deja vu all over again - tonight tracci & hingeley are debating in an elementary school cafeteria. the crowd is still more in line with yesterday’s senior center venue.
this event is put on by the earlysville area residents league and is a forum with candidates for multiple local office. i’ve not seen an event set up this way before — all the candidates for various offices are seated up front simultaneously.
i’m not in any of these various candidates’ districts so i only recognize about half of them but it looks like we’ve got candidates for commonwealth’s attorney, state senate, state delegate, county supervisor, and county sheriff up there.
tracci is such a petulant little rules cop. he tried to have two people in the front row who are filming moved but the moderator ruled they are fine.
creigh deeds is running for re-election to state senate. he starts off his comment by announcing he found a baseball in the parking lot and would like to return it to its owner. so folksy.
deeds says we have to do a better job on transit & infrastructure. “the next big thing is rural broadband.”
jim hingeley is the democratic candidate for county commonwealth’s attorney. “i am running on the basis of my experience,” 43 years as a lawyer and 20 years teaching law. he served as head of the cville public defenders office for 18 years.
“i know the criminal justice system in and out. and in addition to knowing the system, i know the people in the system.” he says dangerous, violent criminals need to be prosecuted but they are a small minority of the people to enter the system.
chan bryant is running for county sheriff. she’s current the chief deputy sheriff. she says in terms of new programs, she wants to bring DARE to albemarle county & create a senior safety program where deputies check in on seniors living alone.
dr elizabeth alcorn, a retired dentist, is running for delegate in the 58th district against rob bell (who did not show up tonight).
she says she’s running because there are issues “that are not being addressed.”
she says she’s running because there are issues “that are not being addressed.”
alcorn says an event 2 years ago “lit the fire under” her - she and her husband lost their health insurance when their rates were raised to $6000/mo. they reached out to their delegate and got no response.
she and a small group of other concerned citizens worked to get laws passed to help small businesses keep their health insurance.
robert tracci says he believes strongly in equal treatment under the law. he’s highlighting his work creating the mental health docket & “more opportunities for low level nonviolent offenders to receive treatment for drug addiction.”
tracci says he indicted the first case of commercial sex trafficking in albemarle county & has prosecuted 6 members of MS-13.
ronnie roberts is running for albemarle county sheriff. he worked in the city of cville police department for 40 years before serving as the chief of police in louisa for 4 years.
steve harvey is running for board of supervisors in the white hall district. after medically retiring from the army, he and his family moved back to where he grew up, albemarle county. he wants to preserve the “rustic beauty” of the white hall district.
ann mallek is running for re-election to the board of supervisors.
“there’s no room for ignoring anyone who does not agree with you,” she reads stiffly from her prepared remarks. “regulation is not a dirty word,” “rules provide protection.”
“there’s no room for ignoring anyone who does not agree with you,” she reads stiffly from her prepared remarks. “regulation is not a dirty word,” “rules provide protection.”
mallek says she supports increased funding for police & fire departments and does not support the stormwater utility fee (the “rain tax”).
rob bell & elliott harding were invited but are not present here tonight.
ann mallek just noticed ann oliver in the audience and called her up - she’s an at-large candidate for the albemarle county school board.
ann mallek just noticed ann oliver in the audience and called her up - she’s an at-large candidate for the albemarle county school board.
there is no sound equipment of any kind in use tonight. i can hear, but i’m half the age of most of the audience and sitting in the front row.
please, please if you plan a forum or panel, get mics. it’s an accessibility issue.
please, please if you plan a forum or panel, get mics. it’s an accessibility issue.
the moderator says the majority of the audience submitted questions are for the commonwealth’s attorney candidates so those will all be done last. (this is bizarre - of all these offices, the CA really has the least impact on the life of the average constituent)
extremely niche county ordinance question for the BOS candidates about burning brush on your property. mallek says the county ordinance is in line with state law. harvey says it’s unreasonable to expect a farmer to have a 100yd clearance for a brush burn.
“brush burning is fantastic for the environment,” harvey says. “it’s perfectly renewable. the tree makes the leaves, you burn the leaves.” “we should not be trying to restrict it, we should be promoting it!”
chan bryant is asked if she has ever applied to join the city of charlottesville police department & if so, did she end up with albemarle because they wouldn’t hire her? (dang, spicy)
bryant says she applied all over when she was first starting out.
bryant says she applied all over when she was first starting out.
ronnie roberts, the other sheriff candidate, defines “community policing” with a confusing anecdote about your neighbor’s car being too close to your driveway.
roberts also says a traffic accident is “probably the most traumatic thing” that can happen to a person. (and this is a lifelong law enforcement officer?!)
next question is about whether the barking dog ordinance should apply in rural areas. mallek says it does - people in rural areas are entitled to peace and tranquility, too.
