April 25, 2002

Political notes

DORSEY, ZIMMERMAN WIN ENDORSEMENTS: Democratic County Board candidate Christian Dorsey recently received the endorsement of the Arlington General Employee Network Association.

Meanwhile, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman has been endorsed by the Arlington Coalition of Police in the Democratic caucus.

PAPER WON’T ENDORSE IN THIS RACE: As an advance FYI to candidates and their supporters, the Sun Gazette’s policy is to not endorse in a primary or caucus race unless that race is likely to be the deciding factor in the general election.

Since Republicans have a viable candidate in Mike Clancy, the Sun Gazette is staying out of the Zimmerman-Dorsey contest. But we’ll cover the debates and be hanging around the caucus on May 14 to pick up political information (and report the winner, too).

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APPOINTMENTS MADE TO BASEBALL STADIUM AUTHORITY: Gov. Warner has appointed two Arlingtonians to the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority – Keith Frederick and Clerk of the Circuit Court David Bell.

Bell in 1996 was appointed by the County Board to serve on the Arlington Ad Hoc Baseball Stadium Advisory Committee. He is a longtime youth baseball coach.

Frederick is the owner of FrederickPolls LLC, a public opinion research firm located in Arlington. He also coaches youth baseball in the county.

The Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority is chartered by the commonwealth with the goal of bringing a Major League baseball team to the local area. Although authority officials say there are several localities under consideration, Arlington is seen as the group’s most favored location.

IS ARLINGTON READY TO DEAL ON STADIUM? Even though some (not us) have pronounced that Major League baseball is without question headed to the District of Columbia, not Arlington, we hear buzzing that the county’s elected officials are ready to get on board the Northern Virginia bandwagon. Maybe.

“I think they are more open to the idea” of a stadium in Arlington, said one deep, deep insider of the County Board, which in the past has been lukewarm at best to the idea.

Board members know that political power in Arlington rises up from the neighborhoods, not the business community. The neighborhoods are worried about the impact of a stadium on their quality of life, and for the most part could care less about the potential economic impact of a stadium.

The addition of Clerk of the Circuit Court David Bell to the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority’s board of directors was the talk of the county political establishment recently, as Bell is an insider who has respect from his fellow Democrats on the County Board. The second new Arlington addition to the stadium authority, political consultant Keith Frederick, has no ties to the county government, according to those we have talked to.

This column was the first, and to our knowledge so far the only, to report that county officials would be more amenable to approving a baseball stadium if baseball backers sweetened the pot by paying for a high-tech conference center some in the county government have sought.

Stadium authority officials continue to insist that they have a dozen potential sites for a stadium in mind, from Arlington to the Dulles corridor.

HERE COMES THE MONEY GRAB: We’re already paying “security surcharges” for using airlines, which may be a reasonable cost of doing business in the post-Sept. 11 world. But watch out as government continues to pick your pocket in the name of “homeland security.”

The latest nonsensical announcement came from Gov. Warner, who announced that fees for vehicle registrations and driver or vehicle records at the Department of Motor Vehicles will increase $2 effective May 1.

The hikes themselves are not egregious – it’s the first increase for these in 16 years – but attempting to tie them to “homeland defense initiatives” is just crude.

The commonwealth also will stop giving discounts for those who use mail, phone or Internet to renew their licenses or registration. So much for “e-government” initiatives from our “technology governor.”

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NO, NATIONAL IS NOT AT 100 PERCENT: There was a good deal of hoopla earlier in the month when the U.S. Transportation Department cleared Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to return to 100 percent of its pre-Sept. 11 commercial flight schedule.

But as U.S. Rep. James Moran, D-8th, was quick to point out, that doesn’t mean the airport is back at full strength.

First, a prohibition on Boeing 757s remain in place. And second, general aviation, which accounted for approximately 100 arrivals and departures each day, is not likely to be allowed to return to National until later in the year.

“Keeping general aviation operations shuttered shows the airport is not up to full speed,” Moran said. “The general aviation restriction hurts the local economy . . . people whose livelihood depends on general aviation at National Airport are greatly affected as well, since many are now unemployed.”

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