Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Special Elections, 2023

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A special election will be held on January 10 to fill vacancies in the Virginia General Assembly. Another special election will be held on February 21 to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives. I make the following recommendations in those races:

January 10 Special Elections

  • Virginia House of Delegates:
    • 24th District: Delegate Ronnie Campbell (R-VA 24th) died in December. Ellen Campbell (R) and Jade Harris (D) stand as candidates to replace him. I recommend voting for Ellen Campbell.
    • 35th District: Delegate Mark Keam (D-VA 35th) resigned in September. Monique Baroudi (R) and Holly Seibold (D) stand as candidates to replace him. I recommend voting for Monique Baroudi.
  • Virginia Senate:
    • 7th District: Former Virginia Senator Jen Kiggans (R-VA 7th) resigned following her election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. Kevin Adams (R) and Aaron Rouse (D) stand as candidates to replace her. I recommend voting for Kevin Adams.

February 21 Special Election

  • U.S. House of Representatives (Virginia):
    • 4th District: Representative Donald McEachin (D-VA 4th) died in November. Leon Benjamin (R) and Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-VA 9th) stand as candidates to replace him. I recommend voting for Leon Benjamin.

Note: Monique Baroudi, who stands as a candidate in the 35th District race for the Virginia House of Delegates, has been connected with me on social media since 2017. We have several mutual friends and have occasionally interacted online. I had no campaign-related contact with Baroudi prior to publishing, nor did our acquaintance have any bearing on my recommendation in her race.

Ed. Note, January 31, 2023: This post originally stated that the U.S. House of Representatives 4th District special election would be held on January 21. It is in fact scheduled for February 21. I apologize for the error.

Benedict XVI Dead at 95

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Pope Benedict XVI (Kancelaria Prezydenta RP, GFDL 1.2)
Pope Benedict XVI (Kancelaria Prezydenta RP, GFDL 1.2)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died. He was ninety-five years old.

Benedict XVI was born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927 in Marktl, Bavaria, Germany, and lived his early life in the nearby town of Traunstein. Ratzinger and his family maintained their Catholic faith even during Nazi rule of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when the church was subject to official hostility.

Ratzinger entered seminary at the age of twelve and attended until it was closed three years later by the German military. He was conscripted by law into the Hitler Youth when he turned fourteen in 1941, but refused to attend the required meetings. At age sixteen he was conscripted into the German anti-aircraft corps and later underwent infantry training, but deserted his military post in 1945 and returned home shortly before Germany fell to Allied invasion. Because he had served in the German military, he was briefly held by the Allies as a prisoner of war.

Ratzinger and his brother Georg were both ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1951. As priest, he served as a parish chaplain and later as a university lecturer and theologian. He was a participant in the Second Vatican Council, a theological consultant to Cardinal Frings of Cologne, and eventually Vice President of the University of Regensburg. Ratzinger was ordained a bishop in 1977 and was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising, adopting “cooperators of the truth” as his episcopal motto. Later that same year he was named a cardinal, and Ratzinger participated in the two 1978 conclaves that elected Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II respectively.

Pope John Paul II appointed Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1982, a role he held until was elected pope in 2005. The Congregation was founded in 1542 to “spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines.” In this role, he presided over the commission that prepared the current version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Read more . . .

Election 2022 Results (Final)

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Ballot Races
U.S. House, VA-10th
Hung Cao (R):46.65%
Jennifer Wexton (D):53.15%
Other:0.19%
Ballot Issues
Loudoun School Bonds
Yes:70.91%
No:29.09%
Loudoun Pub. Facility Bonds
Yes:78.63%
No:21.37%
Loudoun Transp. Bonds
Yes:77.66%
No:22.34%

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I Voted; Final Thoughts

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Today is the “Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November,” and it is time again for Americans to cast their ballots.

Across the nation we are voting to select members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In about two-thirds of states, but not in Virginia this year, we will be selecting members of the U.S. Senate. Many states are also selecting governors, and there are countless local races and ballot issues.

These races may lack the pomp-and-circumstance of presidential elections, but the “midterms” are just as important in charting our national course. They are an opportunity for the public to either endorse how things are going, or demand a change.

If you are an eligible voter, go vote today.

But first, do some research. Read my endorsements, which explain why I voted the way I did. Read other peoples’ too. Read the candidates’ websites. Read opinion articles and editorials. Talk to your friends. And don’t pay too much attention to party lines and hyperbolic ads. Use your head and make your own choices.

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.