To the Editor:
I attended the "meet and greet" last Wednesday held by the League of Women Voters at the Sherwood Hall Library. Before a full house, Mount Vernon Supervisor candidates Dan Storck and Jane Gandee and Mount Vernon School Board candidates Karen Corbett Sanders and Anthony Stacy answered questions submitted on file cards by audience members. I commend the League for this excellent, well-run opportunity to hear the views of these candidates. The League videotaped the event and will make the program available soon. Voters should watch it. I have a few observations:
Someone in the audience thought it was appropriate to submit questions concerning abortion issues. The moderator read the questions aloud and then made the correct judgment that the questions were inappropriate and withdrew them.
Mr. Storck responded to a question concerning the Fairchild property behind the Kings Crossing Wal-Mart by stating his support for transferring the property from the Board of Supervisors to the Park Authority and spending money restoring it to create a park. This evidenced that Mr. Storck hasn't done his homework concerning that property. The upstream Wal-Mart property has no upgraded storm water controls and the property owner is not obligated to provide them. Virtually all the storm water from the Wal-Mart property drains into the Fairchild property which has caused significant erosion, preventing access through the only access easement which runs through the same Wal-Mart property from Richmond Highway, due to a large ravine created by the runoff. Spending our tax money restoring the Fairchild property would be a waste of money since the storm water from the Wal-Mart property would soon erode away the restored areas. That is why the Park Authority doesn't want to receive the property — they don't have the money to restore and maintain it and they know restoration would be futile without enhanced storm water controls on the Wal-Mart property.
At this juncture, I know very little about the two School Board candidates. That being said, I learned enough at the meeting to know I could never support Ms. Corbett Sanders. During the 100 minutes of the meeting, she almost continuously displayed a large grin including when Mr. Storck was being asked and then answered a question about the February Taser death of Natasha McKenna in the custody of the county Sheriff's Office at the hands of six male deputy sheriffs. Ms. Corbett Sanders' behavior was highly inappropriate. It made me wonder why a person who doesn't display appropriate decorum at a public meeting should be supported by anyone. Surely, the video replay will confirm my observation — I heard several people discussing the same thing after the meeting.
I look forward to future opportunities to observe candidates for office debating the issues.
H. Jay Spiegel
Mount Vernon