Reader Mail Week of March 6

Republican committee leader recalls dinner

I had the pleasure of [Sun columnist]Ben Blankenship's company at my table at the 2nd Annual Stafford County Republican Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner. It was with surprise that I read his rather codgery summation of the evening.

He was shocked that a gathering of 500 Republicans with a visionary speaker such as Newt Gingrich would generate excitement. Should we have been hanging our heads and whining that our presidential candidate lost in November? Mr. Blankenship guessed that the excitement must have been because Sen. Judd Gregg had withdrawn his name as Commerce Secretary in the Obama Adminstration. I can assure that most in that room didn't even know about Sen. Gregg's decision. We were excited because the Republican Party by nature is optimistic. We believe it's the rugged individualism of each American that makes our nation great.

Stafford Republicans were energized because we had a national leader come to our area to congratulate us on a terrific win in Stafford in November, despite surrounding counties going for Obama. We were also excited to have the No. 2 House Republican Congressman Eric Cantor rally with us. We are united in our quest to push back at the overreaching hand of government.

As for the comments of it being a high-dollar dinner with no 20-somethings, if Mr. Blankenship had just turned his body around he would have seen the tables of college Republicans and high school kids sitting behind him, at our dinner on scholarship by donors to the committee. A simple search on the Internet shows local democrats charging $88 for their dinner, which has no headliner such as one like Newt Gingrich.

There was no "controversy" at our dinner with local democrats. The Stafford Democrat chair and former Stafford County Registrar Ray Davis stood in front of the Expo Center as our dinner guests arrived, handing out anti-republican fliers. We politely asked them to leave. They refused. The owner then reminded them of the law, which forbade what they were doing, so they left.

As one of the leaders of the Fredericksburg Area Republicans, I can assure you I do not need to protest my counterpart's dinner. We Republicans celebrate the freedom of Assembly and I wish them well on their dinner.

Susan Stimpson
Chairwoman, Stafford County Republican Committee

Reader weighs in on supervisors’ pay

I was interested to read the recent story discussing the proposal by Supervisor Sterling to tie a portion of board salaries to the actual accomplishment of Stafford County priorities. This is a reform that is a long time in coming. Our elected representatives should work for us, for our priorities, or not get paid. Too long have we paid higher taxes and received reduced services. If the board of supervisors had a financial stake in the impact of their decisions, perhaps they would be more diligent in making sure those decisions serve the people of Stafford and not special interests.

I was troubled by the opposition of Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Woodson, Mr. Brito and Mr. Crisp. I was particularly troubled by the comments made by Mr. Schwartz that he was not responsible for public safety and that is was ridiculous to expect that our students could compete with students from surrounding counties. Actually, I was more than troubled. With three kids in Stafford schools and one more that will enter next year, I expect our school system to provide them with the opportunities to compete with kids from other communities — and I demand that our board of supervisors take responsibility for helping make this happen.

It is time for our elected representatives to hold themselves responsible for their performance and Supervisor Sterling’s proposal is a step in the right direction.

Mary-Ellen Samuelsen

Dog owner questions licensing rates

OK, this is one for the record books. It seems the state of Virginia, Stafford County to be precise, is now taxing responsible dog owners on the grounds of whether or not the animal has been spayed or neutered. The licensing rates are doubled if your pooch isn’t fixed. Now, isn’t that incentive to go out there and license your dog? Being a dog owner myself, I know the importance of the responsibility in ownership. In wanting a happy, healthy dog, I provide for him in every way possible. “I,” being the operative word here, am the only person taking care of him. I am the one buying his food, taking him for walks, picking up the poo, keeping his shots up to date and having him groomed. I don’t see the state jumping in there to help when he needs to go to the vet. Do they really have the best interest of the animal at heart? Or is it all about the money?

Linda Cunningham
Stafford