Eileen Levandoski, Purcellville
[March 15, 2005] In 2003, when Del. Richard Black led the Sons of Confederate Veterans to oppose a planned statue of Abraham Lincoln in Richmond, Del. Viola Baskerville remarked that "...Dick Black gives me heartburn."

The statue of Lincoln was one small part of a much larger project, intended to tell the story of the Civil War from an African-American perspective, what Baskerville described as a concerted effort of citizens for reconciliation in the City of Richmond. An opinion from the Attorney General finally rejected the Confederate sympathizers' opposition, calling them "rebels without a cause." More

Threat Lies in Ourselves
By Angelica Fallin Totten, Burke
[March 3, 2005] Several illogical or simply incorrect comments made by Del. Dick Black (R-32nd) in last week's article "Abortion in the Crosshairs" [Connection, Jan. 27-Feb. 2] have prompted me to write. More

Redefining pregnancy
By Cortney Smith, Ashburn
[March 3, 2005] I recently met with Herb Lux, the legislative aide to Del. Richard Black.

I wanted to speak with my representatives about the Birth Control Protection Act, which simply states that contraception is not abortion and is therefore not subject to Virginia's abortion restrictions.

Mr. Lux explained to me that Del. Black believes that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' definition of pregnancy is wrong, and that they both believe pregnancy begins at fertilization. More

Insult
By Robin Posey-Blue, Sterling
[Feb. 23, 2005] "People should have the moral integrity to cast a vote and make their views known," said Delegate Dick Black after the Senate Courts of Justice Committee soundly defeated by voice vote his bill banning adoptions by homosexuals. But where was his "moral integrity" when faced with an election year bill protecting the birth control that thousands of his constituents use? Dick Black, the man who calls birth control "baby pesticides", chickened out and decided not to vote at all. Where is his "moral integrity" when people stand before him and lie about the character of tax-paying citizens? More

Lifestyle Bias
By Wade R. Sharp, Potomac Falls
[Feb. 18, 2005] Dick Black's recent tantrum over a high school play he hasn't even seen is yet another reminder of his single-minded personal agenda, one he promotes regardless of the facts or who gets hurt.

Last year, Black authored a bill that would have reinstated Virginia's "Family Rule" in housing policies, a ban on lending to adults not related by marriage or blood, that the Virginia Housing Development Authority had unanimously voted to abolish. Virginia was the only state in the U.S. to engage in this sort of housing discrimination, a practice prohibited by federal law for private lenders. More

Unreasonable fears
By Kevin Lawver, Sterling
[Feb. 16, 2005] Delegate Dick Black's extremist agenda has reached a point where he is literally willing to throw the baby out with the bath water. He wants to force women to carry unwanted pregnancies, and then he wants to abandon the children they produce. How else can one interpret his latest bill that would prevent certain families from adopting children? More

Black's Bitter Pill
By Marjorie Pfetzing, Round Hill
[Feb. 16, 2005] They don't call him Dick "Baby Pesticides" Black for nothing! He applied that term to emergency contraception about two years ago and is still living today in complete denial of what birth control is really all about. More

Untrustworthy
By Glenn W. Maravetz, Ashburn
[Aug. 21, 2003] I would like to comment on Del. Dick Black's behavior while he was at the Aug. 10 opening of the Ashburn Library. Mr. Black told folks that he was personally responsible for the first new library in Loudoun County in 12 years, and touted the fact that he deserved the credit for getting the Ashburn Library open. Nothing could be further from the truth. This action is insulting to the hundreds of volunteers and county employees truly responsible for the opening. More

Separate Religion and Health Care
By Jeri McGiverin, Public Relations Director, Mainstream Loudoun
[Jan. 20, 2005] Just imagine for a moment that it became illegal to use birth control in the state of Virginia.

