Slutzky exaggerates claims of jobs creation

My mistake, and so I apologize for the “non-credit” course comment. However, that does not mean that Mr. Slutzky was invited by the University to teach the class in the same way that, say, an English professor is hired through a complete faculty search and vetting process. His company garnored some government funds to run a program which went through The University and teaching the course was a quid-pro-quo assignation. To say “I taught a course at UVA” is a whole lot different than asserting “faculty” status. Mincing of words? Perhaps. But faculty status at a prestigious university is hard-earned and term should not be bandied about to inflate one’s position in life.

Incidentally, I blog under my own name, which is more than I can say for anyone else herein.

Glad you brought up my place of employment at Charlottesville Piano: When Mr, Slutzky had the opportunity to buy a piano from a store in the Rio District around the same time he was running for office last time, he chose elsewhere, even though there were at least 2 stores to choose from. We actually supported his run then. Since his tenure in elected office as our supervisor, 2 of the 3 piano stores (all in his district)have gone out of business; no thanks to him for buying elsewhere. And where did he buy his vehicles? In the Rio District? (there are many dealers here), or outside his district? A local dealer told me he bought in Richmond. If that’s so, Mr. Slutzky doesn’t really care for his constituents and small businesses that employ them.

By not hiding behind a screen name, I can speak personally about how Mr. Slutzky’s decisions and performance have affected me, our business, and fellow businesses. For instance, the real estate taxes on our business were raised during the worst recession in our recent history. While retail profits throughout the county were down and stores were closing, Mr. Slutzky was trying to raise our taxes. Every December/January, retail stores like ours have to pay several lump-sum taxes including county real estate taxes, the dreaded BPOL (Business Professional Occupational License)tax, which is payable a year ahead of even making any money, sales taxes from the busy Christmas season’s sales, and income tax on any profit. Because inventory is way down due to sales, it must be purchased to replenish the store. After taxes, there’s not a lot of cash in reserve left to buy inventory. Smaller inventory equals smaller sales, which causes a cascading effect into a downward spiral of declining sales.

IF real estate taxes are raised (which ours were believe it or not),then we have less to invest in inventory and to pay our employees. This is why during a recession, raising taxes can be dangerous to the survival of a small business.

SO, while our 2 competitors went out of business here, we had to lay off one long-time employee. These are real people who lost their jobs (our employee and the ones from the other stores). They have real families. We work hard just to survive, but some worked just as hard and didn’t.

When Mr. Slutzky talks about tax raises while people are losing businesses and jobs in his own district, we, the small businessmen and women of the Rio District become incensed. He has no idea how his words and his tax-raising efforts hurt the regular Joes and Janes of the world.

So from the heart, and not from some political kool-aid drinking anti-tax conservative spew, I implore you and others to consider the dangers of raising taxes during a recession. I implore Mr. Slutzky to cease and desist in his revenue-raising efforts before more businesses go out of business, and before more folks lose their jobs.

In my own house, our two-income family is down to one income due to a layoff from a small business in Albemarle County. From that same business, a small business (retail) manager was layed off after a short 2-year career after graduating from UVA. A dear friend lost her retail job and health insurance recently and, unemployed, has to figure out how to pay $600 a month in health insurance premiums for her and her children.

All these people, near and dear to me, have made between $18K and $42K a year, salaries now gone. Middle class incomes and lower. I could go on.

But to you and others who defend Mr. Slutzky, this is all about political season games to you, to get him re-elected, while real people are hurting. Well, I am blogging under my own name in support of these jobless friends and failed and hurting small businesses.

Mr. Rich’s letter only reinforces what many citizens know about David Slutzky: He overstates and exaggerates his background and experience to falsely obtain recognition and votes. The NGIC lie is not his only misrepresentation. He has repeatedly said that he worked in the Clinton administration, but has not produced a Letter of Appointment from the President to confirm his “presidential appointment”. Mr. Slutzky has quite a sizeable ego, and we would expect this appointment letter to be framed and hung proudly in his office. But alas, no one has seen such a letter.

Slutzky has also stated that he is an “adjunct faculty member” at UVA, but teaching a non-credit course at UVA using funding that your company brought in to The University (meaning this course was NOT INVITED by the University) does not mean that you are a faculty member, adjunct or not. This is a slap in the face of all the real faculty members who have earned their right and have been invited to teach there.

Making up stories, coloring the truth, overexaggerating, or outright lying, whatever term you use, they all apply to David Slutzky and he does not deserve re-election to the county board of supervisors.

“Silent Majority”? Really?

To quote one of my all-time favorite leaders, Ronald Regan, “There you go again.“ I am refering to the recent spate of commentary that eschews discussing issues of importance to the county, for name calling, labelling, and outright misrepresentation.

For the record, Mr. Slutzky never claimed sole responsibility for saving or creating jobs in this instance. That is Mr. Rich’s slanted misrepresentation, as the previous comment ponts out. Moreover, the arguments ascribed to Mr. Slutzky, were echoes by a number of Board members, most notably, Mr. Boyd (who is my sorry Supervisor). As noted in the prior comment, this is a notable action (unlike some others’ preference for exhaustive, and exhausting, ‘word dancing’)—unusual because it comes from a so-called “liberal”, noteable because it was a rare moment of action.

This ‘stuff’ about Mr. Slutzky being arrogant is patently ridiculous. No single member of the Board has been more accessable to all of his constituency and better representative of the diversity in his district than he. If that rankles some single-issue, and noteably selfish, elements of his constituency, so be it. We don’t need a knee jerk reactionary from the right or left, and we don’t need to latch onto a candidate for the sole reason that he or she was born in the same cabbage patch they find themselves in now. Mr. Thomas has amply proven his ability to resort to irrelevent name-calling, and his amnessia for the past.

I would like to know that the next representative of the Board was capable of weighing pros and cons, or evaluating options, and of making decisions and acting with integrity. I don’t see a compelling reason to replace someone who has demonstrated these abilities, with an unknown quantity whose primary support comes from some not so silent squeeky wheels.

Mr Rich,
Thank you for your very good letter and comments on Mr Slutzky. I is about time for voters to see what Mr Slutzky is. A big taxer and liberal politician that has no problem spending other peoples money. I hope he is Voted out of office by the voters of Rio
Door to door