* Ferguson telephones voters of Catoctin, Blue Ridge, Broad Run and Leesburg districts Monday to inform them of opportunity to lobby candidates at the polls
* Baldwin goes down to surprising defeat after two district-wide phone calls into Catoctin in four days, but efforts of citizens not wasted
* Ferguson: "I still would like Mr. Baldwin to kindly return his survey"
LEESBURG -- Just a few short months after American Tradition Partnership led a deluge of phone calls, e-mails and public comments in opposition to a proposed Chesapeake Bay Property Control Plan, that turned what appeared to be a 6-3 vote in favor passage into a majority vote to table the measure, voters Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Board of Supervisors candidates who supported continuing work on the Chesapeake Bay Property Control Plan.
“The millionaires’ club in favor of the Property Control Plan has gone from six votes in favor to none, and lost three incumbents in the process. They got wiped out, and washed away, as voters cleaned up government,” said American Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson. “Thank you to the many American Tradition Partnership supporters across Loudoun County who have been calling, writing, e-mailing and speaking with officials and candidates. Because of their pressure every member of the new Board opposes the Property Control Plan.”
ATP lobbies on issues using grassroots pressure, and does not advocate the election or defeat of any candidate or ballot measure.
Ferguson fully credited Loudoun residents with keeping up the pressure against plans to resurrect the Property Control Plan, prompting candidates to either oppose it or try to cover up their support. Ferguson also fully credited incoming Board members for pressuring their opponents on the issue.
As part of ATP’s ongoing campaign to defeat the Property Control Plan, Ferguson telephoned the of voters of the Catoctin, Blue Ridge, Broad Run and Leesburg Districts Monday afternoon, informing them Tuesday was an election and they had an opportunity to lobby candidates at the polls to oppose plans to take away their property rights. Poll hours and locations were provided.
Voters in the Blue Ridge, Broad Run, Catoctin and Leesburg Districts were informed liberal Jim Burton and Obama Democrats Malcolm Baldwin, Andrea McGimsey and Kelly Burk still supported the Property Control Act. They were urged to keep and eye out for them at the polls and politely ask them to renounce their position.
“I asked tens of thousands of voters to please politely ask Jim Burton, Malcolm Baldwin, Andrea McGimsey and Kelly Burk to renounce their plans to impose the Property Control Plan on Loudoun. None of them will now get that opportunity, but the effort was not wasted. I urge them all, especially Mr. Baldwin, to join me in continuing to oppose the Property Control Plan as a private citizen.”
When the new Board convenes in January, no member will have publicly voiced support for the Property Control Plan. Ferguson fully credited Loudoun residents with keeping up the pressure against plans to resurrect the Property Control Plan, prompting candidates to either oppose it or try to cover up their support. Ferguson also fully credited incoming Board members for pressuring their opponents on the issue.
"ATP does not advocate for or against candidates. We just lobby on issues. The voters and the candidates made this change happen," said Ferguson.
Since ATP's citizen lobbying program began last year, Ferguson called Blue Ridge District four times exposing Burton’s support for the Property Control Plan.
Ferguson also called voters in the Catoctin District twice over the last four days urging them to ask Obama Democrat Malcolm Baldwin to renounce his plans to resurrect the liberal Property Control Plan.
"I still would like Mr. Baldwin to kindly return his survey," said Ferguson.
“Big thanks also go to the Loudoun Environmental Council, who did an amazing job of researching and scientifically examining the dangerous Property Control Plan, and then getting that information out to the public. Loudoun’s farmers, employers and homeowners owe the LEC a huge debt of thanks,” said Ferguson.
“We will continue our campaign to keep the Property Control Plan from being dredged up, and to hold Loudoun officials to the highest standard of openness and accountability,” said Ferguson.
Along with its success in lobbying Loudoun officials, in just the last few months ATP has:
* Killed Barack Obama’s “Cap and Tax” bill in Congress.
* Along with allies, collected the signatures of 750,000 Americans in support of the Keystone XL pipeline, which transports Canadian oil across the United States to Southeast Texas for refining.
* Won House Judiciary Committee approval of the REINS Act, which strips federal bureaucrats of their power to propose and enforce major federal regulations. The bill will now be approved by the full House before moving to the Senate.
* Filed a federal lawsuit against Colorado to repeal the state’s Expensive Energy Mandate, which forces consumers to buy more expensive wind and solar power against their will.
* Filed a lawsuit against Montana to stop their ongoing harassment and false smear campaigns against conservative groups, which has already been blasted by federal courts as “petty bureaucratic harassment.” Montana officials have openly admitted they have no evidence conservative groups have done any wrong and every district attorney has refused to even look into the politically-motivated accusations.
* Won national headlines along with our federal free speech lawsuit against Montana which allows small employers to spend money on independent political expenditures.
* Won a federal free speech lawsuit against a liberal Colorado city who passed a law requiring residents to essentially get permission from the government before saying or publishing anything critical of the liberal city council.
* Stopped a plan by liberals in the U.S. Senate to protect the EPA’s plans to declare carbon dioxide a toxic pollutant.
* Launched a national campaign to debunk phony claims about natural gas development using safe, clean hydraulic fracturing.
* Sank plans by Newt Gingrich to win the 2011 CPAC conservative conference’s famous Straw Poll. With a coveted speaking slot, exhibiting organization and book signing, hosting three panels and a reception and screening two films, Gingrich’s presence dominated that of other presumptive presidential candidates. CPAC looked to be a launching pad for a Gingrich presidential bid. Instead, the Republican powerhouse cratered after ATP informed voters of Gingrich’s long record of supporting massive tax hikes, increased government power and international regulatory regimes to enforce what he calls “environmental compliance.”
ATP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates. Supported by grassroots members, ATP is a fast-growing non-profit citizens’ group dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property rights and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.
Donald Ferguson is the Executive Director of American Tradition Partnership. Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, birthplace of the oil industry, Ferguson attended Texas A&M University and has been involved in free-market advocacy and political organizing for two decades. He also serves as an advisor to political campaigns, lobbying groups, non-profit organizations and businesses across the United States and in Africa and served the residents of Loudoun County for seven years as a chief of staff on the Board of Supervisors.
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