Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She wanted him charged as an adult, which isn’t unusual for vehicular homicide defendants two months shy of 18. Parisa refused, and now the wealthy spoiled killer will be a free man when he’s 19 and eventually have the conviction expunged from his record.

Thank you. Has Josh said publicly anywhere that he would have charged the criminal as an adult?

Actually, the opposite. He is on record saying he would have done the same thing.

I’m most disturbed with the incivility the occupying CA’s sock puppets are displaying towards Josh and his campaign. Josh answered the question about what he would have done, which is to charge the McLean kid as a juvenile and to seek the three year maximum.

But unlike the occupant, Josh would have WON that three-year sentence. Why? Because the judge LIKES Josh. So too do the other Arlington judges, the police, and all sorts of fine people who just want to be treated with the respect they deserved and to which they’re entitled based on their contributions to the livability of the County and the Arlington Way.

If Josh had known then what he knows now about what he needs to do to win this race, of course he would have supported charging the kid as an adult. But he hadn’t yet established his “reform better” bona fides, which was critical to peel off voters in a Democrat primary. Plus he couldn’t have imagined at the time that the victim’s mother would be so passionate in her hatred of the occupant. So he feared coming across as bloodthirsty. In November, coming off MMH candidates for County Board getting 70% of the vote, he had to figure there weren’t enough Libbytarians and crossover GOP to sneak out of the primary, that he had to throw a bone to people who want to lock down parts of the County but also appear progressive at cocktail parties.

But running a culture war campaign revolving around the mother’s rage at the interloper allows Josh to slam the occupying CA via proxy. While at the same time he reassures successful citizens and parents whose kids don’t run over other well-off kids that he’s not letting silly Soros concerns stop him from using the Arlington PD as the hammer they yearn to be. The occupant is so distracted with the attacks that Josh can reassure homeowners that they’ll be treated with respect. Neither homeowners nor judges nor prosecutors nor court clerks will be forced to confront alleged injustice in prosecutions and sentencing. The CA’s office will get back to using its discretion to cut breaks to the right people and nailing people who could be threats. That’s the kind of judicious CA I want, looking past “principle” to serve the way I know in my gut is best. Josh knows how to do that while being a 21st-century friendly CA.

Regarding the mention of the judge liking Josh and therefore possibly giving three years. Are you being sarcastic? Or serious?

Also, I read in another thread, possibly on ARLNow, that the police officers who attended the defendant's sentencing got up and walked out of the courtroom. Is that true? Is the relationship between police and the judge a problem? Or police and the CA? Or is this completely false?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She wanted him charged as an adult, which isn’t unusual for vehicular homicide defendants two months shy of 18. Parisa refused, and now the wealthy spoiled killer will be a free man when he’s 19 and eventually have the conviction expunged from his record.

Thank you. Has Josh said publicly anywhere that he would have charged the criminal as an adult?

Actually, the opposite. He is on record saying he would have done the same thing.

I’m most disturbed with the incivility the occupying CA’s sock puppets are displaying towards Josh and his campaign. Josh answered the question about what he would have done, which is to charge the McLean kid as a juvenile and to seek the three year maximum.

But unlike the occupant, Josh would have WON that three-year sentence. Why? Because the judge LIKES Josh. So too do the other Arlington judges, the police, and all sorts of fine people who just want to be treated with the respect they deserved and to which they’re entitled based on their contributions to the livability of the County and the Arlington Way.

If Josh had known then what he knows now about what he needs to do to win this race, of course he would have supported charging the kid as an adult. But he hadn’t yet established his “reform better” bona fides, which was critical to peel off voters in a Democrat primary. Plus he couldn’t have imagined at the time that the victim’s mother would be so passionate in her hatred of the occupant. So he feared coming across as bloodthirsty. In November, coming off MMH candidates for County Board getting 70% of the vote, he had to figure there weren’t enough Libbytarians and crossover GOP to sneak out of the primary, that he had to throw a bone to people who want to lock down parts of the County but also appear progressive at cocktail parties.

