The Road to 2012
Special Report by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro didn’t go poof! into the night. There aren’t tumbleweeds running through downtown. (Not yet.) The sun did in fact come up this morning. That’s in spite of another electoral defeat for progressives at the polls in the City Council elections on May 4.
Lorie Smith fell short in her bid to win re-election in Ward D, getting outpolled by 141 votes by former State Police lieutenant Mike Harris, an ally of the libertarian-conservative blog that already had a majority on the five-member city governing body. The bloc made it a clean sweep with Jeff Freeman’s win in the Ward C race over Virginia Department of Transporation engineering assistant Robert Johnson.
So why am I feeling almost optimistic about the cause of Moving Waynesboro Forward in the face of the election carnage? Continue reading “The Road to 2012” »
Mixed bag in local election results
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Tighter-than-expected elections in Waynesboro, and results as expected in Staunton. That was Election Day in the Valley on Tuesday. Continue reading “Mixed bag in local election results” »
It’s endorsement time
Written by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro is going to head in a new direction after Tuesday’s city elections. Staunton is going to continue on a familiar and proven course. We can say that with certainty as different as the two election cycles have been in the sister cities.
Free read from AFPTheMagazine.com.
Continue reading “It’s endorsement time” »
Election Guide 2010
Compiled by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
AFPTheMagazine.com offers up information on the candidates for public office in contested races in Staunton and Waynesboro to be decided on May 4.
Free public service of AFPTheMagazine.com. Continue reading “Election Guide 2010” »
The better budget approach: Zero-based, or results-based?
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Mike Harris has tried to seize the momentum in the marquee race in the upcoming May 4 local elections with a proposal that revolutionized government budgeting 40 years ago.
It’s called the zero-based budget, and the idea is that budget writers start their work on fiscal plans with the assumption that they don’t have a single dollar to spend that is guaranteed, and that they’ll have to justify every penny they ask for as they seek ways to continue providing public-sector services like police, fire, rescue, trash pickup and others.
Free read from AFPTheMagazine.com. Continue reading “The better budget approach: Zero-based, or results-based?” »
Education group announces Waynesboro endorsements
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The Waynesboro Education Association announced today its endorsements in the upcoming May 4 city elections – giving its nod to Lorie Smith and Robert Johnson for City Council and Kathe Maneval and Jeremy Taylor for School Board.
Free read from AFPTheMagazine.com. Includes a story and video interviews.
Continue reading “Education group announces Waynesboro endorsements” »
Smith to host roundtable discussion
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro City Council candidate Lorie Smith will host an informal get-together at the Waynesboro Public Library on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Smith, the incumbent in Ward D, has held three roundtable-style discussions with citizens within the last two weeks.
Light refreshments will be served, and children are welcome.
Smith to host get-together in Ward D
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro City Councilwoman Lorie Smith will host an informal get-together today at 6:30 p.m. at the Waynesboro Country Club.
The get-together is part of a series of events that Smith is hosting to talk with voters across the city.
Smith is running for re-election to City Council in the May 4 city elections.
Light refreshments will be served, and children are welcome.
In addition to this series of ward meetings, Waynesboro citizens are always welcome to contact Smith by e-mail at campaign@LorieSmith.com or submit feedback through her website at www.LorieSmith.com.
Smith to host get-together at Fairfax Hall
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro City Council candidate Lorie Smith will hold an informal get-together at Fairfax Hall, 1101 Reservoir St., today at 6 p.m.
The event is one in a series of ward meetings that Smith is hosting to obtain feedback from citizens.
The get-together will be a relaxed, roundtable discussion with ample opportunity for questions. Light refreshments will be available and children are welcome.
In addition to the current series of ward meetings, Waynesboro citizens are always welcome to contact Smith by e-mail at campaign@LorieSmith.com or submit feedback through her website at www.LorieSmith.com.
Harris, Freeman: It’s their election to lose
Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
All I wanted to be able to do, I told myself throughout my 2008 campaign for Waynesboro City Council, was to think at 7 p.m. on Election Night that I’d done everything I could do to put myself in a position to be able to win.
Win or lose, I said to myself, many times, I didn’t want to leave anything on the table.
I lost, of course, and pretty miserably at that, and the postmortems aren’t yet over, almost two years later. It’s rare that I go more than a day or two without thinking about something that I could have done better or just differently.
It’s probably my personality. I haven’t coached youth basketball in eight years, and I still find myself on long drives scheming offensive systems, for that inevitable day when I get back into coaching. Continue reading “Harris, Freeman: It’s their election to lose” »
Two approaches to Moving Waynesboro Forward
Report by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
“The budget for each department would have a starting point of zero, and then you start with your essential needs, paper, electricity, water, labor, as an example.”
That was Ward D candidate Mike Harris, as quoted in a NewsVirginian.com story reporting on Harris’ proposal on Wednesday to have the city rethink its budgeting process.
There’s one way to skin the cat. (Apologies to PETA.) Vice Mayor Frank Lucente has pushed that line of thinking in his five years on City Council. And there’s certainly a need for somebody on the City Council dais who thinks that way. The city has a finance director on staff, sure, but it’s the City Council that provides the big-picture focus. Minding the p’s and q’s is a necessary part of the big-picture focus. Continue reading “Two approaches to Moving Waynesboro Forward” »
Phil Winter: Zero-based budgeting debate
Posted by afp on April 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment
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The News Virginian’s April 24 article about “zero-based” budgeting brought back memories of the federal government’s use of this approach more than 15 years ago. It proved then to be a quickly passing, inefficient, and ineffective, fad. Current City Council member, and candidate for reelection, Lorie Smith has it right; the budget preparation process should focus on efficiently utilizing taxpayers dollars, not on starting over every year from a “zero base.” Continue reading “Phil Winter: Zero-based budgeting debate” »
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