now there is some confusion about the question. the woman who wrote it says her understanding of the ordinance is that if you own more than 5 acres, your dogs can bark all they want. she is not in favor of this.
oh it sounds like this woman is referring to a very specific neighbor who might be here... she just looked around nervously.
she says it isn’t about how much land your neighbor has, but about how close the dog is to your house. (fair)
she says it isn’t about how much land your neighbor has, but about how close the dog is to your house. (fair)
harvey says he wouldn’t be in favor of changing the ordinance because of a particular interpersonal dispute but would be happy to personally mediate the issue.
mallek says she will investigate whether the ordinance applies in this situation.
mallek says she will investigate whether the ordinance applies in this situation.
this question says deeds voted against a bill that would require SSN verification for voter registration. the question is rambling and the moderator is struggling with it & asks the question asker to just ask it herself.
the woman is clearly very worked up about mostly fictional voter fraud.
deeds says we ought to be encouraging people to vote. “instead of throwing up barriers, we ought to be encouraging more people to turn out and vote.” he says the current law is already federally compliant and that bill was just another barrier to registration.
“i don’t think it happens as often as you think it does. it isn’t documented.” “this bill was just looking for a problem,” deeds tells the woman who is adamant that the voter rolls are rife with errors.
next question is about gun violence. deeds says gun bills have been dying on party lines. “we’ve already decided as a society who is not entitled to possess firearms,” - felons, people who have been committed, and people with DV convictions.
deeds says universal background checks would ensure we aren’t putting guns in the hands of people who already aren’t allowed to have them.
he says red flag laws “aren’t about mental illness,” but about taking guns out of the hands of people who are “about to pop”
he says red flag laws “aren’t about mental illness,” but about taking guns out of the hands of people who are “about to pop”
alcorn says she supports universal background checks and closing the gun show loophole. “we have a suicide epidemic.”
she says red flag laws would allow for due process to remove firearms from people in crisis.
she says red flag laws would allow for due process to remove firearms from people in crisis.
alcorn also says she supports banning “military style weapons,” bump stocks, and high capacity magazines. “i have a freezer full of deer meat myself, but if you’re not hitting your target in four or five shots, that firearm isn’t helping you at all.”
“i’ve got a permit to dump dirt for an agricultural project,” says a man who bullied the moderator into allowing him to ask his question. he is speaking calmly but looks fucking furious.
“you had favored those complainers ahead of my permitted project.” “i’ve got all your emails!” he tells mallek. he’s so extremely mad about the dirt.
the moderator asks him to get to his question and he yelled “i’m going to!” and then proceeds to not do that.
the moderator asks him to get to his question and he yelled “i’m going to!” and then proceeds to not do that.
after being prompted by the moderator again to ask a question,” he says “are you above the law?” the audience laughs but the angry looking woman next to him yells “well are you?!”
“it doesn’t involve the rest of the audience,” the moderator tells him. “i’m not done!” says the angry dirt guy.
candidate steve harvey should not be weighing on this but here we are!
candidate steve harvey should not be weighing on this but here we are!
moving on now to the questions directed to tracci and hingeley. apparently we have a full hour to devote to this. first question is what is your definition of your role as CA? what is equal justice under the law?
hingeley defines the role of the CA as the chief law enforcement officer of the county, to receive complaints of criminal conduct, (ok this is just a schoolhouse rock without music)
hingeley says when a complaint comes in, “it’s not automatic what would happen - the prosecutor has a lot of discretion.”
tracci says the code of virginia answers this question and proceeds to literally read the state code’s definition of the job. (it’s printed out. my dude printed out his own job description for this debate)
tracci says discretion is like a company credit card - “you use it sparingly.” used too often, the prosecutor is “embezzling” (he used this comparison yesterday and i’m really worried the prosecutor has no idea what embezzlement is.)
hingeley says tracci’s allegation that prosecutorial discretion amounts to disregarding the law is incorrect. “the question is not whether you disregard crime, you regard it and determine what the best way” to resolve the issue is.
“you had an open shut case against the unite the right organizer jason kessler. you made a rookie mistake. was this deliberate? or do you not know what you’re doing?” spicy question for tracci.
he starts his response by saying his parents are immigrants. not an answer.
tracci says there is a deliberate and dishonest effort to conflate kessler’s perjury charge with the weekend of august 12. (he committed perjury in early 2017 and was not prosecuted until a year later. had be been convicted in spring/summer 2017, there would’ve been no UTR)
he again blames judge higgins for refusing to take judicial notice of the venue for the perjury case, which he failed to establish (truly a rookie mistake)
hingeley says there are prosecutable cases related to the events of august 11, 2017. (tracci has pursued no prosecution aside from giving the crying nazi a very soft plea deal)
tracci tries to smear hingeley as irresponsible for trying to “indict a case to see what happens.” hingeley clarifies that he isn’t talking about a lack of evidence - he’s talking about a question of a deficiency of the law. that’s what needs to be tested by the court.
the next question was something kind of incoherent about racial bias. hingeley says he has the best of intentions but the system is so biased, “it may happen anyway” and he wants to study racially disproportionate outcomes.
that’s actually a really solid answer. you can vow to be race blind, but without transparent, publicly available data that’s pretty meaningless.
