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Testimony before FCPS, Agenda item: 'One Fairfax'

by FCTA's Fred Costello, 11/20/2017

I want to make two points tonight relative to One Fairfax:

1. We voters need to know your personal background so we can understand how you will judge what is equitable.
2. We need to eliminate inequities in voting.

First, you have demonstrated by your decisions on Policy 1450 and on JEB Stuart that you do not make your decisions on the basis of what the majority of people want. Now we face One Fairfax. Your decisions, then, are made on what you think is right and wrong. We voters need to know the basis for your judgment as to what is right and wrong. We need to know where you were raised, what schools you attended, where you went to college, what degree you got, what your major was, where you work. We also need to know if you believe in a personal God, as the Jews, Christians, and Moslems believe; what religious denomination you are; and where and how often you attend community religious services. We need to know these facts about all candidates before we vote. This background information gives us some basis to judge how you will rule. I have asked for your background by email. You have not responded.

Second, because we vote for you, we need voter equity. Voter turnout in the election of School Board members is so low that school and county employees and their spouses constitute 34% of the voters. You give this huge voting bloc raises and benefits that far exceed what the private sector gets. They return the favor by voting for you. That is collusion. I have attended school functions where the teachers have urged us to vote for their raises, so the bloc probably includes parents. In your salary negotiations, you and the employees sit on the same side of the table. Nobody is representing the taxpayers. This is legalized corruption that is generating a government elite, as serious inequity. One solution is term limits. A better solution might be to prohibit county employees from participating in election campaigns, such as the Hatch Act does for federal employees.

So there are two points for you to take home tonight:

1. Give us your personal background.
2. Introduce term limits, as our neighboring Montgomery County has done -- but to two terms -- or institute the equivalent of a Hatch Act at the county level.