Petition for Stutz to resign

Ok folks, let's get real for a minute. These things never work and are hard to get started in the first place. Recall petitions require a lot of leg work by someone who is willing to stand up and make enemies. That's a hard job to hire for.

If you are truly unhappy with Mayor Stutz and the rest of the Council, go to the next meeting and stand up and be heard. I can assure you that is the only method of feedback that holds any weight.

This board is a unique site that allows folks to come on board and criticize without fear of reprisal. That is a good thing. But as residents of the Town, you should be able to stand up at an open meeting and be heard.

I am running for a seat on Council again. I hope to win. I hope to help this Town right it's course and put the budget back in the black.

How do you feel about being the subject of a write-in campaign for Mayor? I think if voters were given a real choice, and we could get the word out soon enough to focus the write-ins on one person, it would be possible to unseat her.

I'd be willing to discuss it. But I am mostly concerned with running a successful campaign for the Council. The Council is where you get a vote. The Mayor is mostly a role player who gets the publicity.

I have just spoken with Diana at the Office of the Registrar in Manassas (703-792-6470). She informs me that it is possible to be a write-in candidate for Mayor (I didn't mention any names) as well as for Council. While one person obviously could not serve in both capacities, voters are allowed to write in the name of a council candidate for mayor AND select them as one of their 6 council votes. If the write-in votes are targeted to one individual, Stutz COULD be unseated.

I agree with you that the position of Mayor most often comes into play when there's a tie vote to break or a photo opportunity to be had. However, I don't believe I'm overstating the value of having Stutz lose this election on the morale of the town's citizens, a big chunk of whom have a 'why bother, the evil is so entrenched' attitude. Replacing her as the mayor of our town would be a sign to everyone that things CAN turn around for the better.

Pam Stutz has a lot of history which isn't necessarily good for the town. She has a deeply entrenched connection to the builder/developer community from her many years with Peterson Companies. Her sympathies have always been there, and her track record is such that she will put their interest (and her own) before the town's.

Additionally, there is talk on this board as well as in the neighborhoods, that she is also complicit with the ongoing questionable actions surrounding the town police and the various complaints and lawsuits concerning them, helping to make Haymarket a laughingstock in the newspaper and other levels of law enforcement.

I believe that mayor is more than just a functionary role, in that he/she drives the projects the town will commit to and the overall direction the town will take, as well as setting the tone for council meetings, and whether or not dissenting opinions will be heard without undue influence pedaling shutting them down as they have recently.

It's been a long time since Haymarket had ethical leadership. I'm hoping 2008 will be our lucky year.