The City of New Bern (where I live) is currently having a run-off election for Mayor and one of our Aldermen. I am familiar with all of the candidates after having attended a number of candidate debates. The results of this election will be significant for the city. One of the mayoral candidates is boosted on the Craven County Democrat Party page as being in support of No Kings Day. The other candidate has successfully run the city since 2022. An example of the difference leadership can make can be found in the contrast between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland.
On October 20, The Daily Signal reported:
Thanks to smart fiscal management, the Republican administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears just mailed numerous Virginia households checks ranging from up to $200 and $400.
This pleasant surprise for many of us heading into the holiday shopping season is indicative of the competent, prudent leadership that will fall by the wayside if Virginians fail to continue Richmond’s fiscally conservative leadership.
Youngkin announced these checks—tax rebates—late last month for eligible taxpayers—up to $200 if they filed individually, and up to $400 if they filed jointly. Because of Virginia’s record job growth and capital investments under Youngkin totaling $140 billion, Virginia enjoyed surpluses for four straight years.
The article concludes:
Virginia and its neighboring state Maryland provide the perfect natural experiment in what would happen if conservatives lose the Virginia’s Governor’s Mansion. Maryland’s Democrat governor, Wes Moore, squandered outgoing Republican Larry Hogan’s budget surplus.
“For eight straight years, we balanced the budget without raising taxes—in fact, we cut taxes, tolls, and fees every single year, totaling $4.7 billion in relief,” Hogan wrote in a statement in August. “When we left office, Maryland was in the strongest financial position in state history, with a record $5.5 billion surplus.”
In an about face, this year, Moore raised taxes on the backs of Maryland taxpayers instead of sending out checks.
Virginia’s choice couldn’t be more clear: prudent, abundant economic growth with conservative leadership or fiscally reckless, resource squandering, tax-raising progressive failures. My fellow Virginians: Choose wisely.
Elections have consequences.