But running a culture war campaign revolving around the mother’s rage at the interloper allows Josh to slam the occupying CA via proxy. While at the same time he reassures successful citizens and parents whose kids don’t run over other well-off kids that he’s not letting silly Soros concerns stop him from using the Arlington PD as the hammer they yearn to be. The occupant is so distracted with the attacks that Josh can reassure homeowners that they’ll be treated with respect. Neither homeowners nor judges nor prosecutors nor court clerks will be forced to confront alleged injustice in prosecutions and sentencing. The CA’s office will get back to using its discretion to cut breaks to the right people and nailing people who could be threats. That’s the kind of judicious CA I want, looking past “principle” to serve the way I know in my gut is best. Josh knows how to do that while being a 21st-century friendly CA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ad isn’t nearly as bad as the phone call from John Legend asking me to vote for Parisa.

Let’s be real. There are highly progressive forces outside of our community trying to sway our local election. Parisa is a pawn in support of the soft on crime ideology. At least Katcher is a native Northern Virginian who has worked in Arlington/Falls Church for over a decade. He shows concern for a community member who lost a child instead of just drumming up celebrity support. Parisa clearly cares more about a national political agenda than actually focusing on our community, particularly crime victims. Would you really want some “innocence protector” in office if someone commits a crime against you? My friends in DC gripe to me about all the juveniles who keep getting let out after car jackings and muggings. I hope we don’t wind up with that crap here in Arlington.

Sorry but I care 1000% more about my family and neighbor’s safety than I do about the feelings of violent criminals. This shouldn’t even be debatable.

Josh’s supporters sound more than a little Trumpy lately.

Not PP. How on earth does this some Trumpian?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ad isn’t nearly as bad as the phone call from John Legend asking me to vote for Parisa.

Let’s be real. There are highly progressive forces outside of our community trying to sway our local election. Parisa is a pawn in support of the soft on crime ideology. At least Katcher is a native Northern Virginian who has worked in Arlington/Falls Church for over a decade. He shows concern for a community member who lost a child instead of just drumming up celebrity support. Parisa clearly cares more about a national political agenda than actually focusing on our community, particularly crime victims. Would you really want some “innocence protector” in office if someone commits a crime against you? My friends in DC gripe to me about all the juveniles who keep getting let out after car jackings and muggings. I hope we don’t wind up with that crap here in Arlington.

Sorry but I care 1000% more about my family and neighbor’s safety than I do about the feelings of violent criminals. This shouldn’t even be debatable.

Josh’s supporters sound more than a little Trumpy lately.

Anonymous wrote:This ad isn’t nearly as bad as the phone call from John Legend asking me to vote for Parisa.

Let’s be real. There are highly progressive forces outside of our community trying to sway our local election. Parisa is a pawn in support of the soft on crime ideology. At least Katcher is a native Northern Virginian who has worked in Arlington/Falls Church for over a decade. He shows concern for a community member who lost a child instead of just drumming up celebrity support. Parisa clearly cares more about a national political agenda than actually focusing on our community, particularly crime victims. Would you really want some “innocence protector” in office if someone commits a crime against you? My friends in DC gripe to me about all the juveniles who keep getting let out after car jackings and muggings. I hope we don’t wind up with that crap here in Arlington.

Sorry but I care 1000% more about my family and neighbor’s safety than I do about the feelings of violent criminals. This shouldn’t even be debatable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Paris is stuck trying to explain why the judge wouldn’t follow her recommendation for a heavier sentence and why she wouldn’t pander to the victim’s family. And when you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Checkmate !!!

While I agree with you I don’t think he’s going to win. The past month I have been inundated with campaign literature from Parisa’s office saying that Josh is endorsed by republicans and calling him the republican candidate. Arlington voters are going to see this and vote for Parisa. Most people don’t know the details of what happened with the case in the clip you shared. They will see Katcher and assume republican and vote for him. Also Parisa’s campaign is clearly better funded.

I think Josh can shape the primary electorate and pull this out. His people show up. They don’t have to worry about getting time off to go vote or worrying about passing a cruiser at the polling entrance. Josh has some of the best allies you could want in a turnout election like this, and between getting his people out and challenging Parisa’s potential voters I think he’ll pull this out.

This seems like wishful thinking.

Parisa has strong support among traditional Arlington liberals - and among the bulk of the local politicians whose views count among Arlington residents.

Josh has totally tied his campaign now to Rose Kehoe's vengeance tour. People have enormous sympathy for her loss but many also have juveniles of their own whom they might prefer not be treated as adults if and when they ever do something incredibly stupid and even harmful.

And there is nothing to like about him personally, either. He is the most transparently ambitious and self-serving young politician on the local scene, and that's no small feat to pull off in Arlington.

