www.FairfaxCountyPrivacyCouncil.org
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FCPC ALERT #2007-7: Jeannemarie
Devolites Davis – the anti-privacy candidate for the
Originally Published on Oct. 28, 2007
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anyone else who might be interested in advancing privacy in Virginia. Maximum
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ALERT ITEM
SUMMARY:
1. Jeannemarie
Devolites Davis attacks opponent by sending mailer listing
opponent’s family’s personal information to thousands of strangers
2. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis,
blocking social security number privacy reform since 2002
3. Bright spot of the week –
4. FCPC activist wins lawsuit against
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1. Jeannemarie Devolites
Davis attacks opponent by sending mailer listing opponent’s family’s personal
information to thousands of strangers
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In recent days Jeannemarie Devolites Davis has shown her true colors on privacy by
sending thousands of mailers to strangers across
“The
"The thing that really bothers me is it was part of an attack ad," Petersen said. "This ad is meant to incite anger at me, and then you have my daughters' names circled and my home phone number circled and my home address circled. The net effect is to get somebody angry at me and have them contact me." . . . [A]cting commonwealth's attorney Ray Morrogh, . . . said the mail crosses a line. "We need to keep it clean. Even the mafia doesn't touch the families.” Va. State Senate Race Turns Tense, Oct. 26, 2007, at http://www.nbc4.com/news/14434768/detail.html. See also related NBC4 video at http://www.nbc4.com/news/14434768/detail.html.
Devolites Davis’ effort to label Petersen as responsible for the Enron disaster is about as childish as Al Gore claiming to have invented the Internet. But Devolites Davis role in personally approved this inflammatory mailer and also to draw red circles around little children’s’ heads and list their names, address, and phone number strikes many as just plain sick, like something you might see on one of the edgier episodes of Law & Order.
As the President of the Fairfax Coalition of Police Marshal Thielen said, “[w]hat she's done here is just horrible." Amy Gardiner, Candidate Cries Foul Over Mailing, Washington Post, Oct. 27, 2007, at B05, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/26/AR2007102602063.html?nav=rss_metro.
More links to this controversy:
WUSA 9 report: http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=64482
WUSA 9 video: http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=51550&bw=
AP report: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/vaapwire.PrintView.-content-articles-AP-2007-10-27-0035.html
DC Examiner report: http://www.examiner.com/printa-1013294~Mail_piece_sets_off_debate_over_family's_privacy.html?cid=tool-print-top
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2. Jeannemarie Devolites
Davis, blocking social security number privacy reform since 2002
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It should not surprise anyone that Devolites
Davis cares not for the Petersen’s family’s privacy – she cares not for
anyone’s privacy.
Since at least 2002 Devolites
Here is a timeline:
2001-2002: Devolites take control of the Joint Subcommittee studying the Operations of Circuit Court Clerks’ Offices.
On Feb. 1, 2003: Then Delegate Devolites [not yet Davis] took the floor in the General Assembly to urge her fellow Delegates to oppose Delegate Sam Nixon’s (R-Chesterfield) HB 2426, a bill to require removal or redaction of SSNs from so called “land records” prior to their distribution by Court Clerks onto the Internet. The term “land records” is quite broad, including deeds of trust, marriage and divorce papers, name change documents, and much more . . . pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.
Devolites wanted the bill killed
so that the issues could be “studied” by her Joint Subcommittee studying the
Operations of Circuit Court Clerks’ Offices.
Said Devolites, “I am unaware of any clerk
providing access to any records without a subscription.” “Not true!” claims
And in the final version of HB 2426, the bill was
essentially gutted by merely requiring pay-per-view subscription such that
anyone can sign up for online access to millions of SSN laden land
records. Devolites
later was quoted in the Connection Newspaper as justifying her opposition to
redaction of SSNs in land records by saying "I
think this issue is turning out to be a money issue...at this time, when we're
in a budget crisis, there are no additional dollars." See http://www.fairfaxcountyprivacycouncil.org/Alert20033.html.htm.
So as of the end of the 2003
General Assembly session, the issue was covered up in part by pay per view
“secure” subscription slight of hand, buying time for Devolites
to study the issue.
2004:
2005: More studyin’, with some late night pizza delivery.
2006: Studies continue urgently thru the year.
Jan. 5, 2007: Just in time for her Senatorial reelection, studies suddenly produce Devolites Davis’ SB 824 to require SSN redaction on land records by 2010.
Feb. 1, 2007: Devolites Davis allows a committee substitute bill to be passed adding an enactment clause at the bottom such “[t]hat the provisions of subdivision B 1 of § 17.1-294 of the Code of Virginia of this act shall not become effective unless an appropriation of general funds effectuating the purposes of this act is included in a general appropriation act passed by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly, which becomes law.”
July 1, 2007: Va. Code § 17.1-294 as amended by Devolites Davis bill becomes law, providing no deadline at all to the ongoing and massive publication of SSNs in “land records” through the internet – see http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+17.1-294. The fiscal impact statement at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+oth+HB2062FER122+PDF states plainly: “There is an enactment clause that eliminates the mandate for clerks to have redaction of records completed by July 1, 2010, if an appropriation of general funds to address the cost of redaction is not provided by the 2007 General Assembly. Since the 2007 General Assembly did not provide general funds for this purpose, the July 1, 2010, effective date is eliminated.”
Ostergren, the Virginia Watchdog, has for years posted examples of public figures land records with SSNs on her web site at http://www.opcva.com/watchdog/RECORDS.html
In that link, you can find Devolites
Davis’s SSN on a record at http://www.opcva.com/watchdog/Devolites-Davis.pdf
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3. Bright spot of the week –
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On Oct. 27, 2007 at the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance’s annual
luncheon in
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4. FCPC activist wins lawsuit against
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FCPC activist John Fenter, a
retired navy man who lives in the Hampton Roads area of
Such signs are not posted at reputable airports such as Reagan National and Dulles. Just why did the Airport Authority fight this fight over a sign everybody knows is bogus anyway? FCPC wonders who is watching the management of the Norfolk Airport Authority, which now owes John Fenter a big heap of money for his attorney fees and costs, as well presumably a bigger heap of fees and costs rung up by the Authority’s own outside lawyers and high priced consultants.
Links to more news and analysis:
Marc Davis, Virginia Supreme Court rules Norfolk Airport
Authority violated law, 
Virginian-Pilot,
Sept. 15, 2007, at http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=132545&ran=172872.
Alan Cooper, Balancing security and FOIA, 24 Sept., 2007, at http://www.virginialaw.com/subscriber/archives_FTS.cfm?page=VA/07/9240738.htm.
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Questions, or to be added/deleted from future Alerts? Contact Mike
Stollenwerk at FCPCChairman@cox.net