Letter from Tatyana Schum - formerly with TysonsTunnel

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10/18/2010 20:44

Subject: Letter from Tatyana Schum - formerly with TysonsTunnel

Anonymous

Just got this in my inbox. Wow.

From: Tatyana Schum <tatyanaschum@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:06:42 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Letter from Tatyana Schum - formerly with TysonsTunnel

You're receiving this email because of your relationship with Tatyana Schum, formerly with TysonsTunnel.org.

From the Desk of Tatyana Schum
forever a supporter of the Tysons Tunnel organization

Monday - October 18, 2010

Hello Fellow Tysons Tunnel Supporter!

I hope this e-mail finds you well.

I'll begin by announcing that sadly, since TysonsTunnel has officially ceased operating as an entity, this is the last e-mail you may expect to receive from me. However, I wanted to reach out and remind you what precipitated the mammoth, community-scarring, elevated rail that we now witness under construction through Tysons Corner.

No, It's Not Under; It's Way Way Over!
If you've not taken a drive up Rt. 123 through the heart of Tysons lately, you should.
You'll see for yourself what we warned. You'll see Northern Virginia's elevated temple to corruption -- proof positive that the power of lobbying and back-room bargaining is alive and well. In addition, local media has started reporting the cost overruns we warned about. We constituents, through our taxes, are on the hook for those cost overruns - we were the losers of the deal.

What I Learned - Parties Don't Matter

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have fought against such profiteering. Working for the Tysons Tunnel initiative taught me that bad governance is not Party-specific.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Northern Virginia turned a blind eye to the anti-competitive nature of the Dulles Rail contract, opting instead to take campaign contributions from the sole-sourced contractor Bechtel, tens of thousands of dollars that were cloaked as contributions from its many lobbyists, lawyers, and workers.

I don't vote based on political Party and I hope you won't either. I vote based on character -- and when it's clear that one of our Representatives has let us down, I vote against bad behavior happening on my dime.

Now to the meat of this correspondence --- I feel it is my duty to write this e-mail to remind you of a particularly egregious wrong done to all Fairfax County residents.
I'm helping to right this wrong.

If you are a resident in Virginia's 11th Congressional District, comprising most of Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, most of Prince William County, and the Towns of Vienna, Clifton, Haymarket and Occoquan, listen up!

The current Representative in your Congressional District, Gerry Connolly, should be voted out of office specifically for working against Tysons Tunnel and his own constituents. Let me remind you briefly why I'd like to see Gerry Connolly OUT OF OFFICE!

