The Big Scoop – Sept. 7

Please take a moment from our regular news and comments to read about some exciting changes at The Casey Group, the faithful presenter of The Beltway Scoop:

NEW CASEY GROUP PARTNERSHIP TO EXPAND SCOPE AND DIRECTION OF FIRM
Ben Kelahan joins David D’Onofrio at TCG

David D’Onofrio, Founder of The Casey Group, one of the leading strategic communications firms in the region, is proud to announce that Ben Kelahan is joining TCG as a Partner effective immediately.  With this new bipartisan partnership, The Casey Group will expand its strategic and political communications expertise both geographically and into new sectors.

Kelahan brings nearly two decades of experience to The Casey Group in varied fields of energy, land use, political campaigns and strategic political consulting.  He has spent the last six years working with The Saint Consulting Group, a national consulting firm, where he ran the Mid-Atlantic office and was Senior Vice President of Energy.  Prior to that, Ben directed operations for The Advocacy Group an international lobbying network and managed state government relations and grass roots programs for The National Mentoring Partnership.  He began his career focused on government and public relations programs for the Tobacco Institute and the Lorillard Tobacco Company.

Ben has also been publicly engaged in his home communities throughout Northern Virginia.  He served on the Arlington County Sports Commission and has been involved in Loudoun with various groups working on transportation and civic engagement.

“Ben’s expertise and experience blends in perfectly with The Casey Group’s existing skill set,” said D’Onofrio.  “The Casey Group is now poised to meet the needs of current and future clients in more fields, with a more seasoned and bipartisan team and with an even higher level of support and success.”

The Casey Group will be intently focused on creating winning political and communications campaigns for its clients in diverse fields such as real estate development, sports teams/venues, energy, health care, small businesses and trade associations.

“Teaming up with David D’Onofrio at The Casey Group completes the professional trifecta for me,” said Kelahan.  “Continuing my love of politics, organizing and advocacy at the local and regional level; working with clients; and now entering an entrepreneurial phase of my career with a seasoned businessman and results producer.”

Additional information on The Casey Group and their team can be found on their website at www.TheCaseyGroup.us.

Thanks for being a regular reader of The Beltway Scoop!

Friday

Bay Act At Center Of Political Battleground
Loudoun to act by end of September
L2D

$1 billion price tag for Metro safety fixes recommended by NTSB
That’s a lot of money
Wash Post

3 crossings in Fairfax County damaged
Questions raised about condition of crossings after downpours
Wash Post

Maryland Sen. Currie indicted on charges of taking bribes from grocery chain
Helping out Shoppers doesn’t pay off
Wash Post

Wednesday

Mess with Washington at your own peril, Hurricane Earl
Glancing blow at best
Wash Post, StormPulse

MoCo suits seek to restore ballot petitions rejected over signatures
Citizens engaged and enraged
Wash Post

Early voting starts Friday for primary election in Montgomery County
Officials do not expect extra days to affect voter turnout
Gazette

LoCo Supervisors face full agenda in Septembe
Lots on the plate
LTM

Census results could shift voting boundaries, power
Fairfax Co not likely to gain seats in House of Delegates, state Senate
Fairfax Times

Tuesday

Maryland schools battle with limited funding
Limited space as enrollment grows
Wash Post

VeriSign coming to Dulles
Another big company coming to region
VA Business

Montgomery delegate candidate calls for boosting state coffers with solar
Plan would use Rainy Day Fund as collateral
Gazette

Wednesday

Ehrlich says he’ll restore transportation funding
Dems question where the money will come from
Gazette

Candidates for 10th District seat spar in Ashburn
Wolf and company talk issues
LTM

D.C. area filmmakers look to bring Bollywood to America
Who knows – the film industry is big $$$
Wash Post

Efforts to revamp schools by D.C., Maryland result in $325 million
Good for them
Wash Post, Gazette

Fairfax County businesses join the fight to end homelessness
County has seen decline in homeless population in past few years
Fairfax Times

Tuesday

Dispute deepens between Lerner, Virginia over land for Tysons Metro
Not all is smooth
Wash Post

Hard times for Tysons Corner landowner when $1.2 million deal collapses
7 acres of prime land
Wash Post

Live Nation deal’s rising cost hits sour note with some on Montgomery council
9:30 Club suing
Wash Post

Retail developer Edens & Avant buys 30th Washington-area shopping center
Reston center joins family
Wash Post

The Big Scoop – 8/23

How do you take your local coffee or tea?