Vengeance tour? Her son was killed by a spoilt rich kid with major connections.This isn’t the first time he was driving drunk. He has done this time and time again and has now killed someone. Getting tried as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sentenced to prison. It means that there will be consequences to his actions. For example it could have meant keeping him on probation longer, taking his license away etc. He is getting away with this scot free with no consequences to his actions. Next year he will be driving that car again, drunk, and putting our kids in danger.

And this result would have differed under Josh's tenure how? He went on record saying he probably would have tried the kid as a kid or at least he didn't think it would have been possible under VA's guidelines to get the judge to agree to try the driver as an adult. The mother's anger is understandable, but I think her issue is with the laws and the way they were applied by the judge and the probation office in this case, not just with Parisa. I think she would have been just as angry with Josh if he had been CA when her son was killed. Maybe a little less because he might have been a little more compassionate with her, but fundamentally still angry.

Exactly.

Again, you can’t hold this against Josh. Back in November he thought he had to run as a more effective reformer, so he couldn’t come out as looking for blood against wealthy, well-connected people. It was only when he realized Ms. Kehoe was just as wealthy and connected in her own way (conservative Catholics) that he realized hitching his wagon to Ms. Kehoe was a net gain. So ignore his statements in November that he would have charged as a juvenile and sought the maximum just as Parisa did. Focus on what we know now, that it is much more helpful politically to pursue adult prosecution even though it would go nowhere. Assume that is what Josh would do now despite what he said back then. Circumstances have evolved.

She’s using her own son’s death to push politics? Wow.

Anonymous wrote:This ad isn’t nearly as bad as the phone call from John Legend asking me to vote for Parisa.

Let’s be real. There are highly progressive forces outside of our community trying to sway our local election. Parisa is a pawn in support of the soft on crime ideology. At least Katcher is a native Northern Virginian who has worked in Arlington/Falls Church for over a decade. He shows concern for a community member who lost a child instead of just drumming up celebrity support. Parisa clearly cares more about a national political agenda than actually focusing on our community, particularly crime victims. Would you really want some “innocence protector” in office if someone commits a crime against you? My friends in DC gripe to me about all the juveniles who keep getting let out after car jackings and muggings. I hope we don’t wind up with that crap here in Arlington.

Sorry but I care 1000% more about my family and neighbor’s safety than I do about the feelings of violent criminals. This shouldn’t even be debatable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This race sets a record for the amount of political mailings I've received for one election. By far. Today's from Katcher is viscerally shocking, with a picture of the mother of the deceased boy on the front saying "When a drunk driver killed my son, Parisa didn't even listen to us."

I cannot begin to imagine this woman's pain and grief.

I have been undecided about who to vote for, but this kind of ad doesn't sit well with me.

The CA position serves the entire community. The election shouldn’t be centered around this one family.

And pushing this tragedy so prominently into campaign marketing materials feels slimy.

The race is certainly NOT centered around one family though this thread seemingly is. The race is a referendum on the CA’s alleged poor management of the CA office $ that is why the police union endorsed Katcher.

https://patch.com/virginia/arlington-va/amp/31398376/arlington-police-union-endorses-katcher-for-commonwealths-attorney

Parisa has been endorsed for re-election not only by the Washington Post, but by Barbara Favola, JD Spain, Don Beyer, Jennifer McClellan, Alphonso Lopez, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Patrick Hope, Jay Jones, Matt de Ferranti, and Mary Margaret Whipple, among others. These are good people. Katcher has seemed increasingly desperate.

This EXACTLY why I am not voting for Parisa. These people all bow down at the altar of the ACDC and always toe the party line. Rarely do you see the elected Democrats or the ones in the inner circle endorse anyone other than the candidate chosen in the back room of our own Tammany Hall.

Parisa was not qualified four years ago. And she hasn’t taken the time to learn the job. She is all about sound bites and not about doing the job. This elected official actually matters. Having a bad CA means our judicial system doesn’t work. Josh seems to have more experience and I’m going to give him the chance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Paris is stuck trying to explain why the judge wouldn’t follow her recommendation for a heavier sentence and why she wouldn’t pander to the victim’s family. And when you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Checkmate !!!

