Letter to the Editor: Malcolm Baldwin's low blows

Dear Editor:

Ever since the now-failed Chesapeake Bay Property Control Plan was proposed, advocates for farmers and homeowners faced a barrage of false attacks on their character and motivations by supervisors, candidates and operatives aligned with the wealthy environmentalist crowd. 

Many of the nastiest attacks were directed at American Tradition Partnership's grassroots members, and myself particularly. On election night, voters corrected the record. 

Among the worst offenders was Catoctin District Supervisor candidate Malcolm Baldwin

In a Nov. 4 Leesburg Today article on American Tradition Partnership's candidate survey program Baldwin stated "no sane person" would agree radical environmentalism harms Loudoun farmers and homeowners. 

The newspaper quote was one of many passive-aggressive low blows thrown this year by Mr. Baldwin, who would then try to obfuscate his attacks by putting on the air of a country gentleman. 

Mr. Baldwin also accused me personally of "dirty tricks" and conducting "a last minute push to scare people and hurt our campaign." 

Undeterred, I telephoned thousands of Catoctin voters the day before the election urging them to seek out Mr. Baldwin at their polling location and politely ask him to consider changing his harmful position.

In the end those voters judged it was he, not farmers and homeowners, whose position was wrong. 

That's what American Tradition Partnership is about. Accountability. 

The election results should serve as a warning to future Boards of Supervisors to never again propose a Property Control Act, or engage in the smear tactics we saw over the past year and a half. 

Donald E. Ferguson, Alexandria 
Executive Director, American Tradition Partnership