Loudoun's Results Are In: Democrats Win!

Live from Loudoun...

14 hours at the polls, and it was all worth it.

(Congratulations to the four voters who correctly predicted the makeup of the Board! 2R-2I-5D)

Not only did the Dems pick up 4 Supervisors, but with incumbent (and formerly only) Democrat Sally Kurtz winning as well, the Democratic Party now controls the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. In fact, there are now only two actual Republicans (Lori Waters and @#$%'n Eugene Delgaudio) on the Board. On a personal note, Delgaudio's victory is very bitter, as the Democrat running in that race, Jeanne West, is a good friend and college bandmate's mom.

But on to analysis. Another interesting factor in this race is that Scott York won reelection as Chairman as an independent who evolved his policies (he was a Republican not THAT long ago) to favor much more restrained growth, and endorsed a series of Democrats in this race. With this victory, the Chairman will get his authority back, after four years of that authority being usurped by the Republican majority and invested in vice-Chair (and newly defeated Supervisor) Bruce Tulloch.

During question and answer with the audience, Tulloch was asked why Republican supervisors stripped Board Chairman Scott York (I-at large) in 2004 of some of his chairman responsibilities, such as the authority of setting meeting agendas.

Tulloch explained the board took no authorities away from the chairman that the state requires him to have, and that it was York, leading up to the board's first meeting in 2004, who was resistant to working with Republicans.

"That is just complete b.s.," York said afterward, adding that it was he who extended an invitation to Republican supervisors to put items on that first meeting's agenda, but no one responded. He described his relationship with Tulloch as one "of inconvenience." - Loudoun Times-Mirror

With 5 full Democratic votes, Scott York will actually need to toe the Democratic line a little bit more closely than he might have otherwise preferred, as the last Board set the precedent of stripping the Chairman's powers when he does things a recurring majority does not like. While this is not an action anyone anticipates the new Democratic majority to take, it remains a can of worms opened by the previous Board.

All in all, a great day in Loudoun and Virginia. We should be happy at the turnout across the County, and believe that we stand an even better chance of wider victory next year, and the year after that.

But do remember: Nothing great happens over night, every victory comes with its own cautions, and we must be diligent and vigilant to Turn Virginia Blue.

On to 2008!

[update] For a more complete analysis of the victory, I recommend Tammi Marcoulier's write-up in Living in LoCo today. The Post did a great job of covering the race this year (including coverage of the victory party!), and my compliments to LoudounExtra's efforts as both a source of primary source material and an active participant in the local blogosphere. (Even if the editorial page was utterly wrong about Sally.)