Janet Oleszek Kicks Off Her Campaign With Strong Emphasis on Education, Democratic Values

Endorsement (4.00 / 1)

As a Braddock resident and a neighbor to Janet, I want to publicly say that she has my endorsement and support going into the primary and the fall race for Supervisor.  This should not be seen as an indictment against Chris, but rather support for a friend and neighbor that I have worked with for many years, particularly on education, which is my number one issue going into the election this fall.

Looking forward to a great primary!

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by: GretchenLaskas @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 02:04:32 AM UTC

Glad to be on the same side as you (0.00 / 0)

I was waiting for you to weigh in on this as you have been more active lately than me and know more of the inside baseball goings on.

I have known Janet for years and proudly consider myself a friend of hers.  I also have already spoken to her and given her my support.  I will have much more to say about my reasons in the future.

Like you, for me this is not a slam at Chris Wade, whom I see as somebody who holds great potential for the future.  But in this race, I honestly believe Janet is more prepared to be the candidate to defeat John Cook.

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by: AnonymousIsAWoman @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 19:18:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Perhaps you can explain (0.00 / 0)

since nobody else, including Wade himself, has done so. Why is this guy a Democrat?  I mean, what changed from him being a STRONG McCain-Palin supporter on November 1, 2008, to suddenly running as a "Democrat?" Has he explained his reasoning, for instance how Jim Webb did in 2006? If so, I haven't heard it.  Also, Fairfax Democrats tell me this guy was never involved in Braddock District Dem events, until shortly before he decided to run as a "Democrat" for the seat. Verrrry suspicious.  Anyway, can you shed any light on this?  So far, all I've heard from people is that he's a "good guy" who they "like personally" but absolutely ZERO evidence that he's no longer a strong Republican and is now a Democrat, let alone a progressive.  Thanks.

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by: lowkell @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 19:50:46 PM UTC

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I'm not holding my breath. (0.00 / 0)

The best I've seen others do in Wade's defense and in the absence of Wade defending himself is to question the validity of the "strong" McCain/Palin label.  Additionally, Oleszek has taken Wade's Dem bona fides off the table.  Accordingly, the only reason Wade has to answer these very fair questions is to court the votes of people who probably are committed to Oleszek.  I wonder which will happen first - Wade dropping out because he's convinced that he can't beat Oleszek or Wade showing that he's seriously going to fight to beat Oleszek.

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by: jsrutstein @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 20:23:55 PM UTC

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Since I'm for Janet, I don't have to explain what Chris does :) (0.00 / 0)

I suspect he and his supporters are the ones who should be asked. I merely said he seems nice, which he does; and he's promising, which he is.

Still, Janet Oleszek is nice too. She's also smart, dedicated, has loads of integrity, and has spent years working to improve Fairfax while modeling true  Democratic and progressive values.

I would rather talk about how Janet will work for Fairfax and all the positives she will bring to the race. I believe she is the candidate who can beat John Cook. And she will work hard every day to make Fairfax a better place for all its citizens.  

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by: AnonymousIsAWoman @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 22:40:06 PM UTC

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Again, "promising" in what way? (0.00 / 0)

Honestly, I don't care if he's "nice." This is politics we're talking about, what I care about is: a) where the person stands on the issues; and b) whether they can get elected.  End of story.

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by: lowkell @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 22:47:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

My perspective (0.00 / 0)

I guess I never thought that Chris was a strong R, no matter what the VAN says.  This is partly because having used the VAN reports myself, I find them to be, at best, VERY erratic.  (I've argued for years that Republicans have been better than Democrats at voter identification -- but I will say that we made up a great deal of ground in the 2008 election.)

One of the reasons for the erratic results is the formula.  For instance, I know that I came THIS CLOSE last year to voting in the Republican primary for Pat Herrity aganst Keith Fimian.  I agonized over it because I'm really concerned about extremists such as Fimian, and I'm by temperament, a "lesser of two evils" kind of thinker.  Had I done so, I'm sure that my "Strong D" ranking would have taken a serious hit.  (Ultimately, I decided against it for reasons AIAW mentions at NLS -- this was their party fight and they needed to decide for themselves.  Believe me, in those early returns where it looked as though Fimian might have beaten Connolly, I was second guessing myself like crazy.)

Yes, he is new to the committee (relatively) but Braddock is a district that is very good about plugging people into the process very very quickly.  (I didn't join the committee until 2008, and within two years was on the executive committee.  In many ways, I could have been seen to have come "out of nowhere" myself, so I'm sympathetic to such a charge.)  I can understand how another person may not see this as a strength, but that kind of flexibility and pragmatism appeals to me personally.

Another thing we consciously did as a committee was to reach out to disaffected traditional Republicans and independents and try to draw them in.  This has been a very successful strategy for us, and helped in both the Dave Marsden and Eileen Filler-Corn races.  I haven't known Chris very long, but I really don't see him as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" or a "rubber stamp" for Sharon Bulova.  It may well be true that he is someone brought in due to those efforts, but Braddock is a district that I think would be pretty comfortable with such a change from a more or less non-political person to an active participant within a short amount of time.  Another committee may not feel that way, which has strengths and weaknesses of its own, and I respect that disagreement of opinion.

But all of this said, I am very excited to have Janet in the race and look forward to a good primary to come.  

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by: GretchenLaskas @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 22:54:58 PM UTC

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Sorry, I don't buy it. (0.00 / 0)

Self-identifying as a strong McCain-Palin supporter, in the most important election of our lives, is not acceptable.  Also, this guy has a history of voting in Republican primaries, not at all in Democratic ones.  No thanks.

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by: lowkell @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 23:48:16 PM UTC

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Also, in what way specifically does Wade (0.00 / 0)

have "great potential for the future?"  You mean, as a Republican?  If you mean "as a Democrat," I repeat my previous question: where's his stated rationale for having this wild epiphane since November 1, 2008, when he identified himself as a strong McCain-Palin supporter? Thanks.

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by: lowkell @ Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 20:55:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]