Today's Republican Budget Scandal

Brought to you by Delegate Phil Hamilton!

Check this out.   This is how our tax dollars are being spent?   WTF?

This behavior seems to be tolerated from Speaker Bill Howell... will Republicans make a change from Howell, or will voters make the change next November?

Comments

[Church Hill Dem]

That is pretty shady. Who produced that PDF?

[Timothy Watson]

Isn't the crime commission going to be cut down to two people and folded into the Division of Legislative Services?

Never trust a man who had or has a mullet.

[Concerned Citizen]

Where did this supposed PDF come from? Only the Virginia State Crime Commission would have such information.

Who paid for the data collection and how do we know any of it is even true? Once again, Ken Stolle and the boys at the Crime Commission are victimizing this woman again after she has been gone for years. If the Senate truly cared about the Crime Commission's funding, they'd ask if the information was accurate (as it was obviously cut and pasted), who collected the information, how much time and money were entailed and what amount of grant funds have been lost since the last director left the job after harrassment and threats! This is a sickening act of pettiness and nothing more.

How nice. Delegate and Mrs. Hamilton use state employees to help with their kids homework. The sleaze just never ends in the GAB...

Concerned Citizen:

Give me a break. Of course the information is accurate. Look at the document. Those are real e-mails or someone went through a lot of trouble to make them look real.

As for the e-mails and the data, all that stuff is FOIAable. Maybe you should ask the House Clerk's office to see if they have gotten a FOIA request for this. My guess is that you would then know the source of the document.

It's funny that you seem to think this is about Mrs. Hamilton. When I read it, I see this as about Phil Hamilton abusing his power to spike the move and, because of the BS dispute between Ken Stolle and Mrs. Hamilton (and how many issues can she crowbar in a gender discrimination complaint?) Phil wants to take revenge on the Crime Commission in the current budget.

However, I suspect that none of us will hear Mrs. Hamilton’s take on this. After all, she was given a job at the Christopher Newport as Director of the Educational Foundation with the understanding that would she stop making these ludicrous “gender discrimination” complaints claims and end her self-serving absurd allegations.

But if I could ask Mrs. Hamilton one thing, it would be this:

“Now that we know that Phil gave you the absurd talking point that the move was some sort of gender discrimination, did he also advise you to use to allege gender discrimination against Stolle when he canned you?”

Not that the allegation stood up when investigated, but it would still be interesting to know how she would answer.

[Timothy Watson]

@05:05 PM

I don't think the clerk is supposed to give out the information of people that send in FOIA requests.

This is really weak from Hamilton. All this tough talk about budget cutting, while his wife is sitting around on the state payroll sending emails about her kids in the horse show and fighting ridiculous intra-agency feuds? What a joke. His credibility is zero.

[Not Ben Tribbett]

1) I'm pretty sure you can release who requests FOIA information...hence the reason for FOIA.

2) I'm not so sure these documents are legit. They don't look like real emails. Some do, yes. But some have very screwed up margins. Who would scan these in and then convert them to PDF? I can't think of anybody who would take the time to.

3) We have a 70 billion dollar budget. Shut up. You're just mad that they're not paying your rent, Ben.

Ben is out telling people that he will end this blog flogging only when Steve Landes is promised a budget conferee spot.

I guess we know the source...

[cj]

I am aware that much of this information was distributed to some members, senate conferees, and their aides to prove that the attack on the crime commission's agenda was motivated by hate and not by a desire to save money. I also know that there is alot more out there. For example, in answer to the question, “Now that we know that Phil gave you the absurd talking point that the move was some sort of gender discrimination, did he also advise you to use to allege gender discrimination against Stolle when he canned you?”, the answer is yes. He, hiself drafted her resignation letter and then emailed it to her, ending with "just a suggestion." to Concernd Citizen, this is not about Kim Hamilton, it is about the obsession that Delegate Hamilton has with revenge and how it affects his job in representing us.

This is old news - Mrs. Hamilton has not been at the Crime Commis for over two years. Hardly a story here. Need to take a look at Tom Gear now that is a joke!

