Del. Frederick, hiding his record.

Because the House of Delegates absolutely refuses to provide audio or video of any of their proceedings, while simultaneously insisting that they have the right to hold secret votes, the Democratic Party of Virginia has taken to sending cameramen to committee and subcommittee meetings. They post the resulting video on their blog. Their commitment to such a project is extremely impressive — it’s a huge step forward for open government in Virginia.

Del. Jeff Frederick (R-Prince William) has consistently voted to keep secret the legislature’s work on behalf of Virginia. That having proven insufficient, he’s now working to prevent anybody from seeing video footage of the House Education Committee‘s meeting today. The DPVA provides this lowlight reel of Frederick’s shenanigans.

Del. Frederick would do well to spend less time trying to hide his record and more time honing his legislation. For an advocate of smaller government, Frederick’s position as as the #4 most prolific bill filer (49 and counting) certainly doesn’t seem to match his rhetoric.

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »

17 replies on “Del. Frederick, hiding his record.”

  1. Blockers. The Allen campaign did the same thing to videographers at his public events. Staffers, and volunteers would position themselves between the camera and the candidate. They would ignore your request to move, follow you if you moved, and block you again.

  2. It’s one thing in a campaign — those have become a part of the rules of engagement. But at the General Assembly? I wonder what, specifically, Jeff Frederick is trying to hide from his constituents.

  3. If this really is a case of intentional camera-blocking, as it appears to be, I reckon Delegate Frederick is looking for trouble. It’s not too difficult for these sorts of actions to escalate into pushing, shoving and physical altercations that may not have been intended.

    It’s bush league stuff. If Delegate Frederick can’t stand the heat, he should get out of the kitchen.

  4. If Delegate Frederick is using state employees, paid General Assembly staffers, to block public access to committee meetings, I have a very big problem with this.

    Surely Delegate Frederick can find a better use for our tax dollars than blocking public accesss to the general Assembly.

  5. So…We have another Delegate who believes our government should operate “behind closed doors.” Wonder if he’ll use that as his campaign slogan when he’s up for re-election?

    buzz…buzz….

  6. If Virginians see how the people’s business actually gets attended to by the Republican majority in the General Assembly, do you think it will turn out any better for them than it did for the Republicans in the 109th United States Congress?

    Frederick is 1)cynical, 2)afraid, 3)overconfident, 4)clueless (or any combination of)…not qualities I look for in a Delegate.

  7. He gets his paycheck from public money and he plays silly games when he’s supposed to be working?!? Juvenile doesn’t even begin to describe the Delegate’s actions in this video.

  8. Mosquito… you’re onto something. Every opponent of any Delegate who opposes measures to open up committee meetings should hammer on that fact during their campaigns. Either these delegates have something to hide, or there’s no reason to be hiding. Which is it?

    These tactics are controversial enough on the campaign trail. Delegate Frederick needs to be reminded that committee meetings are not campaign events.

  9. Having followed the Virginia blogosphere for a few years now, I see open government as really the ONLY issue on which people across the spectrum seem to reach a consensus. Del. Frederick and others should take note.

  10. Great video! Man, that guy looks and acts like a complete weasel. I hope this resurfaces during his reelection campaign this year. You think Stark could be talked into following him around and confronting him on it?

  11. Please…Frederick hiding his record…aren’t votes recorded in Committee? I believe yes. Subcommittee, no, but full committtee, yes. Looks like he is having some fun with the camera, not “hiding” something. Anyone can see that.

  12. Looks like he is having some fun with the camera, not “hiding” something.

    There’s simply no room for disagreement here, Nan. Del. Frederick dispatched multiple people to block a video camera from videotaping him. He is, under any definition of the word, hiding.

  13. I hate to point a completely odd point, but the producers of this video should be careful using the music they’ve used. I’m pretty sure that music is not in the public domain, and that Henry Mancini’s estate is still collecting royalties.

  14. He’s a jerk, but I think it’s a stretch to say he was hiding anything. To me it’s clear he’s having fun tweaking the opposition…just as they’re having fun tweaking him. I think the video is great, and gets its message across, but let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill.

    Those who want to latch on to this as smoking gun evidence of “hiding” or trying to sneak something by the voters (the room is filled with the opposition, for goodness sake!) need try not to be wound so tightly, so to speak.

  15. Oh, I don’t think anybody’s claiming that he was caught trying to sneak something by voters in the moments that the camera was covered, or even that it was his intention. That’d just be silly. But Frederick has shown a pattern, in his voting and his behavior, of trying very, very hard to prevent citizens from knowing what he’s up to on the taxpayers’ dime. Whether through legislation or physically blocking a camera legally recording him at work, he’s obviously hiding something.

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