“why should voters reward you with a second term?” someone asks tracci.
tracci says there was a spike in violent crime, which he prosecuted. he’s talking an awful lot about sexual trafficking - has he had more than that one big case?
tracci says there was a spike in violent crime, which he prosecuted. he’s talking an awful lot about sexual trafficking - has he had more than that one big case?
“behind every statistic is a victim who deserves justice,” tracci says (ok but there are plenty of crimes without victims)
tracci says we should be less focused on outcome and more on process.
tracci says we should be less focused on outcome and more on process.
a man exits the room, yelling “violent offenders as long as they aren’t nazis with torches!”
hingeley says voters should look at experience. “i’ve tried thousands of criminal cases. when mr tracci ran for office in 2015, he had tried zero cases in state court.”
hingeley says tracci may have helped try some cases as an unpaid volunteer in the US attorneys office (this must be what tracci was referring to when he rebutted this accusation last time)
tracci is such a petulant little dweeb.
he tells hingeley that he was NOT an unpaid volunteer and in fact got paid in that position at the US attorneys office & that there is a statute that allows state law to be tried in federal court so technically hingeley’s accusation is incorrect 🙄
next question is about ICE notifications (which isn’t a policy the CA’s office has much to do with)
“ICE is notified [when someone is booked into the jail]. the law requires that ICE is notified and i support the law,” hingeley says. the issue that keeps coming up is a local policy of notifying ICE again when they are released. he doesn’t support this.
tracci disagrees vehemently, calling ICE notifications a “public safety imperative.”
he calls the progressive prosecutor movement intentional disregard of the legislature.
he calls the progressive prosecutor movement intentional disregard of the legislature.
tracci, on prosecutorial discretion: “the founders did not write our constitution to allow a single constitutional officer in one jurisdiction to undermine” the electorate.
hingeley is asked when he last tried a felony on circuit court. he says he retired as a public defender three years ago, at which time he was trying many felonies. since then, he’s supervised a clinic for law students trying misdemeanors.
as he’s responding, he recalls that he worked pro bono on a felony case this year. “i continue to be an active participant in the courts,” hingeley says.
another niche question for the BOS candidates - something about agricultural forest districts? and taxes? i don’t understand the question or the answer but mallek is addressing it confidently.
mallek: “the land use tax deferral is only on open dirt”
(these are not issues that come up when i cover city politics)
(these are not issues that come up when i cover city politics)
harvey talks a big farm game for a guy who recently bought 15 acres and hasn’t done anything with it yet.
the question was why didn’t hingeley speak out about the injustice done in that case at the time. hingeley says as a public defender, he was not in a place to publicly comment on the case.
tracci calls the case a “clear and vulgar abuse of power” by his predecessor. he says it’s one of the reasons he ran in 2015.
oh, the name didn’t click immediately but i do recall this, although in a different context. i’m assuming denise isn’t still planning on suing me but i’ll hold off on any off the cuff criticisms of her
next question is about abortion. creigh deeds says he is pro choice and would support laws that protect a woman’s right to choose.
alcorn, too, says she’s running as a pro choice candidate & would like to see abortion rights written into VA law in case something happens to roe v wade.
alcorn says easy access to affordable birth control & long term birth control options is important. “it is our responsibility as legislators to help bring that money home to help support our communities.”
oh this is gonna be chaos. they’re abandoning written questions and allowing people to just stand up and ask questions.
tracci says someone should ask the school board candidate a question (no one has yet!) alcorn asks her how she plans to address the racial achievement gap.
i think her name is ann oliver? she says there are programs, but they aren’t always accessible to rural families. she wants to increase the accessibility of afterschool programs for rural and working families.
dirt guy has another question.
oh god he wants to bring tyson and perdue industrial poultry grow houses to the county.
mallek says to her knowledge there is no ordinance or zoning requirement prohibiting this from existing in albemarle county.
thinking about this article about how farmers leasing those grow houses are so badly exploited by the chicken companies
theguardian.com/sustainable-bu…
theguardian.com/sustainable-bu…
dirt guy is monologuing
harvey says he doesn’t know of any statute prohibiting that kind of activity and will look into it.
an audience member asks the candidates for sheriff what a sheriff is (specifically the difference between the police department and the sheriff’s office)
short answer is the sheriffs office mostly does courtroom security, prisoner transport, and process serving.
robertson emphasizes the difference is that the sheriff is elected, but i’m not sure that answers the woman’s question.
robertson emphasizes the difference is that the sheriff is elected, but i’m not sure that answers the woman’s question.
