Below The Beltway

There’s been a minor controversy brewing in Prince William County over the past several days regarding accusations that Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart used public money to publicize an upcoming vote on illegal immigration, which has become the central focus of his re-election campaign:

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors chairman has used taxpayer money to mail postcards about a meeting on a resolution to crack down on illegal immigration, angering board colleagues and others.

The postcard, from Corey A. Stewart (R), calls on residents to voice their opinions on the controversial resolution before and during a meeting Tuesday. The board will vote on funding and “implementing its policy to crack down on illegal immigration and cut off taxpayer-funded services to illegal aliens,” according to the postcard.

Stewart used more than $30,000 from his discretionary fund to pay for the mailing, according to county documents. The board chairman gets $27,500 a year to spend on anything he wants, from furnishing his office to hiring part-time workers to donating to charities and nonprofit groups. The other board members get $47,500 apiece annually. Any unspent money rolls over to the next year. The board generally votes on expenditures from a supervisor’s fund, and the money more often than not goes to a favorite charity.

Even members of Stewart’s party questioned the use of taxpayer money for publicizing a vote on an issue that is key to the chairman’s reelection. Stewart faces voters Nov. 6 and has made the illegal-immigration crackdown his signature issue. The postcard says it is from Stewart and does not mention other supervisors.

“If this is on the up-and-up, it is probably close to the line. I wouldn’t have done it. It looks like electioneering,” said Supervisor W. S. Covington III (R-Brentsville).

Stewart claimed that his sole purpose in sending the mailer was to inform the public of the upcoming vote:

“The reality is I feel the vote is in jeopardy, and I believe it is my duty to . . . keep my constituents informed about key votes coming up in front of the board,” said Stewart, who said he followed all county procedures and is confident he did nothing improper.

If approved, the resolution would deny certain services to illegal immigrants and fund new police procedures to increase immigration checks.

“I’m not going to delay this. I’m not going to defer it. I’m not going to be intimidated, and I’m not going to back down. They need to face the voters,” Stewart said. “I just don’t have faith in them to do the right thing unless there is an impending election.”

But, as another Republican member of the Board pointed out, it seems unlikely that voters in the county aren’t aware of what’s going on in the immigration debate:

The county’s cable station and printing press are two other cheap ways of informing the public, said Vice Chairman Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles). “I don’t think there are a whole lot of people in the county who aren’t aware we are discussing immigration policy,” said Nohe, questioning the value of the mailing.

Craig’s Musings has been covering this issue a lot over the past several days and notes the following:

Stewart took $30,000 from his discretionary fund to send out mailers to a whole bunch of people to urge them to attend the BOCS meeting on the 16th, call, fax, email, their supervisors etc. Let’s see… is this a problem… could be, sure seems fishy.

Now I have made no secret of being 100% against the discretionary fund. Stewart, who in discussions we had last year expressed his discomfort with the funds, has proven with this stunt that there is real validity to concerns that these funds will be used for campaigning. I hope Ebert sticks it to Corey good. At a minimum Corey should be forced to repay the $30,000 of tax payer dollars that he spent on his personal campaign. Absolutely disgusting Corey. You should be ashamed of yourself but of course based on your past behavior I am not sure that shame is part of your makeup.

Frankly, from what I’ve read, and from looking at the flyer itself, which doesn’t seem to inform the average voter of anything they didn’t already know, I can’t say that Craig is far off the mark here. In the end, it’s likely nothing will come of this for Stewart but maybe this will be the beginning of the end of the Supervisor’s discretionary funds, and that can hardly be a bad thing.