The Tea Party has been talking a good game in their push for respectful civility in community and political dialogue.  It sure would be welcome.

Some of our most cherished public officials in history had an innate ability to cut deals and compromise when compromise was needed to resolve major national policy initiatives, typically by tapping their personalities that were hard to refuse when the time came.  Yet, they did not shy away from a passionate defense of their beliefs in a political fight. President Ronald Reagan could happily share an Irish ballad with Speaker Tip O’Niell, Senator Ted Kennedy could tip a glass with Orrin Hatch (if Orrin wanted one).  Reagan and Kennedy are held in equal esteem by conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

Last week’s daily disbursement of local news reported on Congressman Wolf stopping by a Northern Virginia Tea Party event in Herndon.  Wolf’s visit was an acknowledgement that the local Tea Party cannot be ignored and that it’s a growing base of voters to be tapped.

With an increase in the number of independent voters out in the DC suburbs (particularly in NoVA), naturally the trend toward an increase in the gathering and formation of nonconventional (or “sub” depending on your level of political paranoia) political parties isn’t surprising.  Sometimes they’re either single-issue focused, disenfranchised by traditional political party organizations, or strategically set up to elect or defeat a candidate in an upcoming election.

Will the rise of the local “breakfast parties” result in a more productive debate that result in solutions on those issues local voters care about – transportation, development, growth, taxes – or will they drive a sharper wedge between constituencies that elected officials won’t have a choice but to respond to?

How will our future political leaders respond? Will they try to appease more and more political groups or will the Reagan/Kennedy art of compromise come to the fore?

Thursday

Tax collections help build $404 million surplus in Va.
Let’s cut some taxes then
Wash Post

Crippling defense cutbacks ahead?
Experts disagree on effect reduction in defense contracts may have on economy
Fairfax Times

Wolf tells tea partiers GOP can fix nation’s problems
Congressman addresses about 200 at rally
Fairfax Times

Tuesday

McDonnell appoints Leesburg attorney to administration
Randy Minchew to be his right hand attorney
L2D, LTM

As Fairfax updates flood plain map, residents must buy new insurance
One day your out, next day your in
Wash Post

Trump golf club in Loudoun removes hundreds of trees near river
Yes he did and it looks good
Wash Post

Pr. George’s residents see challenges and opportunity in election choices
Don’t we all
Wash Post

The Big Scoop – August 16

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer’s out of reach

Yeap, it’s the end of summer – the PGA Championship is completed, the pennant races are into full swing and gloriously football is back.  Focus returns to work – vacations are over; kids are going back to school and the various governmental vacations are in the rearview mirror.

So, what’s on the agenda for the coming months?  At The Casey Group we are poised to share some exciting news in the coming days – both for ourselves and for our clients; be on the lookout for both.

Labor Day weekend is around the corner.  Make the most of the last days of summer because there’s a killer of a fight schedule after Labor Day on local, state and federal issues relevant to the DC Metro area.  Check in here for a ringside analysis.

O’Malley v. Ehrlich

We’ll have opposing opinions coming out of Casey on this one, might get bloody in the office.  Ehrlich says microtargeting, anti-incumbency, grassroots and social media will conquer fundraising in this one.  We’ll see.

ABC Stores v. Corner Stores

The privatization of Virginia’s ABC stores will continue to heat up.  Will temperatures cool and a deal be struck?  Will Virginia taxpayers win over the long term?  Liquor stores – core government function, transportation fund direct deposit, or coming to a corner store near you?

Labor v. the Election

Particularly in Montgomery County, public employee unions are fighting off criticism that they are part of the problem in a tight economy and not a solution – what message will the public send the unions and elected officials that rely on their support on election day?

BRAC v. Gates Budget

That’s right.  Some areas in the DC area will see a boon of development and economic activity related to BRAC.  Then again, Secretary Gates is up against military contractors in Northern Virginia that support the local economy.  Will McDonnell, Connolly, Warner, Webb et al be able to keep this part of the economy afloat?

Energy v. You

You use it, but do you conserve it?  Loudoun County is being held up by some as a model energy plan (really?).  Will the land of the “five flats,” that’s five flat screens per home (not verified, but it sounds right doesn’t it, give or take multiple computers) lead the way in energy conservation as well?  What needs to give on the generation side – more wind farms, nukes, or will all the “fracking” from the Marcellus Shale in WV, PA and our own VA save us all with more natural gas?

It’ll be fun… what do you think?