This might sound crazy, but if some of Virginia's self-proclaimed "pro-life" state legislators have their way, there will be no need to use your imagination. More

Black Negligent to Loudoun Taxpayers
By Michaelann Keefe, Sterling
[Oct. 12, 2003] Like most Northern Virginians, I am stuck in traffic during my commute to and from work every day. Year after year, I watch Del. Richard H. "Dick" Black (R-Loudoun) break his promises to deliver critical funding from the state for our ailing transportation infrastructure.

Black is perhaps the most unrepentant credit-claimer ever to walk the halls of the General Assembly. He takes credit for whatever minuscule transportation funding he is able to retrieve and imagines the rest. Unless you consider signing onto seven bills to authorize vanity plates in the last session as an example of transportation policy, Black is not doing enough. More

Pledge of Allegiance
By Jim Rocks, Leesburg
[Feb. 7, 2001] I am glad to hear that our classrooms will soon be ringing out with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.

But as any classroom teacher or school administrator will tell you, if you add something into the school day, you have to take something out. The entire Jurassic Age, including the concept of evolution, disappeared when a seventh period was added a few years ago. So, what should we take out of the already crammed school day to allow the pledge to be put in? More

Black Out of Touch
By Bruce A. Kaiser, Sterling
[Jan. 26, 2003] I see that my state delegate, Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun), has decided that he can best represent his constituents' interests by working to keep a statue of President Abraham Lincoln out of our state capital. This shows remarkable consistency when you consider other positions Black has taken as a state delegate: More

Black Being Unrealistic
By Denise Pierce, Sterling
[Jan. 26, 2003] Was it only a month ago that the Republican majority leader in the Senate was replaced because he didn't realize being in favor of segregation was morally reprehensible? Apparently, the news hasn't reached Del. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun). More

Learning Lessons
By Eileen Levandoski, Purcellville
[Jan. 27, 2005] About this time last year, Dick Black's six star pupils announced that they need not bother suggesting legislation to either support or oppose. "This Board is off to a very fine start," said Dick Black, for they had learned his lessons well: oppose impact fees and instead encourage developers to build anywhere, any way.

With that, Dick Black packed up his bag with personal agenda items and headed down to Richmond. More

Recommendations for Nov. 4
By Bob Twigg, Editor, Loudoun Times-Mirror
[Oct. 21, 2003] This political year started out as the Year of the Black Machine. Not surprisingly, it's evolved into another year of mudslinging and finger pointing and blame laying. Not a lot of new ideas to interrupt the bitter barbs about the shortcomings of "my esteemed opponent." More

Black's bills, supervisors effort at odds
By P. Lo Presti, Ashburn
[Feb. 21, 2001] Over the past several years, time and time again, citizens, landowners, voters and non-voters unmistakably asked the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission to "manage growth." More

A Serious Blow to Loudoun's Public Health
By Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin), Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
[Feb. 20, 2001] Del. Dick Black struck a serious blow to Loudoun County public health policy through the State Senate's Committee on Education and Health on Thursday, Feb. 15. We watched as Delegate Black presented his report and supported it with a lobbyist from the building industry and a representative of the private consulting industry. Black's HB 2726 "Health; on-site sewage evaluations" rescinds the county's power to require Health Department reviews prior to issuing construction approvals for septic fields. HB 2726 passed the committee and went well on its way into a building industry law geared to have innocent consumers the potential losers. More

Towe on Black
By Eleanore C. Towe (D-Blue Ridge)
[Jan. 30, 2003] I am bound by good conscience to speak about an embarrassment to us here in Loudoun County. A delegate representing eastern Loudoun County in the General Assembly has chosen to insinuate himself into a discussion of whether a statue of President Abraham Lincoln should be placed at the historic Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. More

Bills endanger religious freedom
By Elaine Williamson, President, Mainstream Loudoun
[Feb. 5, 2002] After the tragic events of Sept. 11, American citizens have set aside political differences and are standing united against terrorism. However, as this wave of patriotism rides high, it threatens to sweep away our fundamental right to freedom of religion. More

extreme. ineffective. dick black.