VCC Magazine Fall 2017

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Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2017 23
The GAB Walls from page 20
You can try reciting the penultimate lines of this traditional Scottish
poem:
“From ghoulies and ghosties / And long-leggedy beasties / And
things that go bump in the night, / Good Lord, deliver us!”
Or simply—call the Capitol Police.
Sarah Alderson is an award-winning freelance writer who often
disappears into a broadcast control room or reappears from behind a
camera during General Assembly sessions. Her voice can sometimes
be heard echoing through the halls, her footsteps are not always quiet,
she’ll watch you from behind a camera, occasionally appear in a
gallery, and often flash you a smile if you look her way. She moves
about without being noticed much of the time, except by the Capitol
Police. And she rarely, if ever, wears a white dress. You can summon
her by email at
Sarah Alderson is an award-winning freelance writer who also works
in the General Assembly broadcast control rooms during sessions
and the Capitol Studio throughout the year. She can be reached at
Virginia’s general fund supports the Virginia Department of
Elections (ELECT), employees, and the statewide registration
system. Some of ELECTs programs and employees have been relying
on federal HAVA funds since 2003 but that money is now gone.
ELECT’s operating budget has remained basically stagnant since the
early 2000’s even in the face of many increasing costs. Cost saving
efforts at the state level has resulted in increased local responsibilities
as portions of the costs are passed along to the local office.
From ELECT’s budget, the Commonwealth does pay a
reimbursement for the locally paid salary of the general registrar and
the stipend of the Electoral Boards. The last time this diminishing
reimbursement was 100% was in 2006, it’s now hovering at less
than 70%.
In addition to eroding monetary aid for the last decade, Virginia
has also passed along hidden costs of printing, correspondence,
equipment, supplies and materials. Once those expenses are passed
along, rarely do they return.
When local fiscal officers see a reduction in revenue, they want
to offset that reduction with a cut in spending. Some local governing
bodies have had a difficult time getting past the old one-day-a-year
myth, and balk when told to spend local funds on a state controlled
office while writing checks for unfunded mandates. Then the cycle
is repeated, with rising costs, reduced revenue, and cuts in spending
until out of sheer necessity the local government begrudgingly
concedes to the Dillon Rule and drops a pittance in a line item.
Elections, however, are the “show that must go on” and will
continue as long as there is a Commonwealth of Virginia. There is
no question that every member of every level of government agrees
that elections are the foundational basis for our system of governance.
Every political speech, every community forum and town hall
soap box, every written opinion piece speaks of the need for good
elections. I have yet to meet any elected leader or aspiring elected
leader from any level who would ever say thatVirginians don’t deserve
the best elections possible. They will, to a person, wax poetic about
Virginia’s strong electoral history, the foundation of Democracy, the
rockers on the cradle of liberty… until the time comes to put their
money where their mouth is.
A good election takes months of work and dedication on the part
of a few committed people, for what most voters think of as only
taking a few minutes.
A good election is not just Election Day. It’s a team effort
involving a small underfunded state agency, 133 determined local
offices, thousands of Polling places and tens of thousands of good
civic minded Election Officers, making sure that literally millions of
Virginians can exercise a single, simple, fundamental right.
The right to vote.
And THAT is what we do every day, not just the “rest of the year.”
Tracy Howard has served as the General Registrar/Director
of Elections for the City of Radford since 1992, is a Certified
Professional General Registrar and accredited Virginia Registration
and Election Official, two-time past President of the Voter
Registrars Association of Virginia 1998-2000 & 2015-2017, and
Fellow of the Sorenson Institute of Political Leadership at UVA.
Various sightings at the Executive Mansion
include one by a previous Governor early on who had
seen an apparition of a woman in white in an upstairs
bedroom. In fact, it’s been reported that everyGovernor
who has lived in the mansion, as well as some visitors
and a Governor’s young grandson, have reported
similar experiences. And one Capitol Policeman who
saw the apparition face-to-face immediately quit his
job. Others have reported seeing a woman’s face in an
antique mirror in the house, and a couple of other odd
sightings have involved a butler in uniform.
John McKee was the officer who told me to check
out his story in the book, called “AMysterious Light.”
The incident he experienced involved the sound of
footsteps in the darkened Mansion and an inexplicable
bright stream of light that cascaded across the top
of the stairs. The story was corroborated by another
officer on site that night.
Another Capital Police Officer friend, John Nicholson, contributed
a story called “Moving Furniture.” He had heard what sounded like
furniture being moved in the Old Governor’s Office in the empty
Mansion and after thoroughly checking, could find no reasonable
explanation.
Not surprisingly, the Old House Chamber and the surrounding area
in the Capitol provide the setting for many unusual sights and sounds.
More than one witness has seen a phone sitting on the hostess desk
move of its own volition. And several have heard voices coming from
the closed and locked room.
The book is filled with all of these stories and more - too many to
cover in this one article. The Virginia Supreme Court Building, Old
City Hall, and the buildings on Morrison Row behind the Governor’s
Mansion all have their own tales to tell as well.
So remember, if you’re walking around Capitol Square and begin
to notice abnormal shadows behind you, strange lights that shouldn’t
be there, an isolated mist nearby, or disembodied voices in an empty
room, it could just be your imagination or it might be something more.
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