State GOP calls for rebate of tax surplus, sends a message to tax-raising Republicans

Last weekend, the governing body of the Republican Party of Virginia voted on a resolution that asks all Republican members of the General Assembly to not only roll back the unnecessary tax increases they imposed on the citizens of the commonwealth earlier this year, but also to return to the taxpayers much of the projected $1 billion surplus that they will generate.

This was quite a principled stance, because many Senate and House Republicans voted for the tax increase and the issue divided the moderates and conservatives in the party. (This was one brilliant move by the Democrats, and even though I don’t want to, I must compliment them on it – whether they had gotten their tax increase or not, they succeeded in dividing the Republicans to this day.)

Of course, the resolution doesn’t bind the elected officials – they can vote on the tax issue any way they choose. But if they vote in favor of spending the surplus and keeping taxes at the level they are, they stand to lose the financial and campaign support of the more fiscal conservative and libertarian leaning members of the party. Often, this wing of the party is the most activist in campaigns and fundraising – a wing that the moderate Republicans can’t afford to give up.

Moderate candidates often count on the conservatives rallying around them when it comes to election day, knowing that the conservatives would rather vote for them than let Democrats win any seats. But a number of conservatives have told me they will make concerted efforts to run candidates against their tax-increasing brethren in the primaries, where there is no threat of a Democrat win.

During the tax debate in the last General Assembly session, and even this week after hearing of the resolution passing, tax-raising Republicans said that the way to win the governor’s race and keep control of the House and Senate, is for “party unity.” Well, I should mention that their definition of unity means giving up their small government principles and unifying around Gov. Warner’s tax increases. Unity to them doesn’t seem to mean teaming up to curb state spending or to stop the swell of government.

The master scheduler mayor

A couple of weeks ago, the Roanoke Times ran a feature article about Roanoke Mayor Nelson Harris entitled “How the mayor, minister, published author (and master scheduler) finds time for it all.” The article was an informative look into how the mayor juggles his three jobs.

The easy answer is that he devotes little time to at least one of them. When asked in the article how much time it takes to be mayor, he answered seven to nine hours a week, outside of council meetings.

As a comparison, former mayors Ralph Smith and David Bowers spent 35-40 hours a week (sometimes more) at the job, not including council meetings. Smith also had his own steel business to run and Bowers was practicing law while they were in the mayor’s seat.

Much of Smith’s and Bower’s time was spent representing the city at many ribbon cuttings, other ceremonial events and meetings, but a great deal of time was also spent creating committees and coalitions to tackle the issues and take advantage of the opportunities Roanoke faced.

During the mayoral campaign this past May, Harris was questioned by the media and his opponents several times about his poor attendance record in his prior four years as a councilman. He gave assurances to the voters that he would devote the time to the mayor’s office that was needed. It’s up to you to decide if he’s fulfilling that campaign promise.

In addition, Harris says he doesn’t carry a cell phone so he’s not bothered by city business when he’s doing his pastoral duties. I can understand not wanting to be bothered when trying to carry out church work, but then my advice is to not ask to be given the responsibilities of another job if you are not willing to fulfill them. Does it bother anyone that the mayor of the city the size of Roanoke isn’t accessible if there is an emergency?

And finally, he said that he is troubled that much of the public discourse in Roanoke has become uncivil. “When people are passionate about something today, it gets personal. I think that’s inappropriate and out of line,” he said.

I’d like to remind you that this “gregarious” pastor was the one who called former Mayor Smith “stupid” in the newspaper just a couple of years ago.

This recent article on Harris was shocking in that someone would so publicly admit his deficiencies. It feels like confession, and the citizens seem all too willing to forgive.

Column’s one-year anniversary

This is the one-year anniversary of this column.

My charge is often to point out injustices and institutions (mainly government, but sometimes others) where I think things have gone woefully wrong. I try often not to name individuals’ names, because I don’t want to embarrass people, just the institutions for which they work.

When I do mention specific names, it is because I feel these people have taken it upon themselves to be publicly very disagreeable and their attitudes harmful to the proper functioning of government or society.

I have tried all along to bring you issues in an informative way, while injecting my own opinion. I will always try to research my topics so that even if you don’t agree with me, at least you may be a little more informed about the issues.

If you have suggestions for future columns (they don’t all have to be politically-oriented), please e-mail them to me using the link under the column title at the top of the page.

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