While I agree with you I don’t think he’s going to win. The past month I have been inundated with campaign literature from Parisa’s office saying that Josh is endorsed by republicans and calling him the republican candidate. Arlington voters are going to see this and vote for Parisa. Most people don’t know the details of what happened with the case in the clip you shared. They will see Katcher and assume republican and vote for him. Also Parisa’s campaign is clearly better funded.

I think Josh can shape the primary electorate and pull this out. His people show up. They don’t have to worry about getting time off to go vote or worrying about passing a cruiser at the polling entrance. Josh has some of the best allies you could want in a turnout election like this, and between getting his people out and challenging Parisa’s potential voters I think he’ll pull this out.

This seems like wishful thinking.

Parisa has strong support among traditional Arlington liberals - and among the bulk of the local politicians whose views count among Arlington residents.

Josh has totally tied his campaign now to Rose Kehoe's vengeance tour. People have enormous sympathy for her loss but many also have juveniles of their own whom they might prefer not be treated as adults if and when they ever do something incredibly stupid and even harmful.

And there is nothing to like about him personally, either. He is the most transparently ambitious and self-serving young politician on the local scene, and that's no small feat to pull off in Arlington.

Vengeance tour? Her son was killed by a spoilt rich kid with major connections.This isn’t the first time he was driving drunk. He has done this time and time again and has now killed someone. Getting tried as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sentenced to prison. It means that there will be consequences to his actions. For example it could have meant keeping him on probation longer, taking his license away etc. He is getting away with this scot free with no consequences to his actions. Next year he will be driving that car again, drunk, and putting our kids in danger.

And this result would have differed under Josh's tenure how? He went on record saying he probably would have tried the kid as a kid or at least he didn't think it would have been possible under VA's guidelines to get the judge to agree to try the driver as an adult. The mother's anger is understandable, but I think her issue is with the laws and the way they were applied by the judge and the probation office in this case, not just with Parisa. I think she would have been just as angry with Josh if he had been CA when her son was killed. Maybe a little less because he might have been a little more compassionate with her, but fundamentally still angry.

Exactly.

Again, you can’t hold this against Josh. Back in November he thought he had to run as a more effective reformer, so he couldn’t come out as looking for blood against wealthy, well-connected people. It was only when he realized Ms. Kehoe was just as wealthy and connected in her own way (conservative Catholics) that he realized hitching his wagon to Ms. Kehoe was a net gain. So ignore his statements in November that he would have charged as a juvenile and sought the maximum just as Parisa did. Focus on what we know now, that it is much more helpful politically to pursue adult prosecution even though it would go nowhere. Assume that is what Josh would do now despite what he said back then. Circumstances have evolved.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This race sets a record for the amount of political mailings I've received for one election. By far. Today's from Katcher is viscerally shocking, with a picture of the mother of the deceased boy on the front saying "When a drunk driver killed my son, Parisa didn't even listen to us."

I cannot begin to imagine this woman's pain and grief.

I have been undecided about who to vote for, but this kind of ad doesn't sit well with me.

The CA position serves the entire community. The election shouldn’t be centered around this one family.

And pushing this tragedy so prominently into campaign marketing materials feels slimy.

The race is certainly NOT centered around one family though this thread seemingly is. The race is a referendum on the CA’s alleged poor management of the CA office $ that is why the police union endorsed Katcher.

https://patch.com/virginia/arlington-va/amp/31398376/arlington-police-union-endorses-katcher-for-commonwealths-attorney

Parisa has been endorsed for re-election not only by the Washington Post, but by Barbara Favola, JD Spain, Don Beyer, Jennifer McClellan, Alphonso Lopez, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Patrick Hope, Jay Jones, Matt de Ferranti, and Mary Margaret Whipple, among others. These are good people. Katcher has seemed increasingly desperate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Paris is stuck trying to explain why the judge wouldn’t follow her recommendation for a heavier sentence and why she wouldn’t pander to the victim’s family. And when you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Checkmate !!!

While I agree with you I don’t think he’s going to win. The past month I have been inundated with campaign literature from Parisa’s office saying that Josh is endorsed by republicans and calling him the republican candidate. Arlington voters are going to see this and vote for Parisa. Most people don’t know the details of what happened with the case in the clip you shared. They will see Katcher and assume republican and vote for him. Also Parisa’s campaign is clearly better funded.

I think Josh can shape the primary electorate and pull this out. His people show up. They don’t have to worry about getting time off to go vote or worrying about passing a cruiser at the polling entrance. Josh has some of the best allies you could want in a turnout election like this, and between getting his people out and challenging Parisa’s potential voters I think he’ll pull this out.

