Mayor Bob Lazaro = Mayor Michael Bloomberg

“Look at folk like Sean Taylor. You know what they said? They said if he had a strap, he would have lived today.” – T.I.

Gun save lives. The only way to defend yourself against a criminal with a gun is to be armed. Criminals do not abide by the law by definition and will find a way to get a gun.

Let’s face it. Karate lessons will not save the life of a petite 100 pound woman when a rapist is 250 pounds and has a gun. The cops won’t come in time. The woman needs the gun to protect herself and save her own life.

If you are familiar with “Republican” Mayor Bob Lazaro of Purcellville, a little podunk town with an identity crisis in western Loudoun County, you will find that him signing on with New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns is no surprise.

Mayor Lazaro and his “Republican” acolytes have never met a spending program they didn’t like because it is all for the benefit of their “wonderful community,” “the people,” and their Loudoun heritage – “a wonderful place to live” …supposedly. None of these feel good projects (pork) are of any substance.

Except when the spending program is an essential government function, affordable, and of significant positive economic impact, do Lazaro’s acolytes (namely Supervisor Janet Clarke) oppose it like Metro to Ashburn. Talk about getting priorities wrong.

“But no, Metro will urbanize Loudoun County and we want to preserve our rural heritage!” Um, excuse me, have you seen Purcellville lately? Metro will terminate in eastern Loudoun far away from Purcellville, but it has not been constructed yet. Meanwhile, walk down Main Street in Purcellville and it is filled with unsightly strip malls, traffic, and fattening fast food joints. It is not charming in any way. The people, still nostalgic about western Loudoun’s “rural character,” would revolt if Wal-Mart opened up shop in Purcellville, but they sure don’t have a problem with that Bloom, Giant, and Harris Teeter in that barn-looking structure.

Purcellville is already urbanized and the people polled there have the gall to oppose Ashburn’s much needed Metro stops because they fear creeping urbanization coming from the east that will destroy their “rural heritage” in the west.

So let me get this straight.

- Purcellville residents oppose Metro to Ashburn far away in the east because it is “too expensive,” will “urbanize” Loudoun, and will “threaten Western Loudoun’s rural heritage and scenery.”
- Yet, Purcellville is already urbanized despite the people’s obsession with the “rural heritage and scenery.”
- As Purcellville’s Mayor and his acolytes oppose paying for Metro, a core transportation solution that will benefit the entire county, they have no problem spending taxpayer money on feel good programs that don’t really do anything because they are “charitable” and help out the community. They win office because Purcellville residents support this.
- Purcellville Mayor Bob Lazaro comes out for gun control in a region that is pro-gun and prides itself on its “rural heritage.” Straight moxie.
- Despite everything in the past, Mayor Lazaro has been reelected without significant opposition and will probably continue that streak after this Bloomberg incident.

Two takeaways:

1. Purcellville, the unofficial seat of western Loudoun County that almost seceded to be Catoctin County in the last decade, has an identity crisis and their internal issues are hurting the progress of Loudoun County as a whole.

2. Jeannemarie Davis needs to call up Bob Lazaro and ask him how he continues to maintain high favorable ratings with his constituents after allying with Mike Bloomberg.