Remarks to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors: September 20, 2022

My name is Bill Wright and I live in Gainesville.  I oppose the Prince William Digital Gateway. 

Supervisors are perfectly entitled to disagree with me on the merits of this proposal.  What they are not entitled to do is stonewall legitimate citizen inquiries, suppress evidence, dismiss responsible precautions and otherwise use their influence to subvert what is supposed to be an impartial review process. 

The applicants are entitled to advocate for their interests.  They are not entitled to collude with public officials, advertise improper proffers or present false motives to elicit public support.

Any lingering doubt trusting souls might have had about how seriously impaired this CPA review process is went out the window with that comically pre-ordained Planning Commission public hearing.  Reason and judgment would have stood a better chance at the Salem witch trials.

The Legal Dictionary provides two definitions for the word corruption.  The first is: “dishonest or illegal behaviors, especially by people in positions of power or authority”.  The second is: “impairment of moral principal, virtue, or values.”  Corruption can be motivated by financial gain, political ambition or moral deficiencies.  Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality and social division.

Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as lawyers, real estate agents and opaque corporations, that allow their schemes to flourish.

Opposition to your conduct will not end with your morally tainted vote.  The public has been aroused to the depth of your complicity with this shameless charade and many are making it their business to expose your role.  This CPA review process will inevitably invite legal challenges, during which you will be called to account.  You will also face the increasing outrage of your constituents, a number of whom are highly motivated to feed a trove of opposition research against you.  You have kicked over a hornet’s nest.

I presume some of you are already in this too deep to jump ship now and will follow your bad judgment to its conclusion.  I hope whatever you’re getting out of this is worth the public derision it will inspire.   

Boris Badenov was a proud member of Local 12 of the VTSU: Villains, Thieves and Scoundrels Union.  I believe the ethically challenged Prince William County Government has enough qualified candidates to start its own Local 13.  This Board has demonstrated tremendous effectiveness in recruiting scoundrels and eliciting morally pliable behavior.  That is quite an accomplishment, just not one to be proud of.

The shame you don’t feel continues to accumulate around you.