June 20, 2007

COMMENTARY

            I want to be the one to let you know that on the 2006-2007 Report Card of the Virginia Family Foundation I scored a five (5). Yes, that's right; five points out of a possible 100 points. In order to "hold legislators accountable to Virginia values," the Family Foundation each year publishes the votes of all members of the House of Delegates and State Senate on selected bills that "relate to the principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government, or religious liberty." Votes are compared with the Family Foundations' position on the bills, and a score is determined. This year the votes on 20 different bills were considered.
        If you voted for total repeal of the death tax, you made points with the Family Foundation. If you took my position of repealing the tax on family businesses and farms and leaving it on the super-rich, you got no points. If you voted for the so-called "marriage amendment" you got points. If you voted against the amendment and the voters in your district voted against the amendment as was my case, you got no points. Likewise, to get a good score you needed to oppose bills that would have allowed local governments to offer health care benefits to unmarried couples and that would have added sexual orientation to state government nondiscrimination policies. You needed to support bills that would have prevented homosexuals from being listed as parents on birth certificates of adopted children and that attempted to eliminate any school organizations that attempted to deal with sexuality.
        Another theme important to the Family Foundation scorecard is reproductive rights. The scorecard favored legislators who voted for bills to impose "health and safety" standards so high that all clinics performing abortions in Virginia would have been closed. They also supported bills that would have required that a woman seeking an abortion be offered the opportunity to view an ultrasound and that would have required anesthesia to be offered for an unborn child prior to an abortion. All these bills passed the House with my "no" vote but were defeated in the Senate.
        The Family Foundation favored a sunset date on all taxes, stronger protections against eminent domain, and tax credits for private schools. They opposed stem cell research and opposed any increased fees and taxes for transportation as proposed in the Senate.
        In the House, 34 Republicans and one Democrat scored a perfect 100. No Republican scored below 85. Only one Democrat scored above 75. Twenty-five Democrats scored 25 or less. In the Senate, only two Republican senators scored a perfect 100. No Senate Democrat scored above 62. Of the 40 members of the Senate, 13 members, all Democrats, scored less than 25.
        As a father of four, grandfather of three, career public educator, and active church member, I believe that my values and votes better reflect my district than does the scorecard of the Virginia Family Foundation. If you want to check the scorecard in more detail, go to www.TFFAction.org. If you want an explanation for any of my votes, contact me at kenplum@aol.com or call 703.758.9733. I want you to hear it from me.

Delegate Ken Plum's Weekly "Virginia Report"
on Reston Comcast Channel 28

Tonight -  Wednesday, June 20 at 10:30 p.m. -  Ken Mogul, President, AceWaste - "Construction and Debris Recycling in a Green Environment"

Tuesday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 27 at 10:30 p.m. -  Delegate Ken Plum - "State of the Commonwealth - 2007"

"State of the Commonwealth - 2007" Report Available

The full text of Delegate Ken Plum's State of the Commonwealth - 2007 report is available on his website, www.kenplum.com. For a printed copy, call 703.758.9733 or email kenplum@aol.com.

Announcements

The State Corporation Commission (SCC) invites persons and groups with an interest in energy conservation to submit comments or join a work group to assist Commission staff in developing a plan for a recommended mix of programs that will reduce electricity consumption in Virginia. Interested parties such as utilities, retail customers, consumer and environmental groups, and government agencies who wish to join the SCC work group should submit a letter expressing their intention by June 25, 2007, to the Clerk of the Commission, Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, VA, 23218-2118. The letter should include a complete mailing address, telephone number, fax number (if available), and electronic mailing address (if available). The SCC also welcomes written comments on the energy conservation goals. All correspondence should be sent by July 13 to David Eichenlaub, SCC Division of Economics and Finance, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA, 23218. Interested persons desiring to submit comments electronically should prepare them in a Microsoft Word document and send the email to econfin@scc.virginia.gov.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is encouraging Virginians to plant red, white, and blue America's Anniversary Gardens as part of the statewide commemoration of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and enter the 2007 statewide America's Annviersary Garden contest. Complete contest rules, garden categories, and the entry form can be found on the America's Garden website at www.ext.vt.edu/americasgarden/contest.html. Contest entries must be submitted by September 1, 2007.

Calendar of Events

The National Alliance for Mentally Ill of Northern Virginia presents its Speaker Forum with Professor Richard Bonnie, Chair of the Commission on Mental Health Law Reform. The Speaker Forum will be held on Monday, June 25, First Christian Church, 6165 Leesburg Pike (Route 7), Falls Church at 7:00 p.m.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is sponsoring a presentation and discussion "Tysons Transformed: Design and Transportation Essentials for a Vibrant Community" on Tuesday, June 26. The event will be held at George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike (Route 7), Falls Church (West Falls Church Metro Station). Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed by the program at 7:00 p.m. The event is free of charge and an rsvp is requested to rsvp@smartergrowth.net.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival: The Roots of Virginia Culture will be held on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., June 27-July 1 and July 4-8. The Roots of Virginia Culture brings to Washington approximately 300 performers, artists, musicians, dancers, storytellers, cooks, farmers, and craftspeople to explain, demonstrate, and celebrate cultural traditions from native Virginia, southeastern England, and West Africa.

The Virginia Sustainable Building Network's 12th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting, "Moving Toward Carbon Neutral Buildings," will be held on June 28, 2007, 10:00 a.m to 3:30 p.m. at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. For more information contact VSBN at 703.486.2966 or vsbn@vsbn.org. Visit www.vsbn.org for updates.

Bring your family and friends to Reston's 43rd Birthday Celebration. This year's Reston Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 7 and 8, at the Reston Town Center. Hours are Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visit www.restonfestival.com or call 703.435.7989 - volunteers and sponsors are welcome.

Attend RCA's upcoming "resTOWN" Workshops at the Reston Regional Library on Saturday, July 14, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday, July 28, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information go to http://go-resTOWN.org; call 703.786.3672, or email RCABoard @comcast.net.

A program on global warming will feature Jenet Dechary presenting "The Climate Crisis: A Primer for Action" on Tuesday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Reston Lake Anne Community Center Gallery Room in Lake Anne Village Center. The event is free. Jenet is one of a thousand climate crisis presenters trained personally by Al Gore to educate citizens on global warming. This event is presented in conjunction with a brief mothly meeting of the Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee. To rsvp or for information contact haleyr@sprintmail.com or call Bob Haley at 703.716.2339.

Authorized and Paid for by Kenneth R. Plum

Delegate Kenneth R. Plum | 2073 Cobblestone Lane | Reston | VA | 20191