In This Issue: Surprises are popping up all over local elections | How Do We Help the Homeless? | Odds & Ends at FXBGAdvance.com

It’s October in an Election Year … Surprise!

by Martin Davis
Editor-in-Chief

From costumed children knocking on doors to jump screams and monsters who just won’t die (Hello, Michael Myers and Freddie Krueger), October is full of surprises.

Throw in an election cycle – and we in Virginia deal with this nightmare every year – and “surprise” takes on other connotations. That big secret; that cache of documents that suddenly appears; that one meme that drives voters to the poll. Everyone’s looking for something that upsets the races and vaults underdog to favored candidate.

As of this morning, just under two weeks away from Election Day, there haven’t been any major surprises.

Tara Durant’s efforts to brand as “extremist liberals” Joel Griffin (a former Marine, business owner, and venture capitalist) and Monica Gary (a mom, respected board member in Stafford, and true political independent) surely fires the base up, but it won’t change minds. They’ll never be confused for Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Griffin’s campaign to brand Durant (a devout Christian and former Catholic educator) an extremist also plays well to the progressive base, but surely won’t sway voters’ opinions. She opposes abortion? She favors charter schools? Neither will surprise anyone who has followed these debates over the past few years.

The same type of analogy can made between Joshua Cole and Lee Peters. Both have aired extremist commercials in the area. But to those who know both men, “extremist” is a term that simply doesn’t fit.

As for the one extremist in the race, Matt Strickland, he’s trying to convince everyone he’s just a good-old-boy populist running to represent “the people.” An eagle-eyed reader spotted a Strickland sign with a QR code that takes those who read the code to the following page:

Again – we doubt anyone who has watched his antics at Gourmeltz are buying it.

So no big surprises. Still, there are a few curiosities that might make a difference on November 7.

Surprises in – where else? – Spotsylvania …

The Advance was the first to report on Monday that Nick Ignacio:

trading as Fredericksburg Virginia Patriots and a candidate for Clerk of Court in Spotsylvania County, was served with an injunction … and must immediately desist distributing misleading sample ballots until his hearing on Thursday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court.

That surprise was quickly followed by another announcement this morning that the trial had been moved from Spotsylvania to Stafford. Adele Uphaus noted that fact Tuesday morning in her piece on the issue.

We know that at least one voter was taken in by Ignacio’s misleading sample ballots. Even if the injunction is tossed Thursday morning, these sample ballots are not being distributed now, and the attention the issue has drawn is sure to help voters going to the polls think twice and ask some hard questions before accepting any sample ballots without asking some questions.

It could well prove a turning point in the election, and a nightmare for the Tea Party that worked together to push Ignacio’s unscrupulous behavior.

… And in Stafford

On Monday, long-time respected Republican Gary Snellings crossed party lines and endorsed Howard Rudat for Stafford Board of Supervisors over Republican fire-brand Crystal Vanuch.

In recent years, Vanuch has faced criticism for decisions that have cost the county money. The most significant being one that ended up costing taxpayers nearly $1 million.

The Advance reached out to Snellings for comment, but as of Tuesday night had not had a response.

Political leaders crossing party lines shouldn’t surprise us, but in the current political climate, it does send something of a jolt through the community.

And why not? It’s October. Surprise!

Note: The FXBG Advance will be reporting the election live throughout the day and night on Tuesday, November 7. Watch for more details about how to stay on top of election results.

Helping panhandlers involves more than just easing bans on begging

by Roger Chesley
Virginia Mercury

Editor’s Note: The city of Fredericksburg has been in extended discussions about how to handle its population of homeless citizens. This piece recently appeared in the Virginia Mercury. We reprint it here to shed light on the extent of the homeless issue in Virginia, the complexities involved in addressing it, and some innovative approaches being tried in Virginia and across the country.

Alexandria’s City Council recently voted to repeal some restrictions on panhandling, noting the regulations violated federal court rulings involving free speech. Other localities around Virginia have taken similar actions over the past decade.

The unanimous council vote in Alexandria, a city of 155,000, evinces compassion for people often struggling to find food, shelter – and a dose of humanity.

The bigger issue, though, is this: What are communities doing to transform panhandlers’ lives so they achieve stability – and won’t shuffle along streets with a proverbial tin cup? Also, do we actually harm supplicants when donating spare bills?

I get the impression, based on news reports, the official response is mixed. Some officeholders wish beggars would just disappear and leave residents alone. Others actively direct panhandlers – who are often homeless – to services ranging from mental health counseling to job seeking.

“We try to encourage people not to give” to panhandlers but donate instead “to one of the many organizations that serve the homeless,” Mary Riley, community programs administrator in Chesapeake’s Human Services Department, told me. Signs around the city, for example, urge people to “contribute to the solution” by donating to local charities and directing the homeless population to a housing crisis hotline.

A few years ago, Chesapeake opened a resource center where homeless individuals can take showers, wash their clothes, get a meal and receive help landing a job. Some 25 to 30 people visit the center each day, Riley said.

Fairfax County goes even further: It runs a program called “Operation Stream Shield” in which homeless persons are paid to pick up litter, landscape and remove invasive plants in waterways. It started as a pilot project in 2019 and now includes nonprofit organizations that partner with the county.

The locality copied the idea from a program that began in 2015 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, called “There’s A Better Way.” That city wanted to reduce panhandling, remove litter and provide dignity through work. (The city has since overhauled the program using a “a holistic approach to do case management and other supportive services,” Heidi Shultz, Albuquerque homeless program division manager, told me this week.)

Several communities around the country – including Philadelphia and Oklahoma City – have adopted components of Albuquerque’s original model, tailoring it to their own circumstances and goals.

In Philadelphia, for example, the program uses a lottery to select who “won” the chance to work that day. The lucky few earn $50 for a half-day’s work cleaning up streets around the City of Brotherly Love.

Pat Herrity is Springfield’s longtime representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He said ending panhandling is a public safety issue, too. People begging on roadways put themselves and motorists at risk – the latter as they slow down while being generous. They could get rear-ended.

“We’ve all seen close calls,” Herrity told me Wednesday.

The county’s clean-up program last year collected 270 tons of litter and 373 bags of invasive plants, he said. Some 30 participants garnered full-time employment, too.

That’s impressive. Maybe even life-changing.

If you’re like me, you probably go through a range of emotions when encountering panhandlers: Many look vulnerable, especially elderly women and adults who bring children with them. They pull at our heartstrings.

Or they may be on a never-ending grift, taking advantage of our sympathy – and naiveté. Some may look intimidating. “I’ve had businesses tell me that employees have left to go panhandle” because it’s more lucrative, Herrity said.

Riley, from Chesapeake, calls some beggars “professionals” who raise a lot of money but aren’t homeless. That’s not always the case, however.

Is giving a couple of bucks, or even a couple of Lincolns, so bad? Or does such generosity do more harm than good, allowing people to use the cash for drugs or alcohol?

I remember a column I wrote for The Virginian-Pilot in 2017, in which I’d interviewed a frequent panhandler who was begging along an interstate exit in Virginia Beach. He was well known to local police.

The same day the column ran, a guy called me claiming to know the panhandler and his family. He said the panhandler was playing on the goodwill of people, had a home to live in and wasn’t destitute.

My takeaway? We simply don’t know all the circumstances when we encounter folks begging for help – and looking like they need it.

That’s why the responses in places like Chesapeake and Fairfax County are laudable. Some people will always try to get over. Others, though, would jump at a chance to put away their tin cups.

Odds & Ends at FXBGAdvance.com

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-Martin Davis, Editor