Corey Stewart is in the news again, ironically for the very thing he vehemently denied during his failed run to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor last year – for being a tax raiser! Corey, the At-Large Chairman for the Prince William Board of Supervisors, made the Washington Post headlines last week for proposing and securing enough votes to pass a 4.5% tax increase.
Some background on this latest development will be quite the eye-opener for you. Anyone who knows Corey Stewart understands that he has a “win at all cost” approach to politics. He will tell that straight to your face. As proof of his “win at all costs” approach, Corey had an ugly underground campaign against his opponents last year that was conducted by using anonymous emails and mailers. He accused them of all sorts of things, but the most interesting accusation was for tax and spending.
To make matters worse, when Corey Stewart interviewed with the VA Tea Party Patriot Federation to seek their endorsement last year, he lied to them by stating he had ‘technically’ never raised taxes. In fact, he claimed that his stellar fiscal record is what set him apart from many of his Republican opponents. But all you have to do is visit The Sheriff of Nottingham blog (a Prince William specific blog) to get the scoop on the real Corey Stewart.
According to the Washington Post, the tax increase was for “two new libraries, park improvement projects across the county, increased support for nonprofit organizations and new hires for the police and fire departments.”
While the responses varied to Corey Stewart’s 4.5% tax increase, the WaPo reported two quotes that were damning:
Others made ardent pitches for lower taxes. Bill Petrak, who had also spoken on the topic at earlier meetings, pointed out that six of the board’s eight members are Republicans and said that he was surprised that so many of them seemed willing to raise taxes.
“What happened to you folks? [Are] you a bunch of tax-and-spend liberals who fooled the electorate?” asked Petrak, a Woodbridge resident. “You folks are running these people out of the county, especially the senior citizens.”
But by far, the quote that will plague Corey Stewart for the remainder of his political career came from his Democrat colleague on the Board of Supervisors:
“You’re looking more and more like a Democrat every day”
I still remember Corey Stewart telling me privately, “I am a very ambitious man and I WILL hold statewide public office one day!”
Well Corey, you may need to run as a Democrat to make your ambitions a reality. They love tax increases!
