State Senate candidate and Arlington County Board Member Barbara Favola is calling on Virginia health insurers to cover birth control and other reproductive health services for women.
Favola said she would sponsor legislation to require Virginia insurers to follow the Institute of Medicine’s recent recommendations that women be provided birth control, STD counseling, breast pumps and other health services at no charge. According to a campaign press release:
Following Areizaga-Soto’s criticism of Favola’s campaign contributors, and the recent release of new fundraising disclosures, Favola’s campaign went on the offensive today and attacked the source of the $160,000 in personal funds Areizaga-Soto loaned to his own campaign.
The Favola campaign issued the following press release this afternoon:
Quarterly finance reports are out for Arlington’s state Senate races.
In the heated 31st District contest between County Board member Barbara Favola and Army National Guard JAG officer Jaime Areizaga-Soto, Favola won the fundraising battle and conserved her cash.
Late Night For Harry Potter Fans — Hundreds of die-hard Harry Potter fans attended midnight and 3:00 a.m. screenings of the last film in the series — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — at the Regal Ballston Common cinema last night.
Artisphere Reduces Burden on Tenants — The County Board voted this week to simplify the 15-page legal document that potential tenants of the Artisphere must use if they want to put on a show or hold an event. [Washington Examiner]
Barbara Favola’s state Senate campaign is defending a telephone poll that erroneously identified Democratic primary opponent Jaime Areizaga-Soto as a Republican.
The poll, conducted on behalf of the Favola campaign, asked residents negative questions about both candidates. In a statement, the Favola campaign said calling Areizaga a Republican was a “clerical error.”
Update at 4:45 p.m. — The Washington Post reports that Favola has ordered her pollster to stop calling Areizaga-Soto a “Republican” during the poll.
The Jaime Areizaga-Soto state Senate campaign, criticized last week for its negative campaign mailers, is now fighting back against a telephone poll apparently conducted on behalf of opponent Barbara Favola’s campaign.
The latest mailer shows Favola between Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli with the headline “These politicians have a lot in common” — a reference to the fact that all three have accepted donations from local real estate developer, philanthropist and Republican political donor Preston Caruthers. (Favolva accepted a $5,000 donation from Caruthers.)
“I’m disappointed that my friend Jaime Areizaga-Soto has been persuaded that victory in the primary can be achieved through slick negative campaign mailings,” Del. Bob Brink said in a statement said in a statement last night.
An Areizaga-Soto campaign mailer sent to local homes this week accuses Favola of “[selling] her vote to real-estate developers.”
“Barbara Favola thinks it’s OK to get paid for her votes,” the mailer says. “Favola took $25,000 from developer John Shooshan after she voted to allow construction on his multi-million dollar project.”
Areizaga-Soto told the Blue Virginia web site that it is “not ethical” for Favola to accept tens of thousands of dollars from developers who have recently had business before the county. She “should resign from the board or return the money immediately,” Areizaga-Soto said.
Earlier this year, Favola told ARLnow.com that her vote “can’t be bought.”
The plan, however, does not change the serpentine borders of the 31st District, which will stretch from North Arlington to Loudoun County along the Potomac River. Likewise, the 30th District will remain unchanged from the first plan, which took away a bit of South Arlington territory from the district’s borders.
If approved by Gov. McDonnell as expected, the plan will place McLean millionaire Caren Merrick within the borders of the 31st District. Merrick has already announced her intention of running for the state Senate as a Republican.
There have been two minor but noteworthy developments in the Democratic primary battle for Mary Margaret Whipple’s state Senate seat.
Liz Chadderdon, a consultant who had been working with Barbara Favola’s campaign, has left the campaign. Political chatter suggests she may have quit.
Arlington Students Head to White House – Two hundred fifty students from five Arlington elementary schools will be heading to the White House today to participate in the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. [Arlington Public Schools]
Student Project Heading to Space Station – A science game invented by a group of Barrett Elementary School students was the winner of a national NASA-run contest and will now be played aboard the International Space Station. [WUSA 9]