You Can't Ignore It - The Facts Are Against Gerry Connolly

* Gerry CONOLLY DID NOT SUPPORT COMPETITIVE-BIDDING of the Dulles Rail Project,
* When offered a chance, then Chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors Gerry CONNOLLY DID NOT SIGN THE STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR TYSONSTUNNEL'S MISSION of competitive-bidding.
Other officials had no reservations in signing the statement,
* In February 2007, when sent a firm, fixed-price offer from ACS Infrastructure and Dragados USA - a major international construction group - to complete the final design for the 3.4-mile tunnel through Tysons for a fixed-price of $823 million (beating the prior estimated cost for the proposed elevated-rail option), Gerry CONNOLLY CHOSE TO IGNORE THE OFFER, opting instead for the more expensive, technologically-inferior, elevated rail,
* An independent (not TysonsTunnel) poll commissioned in September 2007 showed 8 out of 10 citizens favored the Tunnel versus the elevated rail alignment. CONNOLLY IGNORED PUBLIC OPINION WHICH HAD REACHED GROUNDSWELL PROPORTIONS,
* Gerry CONNOLLY IGNORED THE EXPERTS AND THE FACTS. Despite testimony and evidence from scores of world-class engineers and tunneling experts, Gerry Connolly favored inferior technology at inflated costs and a supported a predatory contract designed from the beginning to saddle taxpayers with the bill for the expected cost overruns,
* Gerry CONNOLLY KOWTOWED TO HIS PARTY AT THE EXPENSE OF CONSTITUENTS, deferring to the wishes of then-Governor Tim Kaine and the contractor, Bechtel, rather than do what was right for the people of Fairfax County,
* On December 4, 2006, TysonsTunnel sent a letter to Chairman Gerry Connolly asking that Fairfax County, as a major funding partner of the Dulles Rail Project, use its significant leverage to require competitive bidding of the Final Design and Construction. The County, as that funding partner, had tremendous influence on the project (in fact could have insisted on having the project done right), yet Chairman CONNOLLY PUT PARTISANSHIP ABOVE WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE LONG-TERM INTERESTS OF THE COUNTY and its citizens,
* Chairman Connolly cunningly crafted his messaging to appear as if he was a supporter of the Tysons Tunnel effort, while BEHIND THE SCENES, CONNOLLY WAS ACTIVELY WORKING TO SEE THAT THE CONTRACT REMAINED UNCHANGED, THEREBY UNDERMINING EFFORTS FOR A TUNNEL though Tysons,
* June 4, 2007: In a meeting of the Board of Supervisors (so full that attendees were forced to take turns sitting within council chambers), none of us will forget bearing witness to CONNOLLY'S TYPICAL CONDESCENDING TONE AND FINGER-WAGGING AT TYSONSTUNNEL PRESIDENT SCOTT MONETT. At this sham of a "public hearing", over which Chairman Connolly presided, the public was not permitted to speak,
* Although TysonsTunnel requested repeatedly an open, public airing of details of the Dulles Rail Project contract; a hearing in which members of the public would have had the chance to express favor or disfavor with the elevated alignment, Chairman Gerry CONNOLLY OBSTRUCTED ANY SUCH EFFORTS TO HAVE A PUBLIC FORUM, EVEN DISMISSING SIMILAR CALLS FOR OPENNESS FROM HIS FELLOW SUPERVISORS,

and lastly, something I will never forget:

* I witnessed Gerry CONNOLLY'S BEHIND-THE-SCENES, HEAVY-HANDED TACTICS DESIGNED TO CURB COMMERCIAL AND DEVELOPER SUPPORT FOR THE TUNNEL alignment. I am still not certain that these actions were legal but I am certain they were distasteful!

Accountability

In summary, it is clear that Gerry Connolly is NOT a suitable steward for the 11th District and its constituents -- he simply cannot be relied upon to do what is right or to be an unclouded leader.

A real leader would have stood up to a predatory, questionable contractor such as Bechtel and said, "Not on the backs of my Fairfax County constituents you don't!"

A real leader would have stood up to his own Party and its head, Governor Kaine, and said, "What are you thinking? We can do better than some shoddy contract with a shady company - a company currently in litigation over workmanship that has killed people!"

A real leader will take decisions for the good of people rather than at the expense of people.

A Trustworthy Solution

It's time for a real leader - and I'm supporting Gerry's opponent Keith Fimian.

I ask you to help me elect Keith Fimian as Congressman of Virginia's 11th District.
I believe Keith is the kind of leader that we can trust and who is not beholden to entrenched Party politics.

Over the next two weeks, I will help Keith by gathering donations to his campaign, working volunteer hours, and attending a special fundraiser for Keith a week from today, on the evening of Monday, October 25th.

You can sign up for next Monday evening's event here - then please reply to this e-mail to let me know that you'll be there. I would love to see you!

At the very least, whether you can attend, donate, or volunteer your time, I urge you to forward this e-mail to all your friends, family, and coworkers --- everyone you know.

It's time to say Enough Is Enough! It's time we hold our officials accountable for the cost overruns, scarred landscape, and general mess they've created --- electing a new leader who will lead with honor, conviction, and the promise to put constituents ahead of Party.

***ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd*** Don't forget to vote - and urge others to do the same!
In the meantime:
To volunteer: please email patricia@fimian2010.com [mailto:patricia@fimian2010.com] or call her at 703.621.7169 To donate: please go here

And as ever, if you have questions for me or just want to say hello --- reply to this e-mail or email me directly at tatyanaschum@gmail.com Thanks so much!

Sincerely,
Tatyana Schum
Forever Supporter of TysonsTunnel.org