This seems like wishful thinking.

Parisa has strong support among traditional Arlington liberals - and among the bulk of the local politicians whose views count among Arlington residents.

Josh has totally tied his campaign now to Rose Kehoe's vengeance tour. People have enormous sympathy for her loss but many also have juveniles of their own whom they might prefer not be treated as adults if and when they ever do something incredibly stupid and even harmful.

And there is nothing to like about him personally, either. He is the most transparently ambitious and self-serving young politician on the local scene, and that's no small feat to pull off in Arlington.

Vengeance tour? Her son was killed by a spoilt rich kid with major connections.This isn’t the first time he was driving drunk. He has done this time and time again and has now killed someone. Getting tried as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sentenced to prison. It means that there will be consequences to his actions. For example it could have meant keeping him on probation longer, taking his license away etc. He is getting away with this scot free with no consequences to his actions. Next year he will be driving that car again, drunk, and putting our kids in danger.

That doesn't ring true at all, especially the bit about "no consequences."

But I know you'll keep coming back to this, because the juvenile wasn't from Arlington, so you think it's a free space on your Bingo card to keep attacking him ad nauseum. But Arlington kids screw up, too and, as much as Katcher has apparently decided it may play well to present this as a battle between good and evil, Arlington parents also care about whether their own kids would be treated as adults or juveniles in the courts if they make a bad decision or terrible mistake.

You keep saying this but it isn’t true. We live in North Arlington. I have a teen and many friends with one or more teens. Literally none of us are worried that our kid may drink or get high and kill someone. And frankly, I wouldn’t be friends with anyone who was so cavalier about the possibility. So is this you just making stuff up? Or is this how YOU feel? Because just when you think you’ve seen the height of privilege someone like you comes around and blows my mind.

Oh please, Felicia. You would be the first in line to complain if your own minor children were not treated as juveniles if they got into trouble (and North Arlington has plenty of juveniles who’ve engaged in serious misconduct, sometimes with terrible consequences). There’s a reason why the laws are the way they are, but you want to ignore them when and only when it suits your own personal agenda.

Project much? YOU would be the first in line to complain, not me, because my child would never be in that situation. I have morals as do my children. They are taught not to drink and drive. In fact, they don’t drink at all. But I know you don’t believe that because you are probably a Washington Golf mom that buys her kids beer and thinks she’s the “cool” mom. You really are so pathetic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Paris is stuck trying to explain why the judge wouldn’t follow her recommendation for a heavier sentence and why she wouldn’t pander to the victim’s family. And when you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Checkmate !!!

While I agree with you I don’t think he’s going to win. The past month I have been inundated with campaign literature from Parisa’s office saying that Josh is endorsed by republicans and calling him the republican candidate. Arlington voters are going to see this and vote for Parisa. Most people don’t know the details of what happened with the case in the clip you shared. They will see Katcher and assume republican and vote for him. Also Parisa’s campaign is clearly better funded.

I think Josh can shape the primary electorate and pull this out. His people show up. They don’t have to worry about getting time off to go vote or worrying about passing a cruiser at the polling entrance. Josh has some of the best allies you could want in a turnout election like this, and between getting his people out and challenging Parisa’s potential voters I think he’ll pull this out.

This seems like wishful thinking.

Parisa has strong support among traditional Arlington liberals - and among the bulk of the local politicians whose views count among Arlington residents.

Josh has totally tied his campaign now to Rose Kehoe's vengeance tour. People have enormous sympathy for her loss but many also have juveniles of their own whom they might prefer not be treated as adults if and when they ever do something incredibly stupid and even harmful.

And there is nothing to like about him personally, either. He is the most transparently ambitious and self-serving young politician on the local scene, and that's no small feat to pull off in Arlington.

Vengeance tour? Her son was killed by a spoilt rich kid with major connections.This isn’t the first time he was driving drunk. He has done this time and time again and has now killed someone. Getting tried as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sentenced to prison. It means that there will be consequences to his actions. For example it could have meant keeping him on probation longer, taking his license away etc. He is getting away with this scot free with no consequences to his actions. Next year he will be driving that car again, drunk, and putting our kids in danger.

That doesn't ring true at all, especially the bit about "no consequences."

