Letter to the Editor: Kathleen Murphy Provides No Positive Agenda for NoVA

For months now supporters of Democratic candidate Kathleen Murphy have lobbed negative attacks at Delegate Barbara Comstock (R-34 Virginia) yet never have told us anything about their own candidate or things she has done in our community. The candidate herself distributes largely negative attack pieces and has provided essentially no positive agenda for our area. 

Perhaps a recent news story by the Washington Free Beacon explains why. It was reported that Murphy and the Virginia House Democratic Caucus recently conducted a poll in which they revealed Murphy’s problems with habitually late tax payments in numerous states including Virginia and that she skipped half the meetings for a local commission that she was appointed to. 

New York City records show that a Staten Island property owned by Murphy had an outstanding $1,392.67 property tax balance in 2010.

Murphy also owns a business, incorporated in Colorado, which has been delinquent since Sept. 1, 2011. The company failed to file required annual reports with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office since 2011, according to the office’s website.

According to the poll that Murphy and the Democrats conducted, Murphy also skipped half of the meetings of the Fairfax County Human Services Committee, on which she serves, and proposed $5.4 million in cuts to mental health programs.  Murphy refused to comment on the story. 

Geoffrey Skelly of UVA’s Center for Politics quoted in the story, noted that the fact that “the vetting is taking place after Murphy entered the race reflects on the strength of her Republican opponent.”  “I expect it was not easy for Virginia Democrats to recruit someone to run against Barbara Comstock,” Skelley wrote. “So when Murphy decided to run, I’m sure the state party was willing to say ‘come what may’ when she probably told them about possible problems she might have in her background.”

Mr. Skelly is right, Barbara Comstock is a strong Delegate who has served our area well.  She’s focused on our priorities:  providing a healthy economy, expanding jobs and opportunity, ensuring strong schools and more in state spots for our kids at college, and stretching our tax dollars further by demanding things like competitive bidding and accountability. 

The party may have said “come what may” but the voters of the 34th District deserve better.  

Cathy Moran, McLean