“the charlottesville city council meetings have become almost a joke,” says a woman who i bet you $5000 has never ever attended one. she asks how the BOS candidates can stop that from happening to the county.
mallek says their meetings have “strong and respectful rules” and have sought advice and help from robert tracci’s office.
“citizens have a right to have a peaceful, respectful place to bring their ideas,” mallek says, “without anyone hounding or berating them.”
mallek says she sees the same people who “cause an uproar in the city” come to county meetings & behave just fine. (ann, just say my name)
harvey says we should “thank our lucky stars that civility has maintained itself in the county.”
robert tracci says that incivility has spread into the county at the school board meetings (i’m getting so angry i can’t breathe)
“i wanted to make sure that the misconduct in the city of charlottesville which has degenerated into international farce didn’t spread into albemarle county,” tracci says. he proudly tells the audience how he had moms arrested at a school board meeting.
tracci says the “mean spirited, vitriolic” way people treated the school board “has no place” in our society.
was it mean spirited when an officer put a man in the hospital? was it civil to arrest mothers in front of their crying children?
was it mean spirited when an officer put a man in the hospital? was it civil to arrest mothers in front of their crying children?
next question asker asks tracci about recidivism of juvenile offenders. tracci refers to a story NBC29 did recently (which doesn’t answer her question about whether his office keeps these stats)
hahaha she fuckin’ got him. drew him out about how he handles young and first time offenders and then said, “so you use some discretion in how to charge young and first time offenders?”
hingeley says tracci is talking about prosecutorial discretion without saying it. (which is exactly what he’s doing and it’s bizarre and infuriating)
“a good prosecutor has to look very carefully at all the circumstances and use prosecutorial discretion.” “solving problems is in the best interest of the community,” hingeley says.
ok now a two minute closer from each candidate.
mallek wants to address topics that came up tonight instead of giving a traditional, practiced closer most candidates would choose. she’s just reading some bullet points from her notes.
mallek is DEEPLY in the weeds about deferred property taxes for farm land and this is a terrible use of her two minutes.
harvey says a body that generally votes with consensus isn’t a good steward of tax money. “we need fresh ideas, we need fresh perspective just to have rigorous debate.” he accuses the board of ignoring constituents whose beliefs differ from their own.
ronnie roberts, the sheriff candidate who looks like he’s fresh off a casting call for a B movie about a drill sergeant, says recruiting young officers is particularly difficult and important today.
sorry, my unwillingness to talk to cops often extends to an inability to hear them talk
the at large school board candidate seems very nice but she didn’t get much opportunity to speak tonight. reserving judgment on her.
robert tracci says a legal system that holds people accountable for misconduct is an important part of a community.
one of the first things tracci highlights about the difference between him & his opponent is his support of ICE before almost immediately saying he isn’t political.
tracci says we should be thanking cops every time we see them. “it’s not enough to thank them on police week.”
alcorn says she feels her district’s needs are being ignored and wants to be “proactive instead of reactive.”
“we have health insurance monopolies writing their own rules,” they “need to be reined in.”
“we have health insurance monopolies writing their own rules,” they “need to be reined in.”
alcorn says we need full state funding of public schools, we cannot keep depending on property taxes to fund schools.
“we need the government to step up” and push broadband development across the state.
“we need the government to step up” and push broadband development across the state.
alcorn also highlights the dangers of climate change. we need laws to change to allow clean & renewable energy. “i totally support private investment in clean energy.”
chan bryant, the other candidate for sheriff, says “experience matters.” (roberts is older but chan has been in THIS sheriff’s office for years)
she highlights her work in the community, programs like lunch buddies.
she highlights her work in the community, programs like lunch buddies.
hingeley says tracci said progressive prosecutors cause “different outcomes in different jurisdictions.” hingeley says cville has a ‘progressive prosecutor’ and wants to compare outcomes...
cville has seen a 12% decrease in incarceration, a reduction of 20,000 days of jail use. it costs $90.36 per day to incarcerate someone at ACRJ, saving the city $1.8mil in three years.
sorry, too many numbers too fast - he read some stats for albemarle county over the same time period & they have seen an increase in incarceration and costs. i’m sure this is posted somewhere, i’ll find it afterward!
“what you see with me is what you get,” says creigh deeds, who is seeking re-election.
and that concludes a truly bizarre forum that included candidates for multiple offices.
