March 28, 2002
Political notes
PEBLEY WINS CIVIC FEDERATION HONOR: Arlington County Civic Federation president Jim Pebley was this year’s recipient of the Journal Cup, presented to a civic leader on behalf of the Federation.
Tim Wise presented the award to Pebley at the Federation’s annual dinner, held March 15 in Crystal City.
“I told Tim Wise not to give it to the president this year – way to listen, Tim,” chuckled Pebley, serving his second year as Federation president.
Pebley said he started with civic activism when his wife asked him to go see why there weren’t more four-way stops in his area. He remarked that there were still no four-way stops, and said. “I’d like to thank the County Board for giving me a second career.”
Certificates of appreciation were presented to Dottie Stepp, Sophie Vogel, and the Federation’s Public Services Committee for their efforts. A special award was presented to Jay Fisette and Ron Carlee for their leadership during the Sept. 11 terror attack and aftermath.
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LOOKING TO CHAIR THE GOP: Frank Sietzen announced last week that he wants to be Arlington’s next Republican chairman. Later in the week, he got some competition from the organization’s current co-chair, Elise Kenderian, in what looks to be a nasty li’l race shaping up.
Former County Board member Mike Lane, who for the past two years has chaired the Avis of Arlington political parties (number two but always trying), is seeking the chairmanship of the 8th Congressional District Republican Committee.
Sietzen says he hopes to “re-energize” the local GOP, a comment that infuriated Lane and may have pushed Kenderian into the race.
Lane said he is backing Kenderian, who is legislative director for a Republican New Jersey congressman and is finishing up a two-year run as co-chair. Sietzen’s campaign for chairman is being run by Republican activist and Committee of 100 chairman Tom Brooke. Republicans will decide on a chairman early next month.
Sietzen served as campaign manager for John Baber during his 2000 race for sheriff, one of the biggest crash-and-burn campaigns of recent years in Arlington (Beth Arthur wound up crushing Baber and a third candidate, Elmer Lowe).
Despite public comments to the contrary, the race shows that a significant rift still exists within the Republican fold in Arlington.
The rift dates back years, but it wasn’t helped in 1999 when Lane lost the general election for County Board by the narrowest of margins, after some in the then-GOP leadership made comments about Democratic County Board candidate Charles Monroe that Democrats used to paint the GOP as racist.
Lane later ran successfully for GOP chairman.
Is this much ado about nothing? Republicans currently hold just one of 22 elected posts serving Arlington (five County Board, five School Board, five constitutional offices, four House of Delegates’ seats and three state Senate seats). School Board member Dave Foster is a Republican, although technically school seats are elected on a nonpartisan basis.
THE PAST CATCHES UP WITH ONE BOARD MEMBER: Here’s a quote from then-County Board Chairman Barbara Favola in June 2000, in a proclamation honoring Flag Day:
“I urge all Arlingtonians to join Americans across the country and pause wherever they are at 7 p.m. on Flag Day and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.”
Favola is one of three County Board members who have not publicly commented on the current flag flap. The others are Paul Ferguson and Jay Fisette.
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IT’S THE FLAP THAT KEEPS ON GIVING: Fox News Network’s Bill O’Reilly was a little late to the party, but “The O’Reilly Factor” did a program on March 15 dedicated in part to the Pledge of Allegiance flap in Arlington.
Guess which side the God-fearing, flag-waving, commie-bashing O’Reilly took? That would be in favor of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Supporting that position was Robert Molleur, who brought the matter up with the County Board several months ago.
“I look at the Pledge of Allegiance as an ideal,” Molleur told O’Reilly. “Our whole democracy is an experience. We’re trying to reach a certain point.”
For equal time, he brought on Arlington Democratic activist Bernie Berne to explain why the Pledge of Allegiance wasn’t a good thing, at least for public meetings.
“It’s basically similar to what Nazi Germany had when they said [they were] a superior race, and the Soviet Union said it’s a worker’s paradise,” Berne said of the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, which he sees as propaganda.
Although he blasted Berne throughout – “it looks to me like you’re an unpatriotic guy,” the host said at one point – O’Reilly noted that “at least you had the courage to come on here.”
O’Reilly then belittled the “pinheads” on the County Board. “They’re hiding in their basement right now,” he predicted.
“It looks to me like you’re going to have to boot these guys out of office – that’s what it looks like to me,” O’Reilly said. “You got to get rid of these guys.”
And then he went on to the next subject.
“It is St. Patrick’s Day weekend,” O’Reilly noted. “We’ll take a look at the Irish and alcohol in a moment.”
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