Well, At Least He's Fixed the Clip-Art ...

Last month (the end of September), Watkins Abbitt mass mailed a hit piece that used half-truths to lie about Connie Brennan's record on taxes and spending. We responded vigorously with the whole truth, and you can read that response here.

Well, now he's done it again. Mr. Abbitt has mass mailed another hit piece that recycles a couple of the same lies from his first mailing and adds one or two new ones just for good measure. This time, he's fixed the clip-art; the phoney country store is gone. But it looks like Abbitt didn't learn much more than that from the first go-around.

Left click for larger image
Here we go again ...



Ok, Let's Take This One at a Time ...

"Raised taxes on small businesses by 400%": This is an old recycled lie. Yes, one tax did go up by "400%", but what's not mentioned is:

  • The increase was on a utility bill tax. It went up from $2 to $10.
  • So the actual dollar increase was a only $8 per month.
  • This is a small fraction of all the taxes that we pay.
  • Bottom line: Only one small part of business taxes increased. When compared against a business' overall taxes, the percentage increase is practically nill. Not the 400% this misleading headline would have you believe.

Furthermore:

  • This money went directly to the hiring of EMS personnel, something that our county very much needed.
  • The vote by the Board of Supervisors for this $8 increase was unanimous.
  • Only two out of the five Supervisors are Democrats, so support for this increase came not just from Connie and "her friends". Even the conservative Board members agreed that the increase was necessary.



"Raised utility taxes by 50% on homeowners and businesses." This is also recycled. This complaint is about a $2 charge that went to $3. That's just a one dollar increase, hardly a crushing burden. Mr. Abbitt didn't mention that little factoid in his mail piece.

Another thing Mr. Abbitt failed to mention is the increase was mandated by the State. The county supervisors had no control over it. Now, isn't Mr. Abbitt one of the people who makes state laws?



Bye the way: If you want to see a detailed report about what happened to Nelson County taxes during Connie's tenure as a Supervisor, you can find that report here.

Left click to see the report
Taxes and Fees Report



"And despite a 28% increase in education spending, Nelson County test scores did not improve and drop-out rates increased." This charge is new, but it is flatly contradicted by the facts. According to the Fall-2007 edition of the Nelson Schools Newsletter for the 2006-07 school year, our kids have improved an overall 5% over the prior year, with math scores leading the way. They're up as much as 30 percent!

Left click for larger image
Nelson School News (page 4)

As for the 28% increase in spending, those increases are controlled by the School Board, not the Board of Supervisors, and a lot of that increase comes from unfunded mandates from the state and Federal governments. Mr. Abbitt, being a Delegate, has more control over those mandates than do the Supervisors.

In any case, Nelson County managed to cover those increases without having to resort to raising property tax rates. They should be congratulated, not condemned.



"Now, Brennan is taking contributions from Personal Injury Lawyers -- the kind who file frivolous lawsuits that hurt innocent people." As if Mr. Abbitt doesn't take contributions from lawyers???

Leaving aside the utter smear against an entire profession, a profession that you might very well have to turn to should you ever suffer an injury, ...

Leaving that aside, the plain fact is, Mr. Abbitt has taken more than three times as much in contributions from lawyers as Connie!

Check the facts. As of this writing (October 28, 2007), the fundraising reports indicate:

  • Ms. Brennan has received a grand total of $4,020 from lawyers and law firms. Check it out. here's the list.


  • Mr. Abbitt, on the other hand, has received $12,312, more than three times as much! His list of donors is here.


  • Mr. Abbitt's single largest contribution amount from any person or organization was $5,000. He received two contributions at that size. One of those contributions was from Robert Carter, a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association!


  • Mr. Carter's single $5,000 contribution was larger than the total of all contributions received by Ms. Brennan from all lawyers of any type!

Left click to see Watkins Abbitt's Fundraising Report        Left click to see Connie Brennan's Fundraising Report

Overall Fundraising Reports
for Abbitt (left) and Brennan (right)




So What Are Mr. Abbitt's Politics?

Well, looking over the several mail pieces from Mr. Abbitt, I'd have to say they're not pretty. When he's not smearing Connie Brennan, he is claiming credit for some programs that he had little or nothing to do with and others that he even fought against!

The fact that Mr. Abbitt is willing to engage in lies and smears to defeat his opponent says at least two things about the man and this campaign.

    First, it speaks volumes about the character of this man who has been "representing" us for way too many years. He will stoop to anything just to keep his job.

    Second, if the only way that Mr. Abbitt can attack his opponent is by making such ridiculous exaggerations, then Connie's record in public service must actually be pretty good.



Links

If you want more information about Mr. Abbitt, or if you want to follow up on the information provided above, here are some links that may be of interest.





If you want more information about Connie Brennan, check out these links.