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Morning Notes

Published October 20, 2010 at 7:20AM

Kelly Has $10K Cash Advantage — Republican candidate for county board Mark Kelly may not have raised as much money as incumbent Chris Zimmerman but, true to his campaign platform, he also spent significantly less. Kelly had $28,480 cash on hand on Sept. 30, more than $10,000 more than Zimmerman. More from the Sun Gazette.

County Board Questions NOVA Budget Request — Northern Virginia Community College is asking localities to help cover its $14 million capital budget gap, but at a meeting last night the county board seemed less than enthusiastic about doing so in a year when more budget cuts and tax hikes are likely on the way. Currently, Arlington pays $1 per resident to NOVA’s capital budget fund. NOVA is asking for an additional 50 cents per person. More from TBD.

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Murray Has $108K Cash on Hand in Latest Filing

By ARLnow.com

Published October 15, 2010 at 12:16PM | Updated October 15, 2010 at 4:47PM

The figures were revealed in a financial disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission this morning. Today is the deadline for quarterly financial filings from congressional candidates.

Murray has held fundraisers with a number of boldfaced GOP names recently. He has also been designated as “On the Radar” by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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Cooch, Tea Party Leaders to Spend Election Night in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published October 15, 2010 at 8:31AM

If the election results go their way, the Tea Party will be partying in Arlington on Nov. 2.

The Clarendon-based Leadership Institute, a sort of conservative political training camp, will host “an election night victory party for 350 conservative and Tea Party activists.”

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Kelly Makes County Manager’s Resignation a Campaign Issue

By ARLnow.com

Published October 12, 2010 at 11:08AM | Updated October 12, 2010 at 1:26PM

Last night, in an otherwise dry debate at the Lyon Village Civic Association’s general meeting, Kelly made the Brown issue central to his case against incumbent Democrat Chris Zimmerman.

“I want to give you one example that happened recently that I think points to the problem when one party controls every seat,” Kelly told the crowd. While saying that sometimes it’s necessary to fire people who aren’t working out, Kelly criticized the way in which board chairman Jay Fisette finally acknowledged that Brown did not simply resign for personal reasons.

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Moran Leads Poll Despite Low Favorable Rating

By ARLnow.com

Published October 8, 2010 at 8:27AM

The poll, conducted in mid-September, shows Moran with 45 percent of the likely vote compared to Murray’s 32 percent. Another 23 percent say they’re undecided.

In 2008, Moran defeated Republican candidate Mark Ellmore 68 percent to 30 percent.

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Could Dirty Money Hurt Jim Moran’s Re-election Prospects?

By ARLnow.com

Published October 4, 2010 at 2:42PM

Enter last month’s guilty plea by former lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, founder of the now-defunct PMA Group. Magliocchetti pleaded guilty to illegally reimbursing family members and PMA employees for making political contributions.

PMA and its employees funneled at least $150,000 into Moran’s campaign coffers from 1998-2008, according to data compiled by political blogger Ben Tribbett. While the donations were taking place, millions of dollars in defense contracts were awarded to PMA’s clients by Moran and two other Defense Appropriations subcommittee members.

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Ebbin May Seek State Senate Seat

By ARLnow.com

Published October 4, 2010 at 8:53AM

State Sen. Patsy Ticer, a Democrat who represents a large chunk of south Arlington, as well as parts of Alexandria and Fairfax County, has so far shown no signs of interest in seeking another term.

Among the names of potential replacements being floated around, one is reportedly not interested, but another almost certainly is. Sources close to Del. Adam Ebbin tell us that he’s interested in seeking the Democratic nomination for Ticer’s seat. Ebbin, who also represents parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, has held his current House of Delegates seat since January 2004.

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Absentee Voting Starts

By ARLnow.com

Published September 17, 2010 at 9:01AM

In-person absentee voting started today, in advance of the November 2 election.

Election officials say two people have already cast ballots in the first hour of absentee voting. The voting is taking place on the third floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

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Sen. John McCain to Appear at Fundraiser for Patrick Murray

By ARLnow.com

Published September 13, 2010 at 5:15PM

Murray, facing a steep uphill battle in his fight to unseat incumbent Democratic congressman Jim Moran, will be joined by part-time Crystal City resident and one-time Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain at a private fundraiser in Alexandria next week.

Tickets for the fundraiser, which will be held Monday night, range from $250 to $2,400. Republican operative Charlie Black and former Ross Perot presidential campaign spokesperson Orson Swindle are among the bold-faced names on the guestlist.

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Kelly: Board is Out of Touch, Needs Diversity of Opinion

By ARLnow.com

Published September 9, 2010 at 1:40PM | Updated September 9, 2010 at 2:18PM

“Between 2000 and 2009, the all-Democrat county board increased spending at a rate nearly three times inflation,” Kelly said in this opening remarks at Tuesday night’s Civic Federation debate. “Mr. Zimmerman recently called that ‘cautious and careful fiscal management… only inside the Beltway would we call that cautious and careful fiscal management.'”

Kelly proposes to scrap the $150 million Columbia Pike trolley system, championed by Zimmerman. If elected, Kelly said he would push for the release of all county spending information online and support a 10 percent pay cut for board members to help pay for it.

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School Board Candidates Talk Planetarium, Overcrowding

By ARLnow.com

Published September 8, 2010 at 1:52PM

Miriam Gennari, the Green Party candidate for school board, made her case for why she should replace incumbent Sally Baird last night. To Gennari, the biggest challenges facing Arlington Public Schools come down to sustainability and environmental stewardship.

“The questions that we’re going to face have more to do with our environment than anything else,” Gennari said. “As we continue to plan our community to become more dense… we have to determine how we can best make those transitions while not having a negative affect on our children.”

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“Constitution” Outburst Interrupts Candidate Q&A

By ARLnow.com

Published September 8, 2010 at 7:50AM

“Do you believe in the Constitution, and do you follow it?”

That’s the question one man really, really wanted to ask of the three 8th District congressional candidates at a Civic Federation-sponsored debate Tuesday night. The moderator tried to move on to the next question before the candidates could answer, at which point the man began yelling.