But I know you'll keep coming back to this, because the juvenile wasn't from Arlington, so you think it's a free space on your Bingo card to keep attacking him ad nauseum. But Arlington kids screw up, too and, as much as Katcher has apparently decided it may play well to present this as a battle between good and evil, Arlington parents also care about whether their own kids would be treated as adults or juveniles in the courts if they make a bad decision or terrible mistake.

You keep saying this but it isn’t true. We live in North Arlington. I have a teen and many friends with one or more teens. Literally none of us are worried that our kid may drink or get high and kill someone. And frankly, I wouldn’t be friends with anyone who was so cavalier about the possibility. So is this you just making stuff up? Or is this how YOU feel? Because just when you think you’ve seen the height of privilege someone like you comes around and blows my mind.

Oh please, Felicia. You would be the first in line to complain if your own minor children were not treated as juveniles if they got into trouble (and North Arlington has plenty of juveniles who’ve engaged in serious misconduct, sometimes with terrible consequences). There’s a reason why the laws are the way they are, but you want to ignore them when and only when it suits your own personal agenda.

Parisa applies laws for thee and me without considering what each of us brings to the table. Like with Theo and Dick Trodden before him, Josh knows to apply prosecutorial discretion to consider thee vs me. That’s a much better bet for me and helps me sleep well if God forbid my kid gets caught doing something stupid and some by the book young cop actually looks to arrest him without the courtesy of a conversation with us. I trust Josh way more than her to make the right decision to keep my family safe and in good fortune.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Paris is stuck trying to explain why the judge wouldn’t follow her recommendation for a heavier sentence and why she wouldn’t pander to the victim’s family. And when you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Checkmate !!!

While I agree with you I don’t think he’s going to win. The past month I have been inundated with campaign literature from Parisa’s office saying that Josh is endorsed by republicans and calling him the republican candidate. Arlington voters are going to see this and vote for Parisa. Most people don’t know the details of what happened with the case in the clip you shared. They will see Katcher and assume republican and vote for him. Also Parisa’s campaign is clearly better funded.

I think Josh can shape the primary electorate and pull this out. His people show up. They don’t have to worry about getting time off to go vote or worrying about passing a cruiser at the polling entrance. Josh has some of the best allies you could want in a turnout election like this, and between getting his people out and challenging Parisa’s potential voters I think he’ll pull this out.

This seems like wishful thinking.

Parisa has strong support among traditional Arlington liberals - and among the bulk of the local politicians whose views count among Arlington residents.

Josh has totally tied his campaign now to Rose Kehoe's vengeance tour. People have enormous sympathy for her loss but many also have juveniles of their own whom they might prefer not be treated as adults if and when they ever do something incredibly stupid and even harmful.

And there is nothing to like about him personally, either. He is the most transparently ambitious and self-serving young politician on the local scene, and that's no small feat to pull off in Arlington.

Vengeance tour? Her son was killed by a spoilt rich kid with major connections.This isn’t the first time he was driving drunk. He has done this time and time again and has now killed someone. Getting tried as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sentenced to prison. It means that there will be consequences to his actions. For example it could have meant keeping him on probation longer, taking his license away etc. He is getting away with this scot free with no consequences to his actions. Next year he will be driving that car again, drunk, and putting our kids in danger.

That doesn't ring true at all, especially the bit about "no consequences."

But I know you'll keep coming back to this, because the juvenile wasn't from Arlington, so you think it's a free space on your Bingo card to keep attacking him ad nauseum. But Arlington kids screw up, too and, as much as Katcher has apparently decided it may play well to present this as a battle between good and evil, Arlington parents also care about whether their own kids would be treated as adults or juveniles in the courts if they make a bad decision or terrible mistake.

You keep saying this but it isn’t true. We live in North Arlington. I have a teen and many friends with one or more teens. Literally none of us are worried that our kid may drink or get high and kill someone. And frankly, I wouldn’t be friends with anyone who was so cavalier about the possibility. So is this you just making stuff up? Or is this how YOU feel? Because just when you think you’ve seen the height of privilege someone like you comes around and blows my mind.

Oh please, Felicia. You would be the first in line to complain if your own minor children were not treated as juveniles if they got into trouble (and North Arlington has plenty of juveniles who’ve engaged in serious misconduct, sometimes with terrible consequences). There’s a reason why the laws are the way they are, but you want to ignore them when and only when it suits your own personal agenda.