Regular readers of Blue Virginia are, of course, well aware of former Virginia GOP Chair John Whitbeck’s long history of being a Trump-loving, nasty, dishonest, hard-right political operative. Want a quick refresher? Check out the following links:
- Cuccinelli Closely Linked To Party Chairman Who Made Anti-Semitic Joke At His Rally
- Party Chairman Who Told Anti-Semitic Joke At Cuccinelli Rally Is Now Running For Office
- YouTube video of Whitbeck telling anti-Semitic “joke”
- Va. delegate Whitbeck: Cruz’s refusal to support Trump ‘disappointing’
- Virginia GOP chairman praises Trump White House for banning news outlets from briefing
- GOP activists scold Republicans for criticizing Trump over Charlottesville (Whitbeck – “I don’t see any scenario where grassroots conservatives are sitting there picking apart the president’s every word and rethinking support for him.”)
- Anti-Semitic “Joke” Candidate Financed by…Exactly the Type of Right Wingnuts You’d Expect
- DPVA: “Virginia Republicans To Promote Extremist Best Known for Anti-Semitic Remarks”
- Hard-Right, Smash-Mouth Former VA GOP Chair Dishonestly, Cynically Reinvents Himself for 2019 Loudoun County Board Chair Race
Also, see the numerous tweets, photos, video, etc., demonstrating who Whitbeck REALLY is – definitely NOT a moderate, that’s for sure – at the bottom of this post.
Anyway, Whitbeck’s now running for Board Chair in an increasingly “blue” county – one that went 63%-35% for Tim Kaine (D) over Corey Stewart (R) in 2018; 60%-40% for Jennifer Wexton (D) over Barbara Comstock (R) in 2018; 59%-39% for Ralph Northam (D) over Ed Gillespie (R) in 2017; for 55%-38% for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016; etc. And Whitbeck, whatever else he is, knows that to be elected in Loudoun County, he needs to completely reinvent his political persona, from the hard-core, hard-right, smash-mouth Republican he always was in the past, to a (supposedly) reasonable, sane, smiling, consensus-building, bipartisan, focused-on-local-issues-like-traffic-tolls-and-taxes, pro-environmental-protection, pro-public-education, etc. now.
Hence, the ad from Whitbeck you can see below, which dishonestly attacks his Democratic opponent, Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis Randall, for SUPPOSEDLY voting to give herself a big pay raise (in fact, she voted along with the majority Republican board to raise the NEXT Board’s salaries, something that hasn’t been done in over a decade, even as the county’s population has exploded), SUPPOSEDLY hell-bent on raising people’s taxes (standard Republican nonsense right here), and claiming that he’ll provide “real leadership with integrity” and “the courage to do the right thing.” I know – hahahaha. In fact, this guy’s an avid Trumpster, in developers’ pockets (and will allow unchecked overdevelopment), divisive, definitely NOT a friend of Loudoun’s environment, against the ERA, against healthcare for all, against meaningful infrastructure investments, etc.
Of course, it’s possible Whitbeck could actually get away with his reinvention and fallacious attack ads, but only if Loudoun County voters aren’t aware that he’s lying to them. Which is why it’s important to call him out. On that note, here’s a superb response from Jeremy Mader of the Loudoun County Firefighters to Whitbeck’s “absolute BS” and “lies.” Note, by the way, that Virginia’s Firefighters just endorsed Phyllis Randall for reelection, calling her “an unwavering ally of Loudoun County and Virginia’s firefighters.” Unlike John Whitbeck, who would pursue the usual right-wing Republican policies of slashing taxes for the wealthy while harming public services like firefighting…
To my Loudoun friends. I know politics are dirty and politicians lie. But the current campaign John Whitbeck is running against Phyllis Randall is absolute BS and frustrating as hell because not only is Whitbeck lying, he will delete and block you from calling him out for his lies. He knows it’s BS too which is why he is suppressing facts. That’s not having integrity.
Here are a few facts:
1) The raise being discussed was voted for by Republicans and Democrats on the current Board and takes effect NEXT term. The chair of the Loudoun Republican Party spoke in favor of the raise. It’s against the law for a current board to vote on their current salaries.
2) The BOS salary hasn’t changed since 2008 and the vote moves the salaries to the regional average. Thus the seemingly large increase. Most years over the past 10+ years there have been small performance raises and COLA’s for county employees. The BOS Salary didn’t budge at all.
3) The same vote also gave raises to teachers and public safety employees for the that year. The School Board and state determine teacher raises, not the BOS. But they received raises too.
4) Chairwoman Randall has spearheaded the Compensation and Pay study for Loudoun County employees. Like the BOS salaries, our salaries have dragged behind the region for over a decade and Loudoun’s firefighters are still the lowest paid in the region. She has been our champion on fixing our pay to get us comparable with our neighbors.
The only consistency in Whitbeck’s campaign is his intent to mislead Loudoun voters.
Vote for Phyllis Randall on Nov. 5th. She has proven time and time again she supports Loudoun County employees and Public Safety, career and volunteer. She is an actual leader with leadership and integrity, unlike her opponent.
3 of the 5 were Republicans. Letourneau, Buffington and Myers voted in favor. Jim Bonfils also came to that meeting and spoke in favor of it.
— Jeremy Mader (@JeremyMaderVA) August 14, 2019
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