Call me naive maybe, but I was taught in public school and spent my college and military years believing in our Democracy.  Even after egregious and impeachable acts of Richard Nixon, LCol Oliver North, and J. Edgar Hoover, and unnamed others who have hacked into our rights, our freedoms have prevailed somewhat intact.
The politicians of that “ill-clique”  up in Washington seemed removed from who we are and how we live our daily lives in a city like Virginia Beach.
I am reminded that all politics are local. The violations of our trust and confidence do not always occur  just from Washington.  Some of our citizens have experienced a trampling of their rights from our city staff and city appointed  “Advisory” committees. Any violations of our Constitutional rights should be directly challenged and corrected.

Should citizens be prevented from speaking at scheduled open forums or from asking the city questions concerning the safety of public projects that involve our neighborhoods? Should the city’s Public Works Department be the safety monitor and enforcer for those projects? Should a neighborhood’s rights be mauled to enable a “good ol’gal”  private business expansion? Should a neighborhood be pulped from dump truck traffic just to support  one private party who would commercially benefit? Mr. Fraim  has so stated. Ask Thomas Fraim, Chairman of the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee about open and transparent city staff meetings or free and open public committee meetings.

This Veteran’s Day, consider all those who have fought for our freedoms and our very Constitution. Consider this, if Hitler’s Third Reich had defeated us in WWII, or if Stalin’s communists had won the Cold War,  would our rights and our freedoms continue today? So, why should we accept any trampling on our rights,  back door politics, special deals, lack of transparency, and egregious acts from some city staff members?

Will the Mayor and City Council arrive at an honorable course of action that recognizes the mounting and significant citizen opposition to the Neighborhood Dredge (Spoils) Program?   Will city staff acknowledge the numerous serious flaws and lack of sufficient studies that exist in the Neighborhood Dredge (Spoils) Program?  We citizens will watch closely while some in City Council deliberate their fate and our  given rights.