[Newport News Citizen]

Both Kim and Phil Hamilton care about the people they serve. In her time at the Crime Commission she ensured that the commission's work was much better than that produced before her direction, and the topics they studied were of great importance. Phil takes the time to send out a newsletter to let the citizens of Newport News know what is going on and he even analyzes a survey that he sends out to all NN residents to ensure that his votes reflect their desires.

Its absurd for you people to knit-pick and dissect their every move. They're human, they're imperfect. So are you. Don't you have something better to do with your time than read these emails that were extracted from a confidential hard drive (no doubt illegally)?

[Not impressed with PDF Leakers]

It is very clear how little the people who posted the PDF's know. To clarify, a number of years ago the director of the Joint Commission SAVED the taxpayers money by moving from Old City Hall (a privately-owned building) to the Pocahontas Building (a Commonwealth of VA building). And, the use of the terms rent and rent-free are inaccurate as well. The "rent" paid for the JCHC office space is a money transfer from the legislative branch to the executive branch which has no negative effect on the taxpayer. The office space in the GAB would be "rent free" in that no money transfer would be needed since the building is under the control of the legislative branch.

Newport News Citizen:

Are you a complete buffoon?

"He takes the time to send out a newsletter" and "even analyzes a survey he sends out"

You sound like Dennis Hopper in "Apocalypse Now".

[Richmond old time democrat]

What goes around comes around – the picture seems brighter now that Ken Stolle and his ass licking lackey, Rick Savage do far more. Savage destroyed a state computer that had files that would damage his former boss Stolle. Not only did savage destroy state property, he shredded his own personal file. Now Savage wants to become a Judge. Maybe Governor Spitzer of New York can appoint him, because of evil people like Stolle and his lacy, Savage the Crime Commission along with the other commission should be eliminated to save the taxpayers millions! The current executive director needs to be investigated by the state police for releasing the emails from both Clerks of the general assembly.

[4th floor at the GAB]

It’s unfortunate that some in government act like children when they don’t get their way. Maybe you should look instead of room 204 at the commonwealth suites hotel rather look at the DoubleTree on Franklin Janet Howell and Dick Saslaw shack up each night – yea they have separate rooms but Janet has been seen going into Dick’s room late two weeks ago, way before the budget talks began. Maybe some pillow talk?.

[Lane]

Ben doesn't have rent. He lives in his parents' basement. His fingers are orange from cheeto-fests in the dark as he posts blogs like this one. I don't have time to read through 22 pages of BS, Ben. Try telling us what this garbage says so I at least have some motivation to go through the crap. Sheesh.

[thwarted muckraker]

Why not just FOIA the Crime Commission and get to the bottom of all this? Oh, wait: the Crime Commission is EXEMPT from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act! 2.2-3703(A)(4)

Yo, no talk of your buddy Jeff Fredrick running for state chairman?

I'm just trying to figure if "concerned citizen" is Kim Hamilton or if she is "Newport News citizen".

Hey Kim! How do you like your life in exile at CNU for making reckless accusations. Now if we could exile your self-serving, arrogant, press whore of a husband, it would be even better

[BigDog]

"Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em all around

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When its said and done we havent told you a thing
We all know that crap is king

Give us dirty laundry"

[1912]

To Newport News Citizen: What do you mean by "confidential" emails. Nothing done on a state computer or by a state or local email address is confidential.

[cr]

Gee - the comments made by "Richmond old time democrat" sure sound familiar to exacts words used by Kim Hamilton two years back. I wonder who "old time democrat" may be? Nice disguise - using the term "democrat." That totally threw us off. Not.

[bull]

It seems that the comments posted have turned rather petty and we are forgetting the real story here. It seems to me that there are 3 points to remember: 1) Phil Hamilton's anger and need for revenge at taxpayer expense continues to cloud his judgment two years later, 2) his insistence that the Crime Commission move to rental space while refusing allow them to have funds needed for rent is ironic given the fact that these emails show that he helped to prevent the Commission's move to rent free space offered a mere two years ago, and 3) his own Health Care Commission also had the opportunity to move to space that would have been rent free for them but this, too, was prevented, and now the mere 5 employees of the Health Commission occupy the 3,000+ square foot former Lt. Governor's suite at about $50,000 a year. Isn't that the story here or is our time better spent on petty comments?