$499 question: Does Council candidate even live in the city?
-
If only these chihuahuas could talk. They greeted a visitor, but James Halfaday did not.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE -
Halfaday is registered to vote at 2423 Sunset Road, but a two-year resident has never heard of him.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE -
Halfaday has used 1248 Richmond Road, and it's the address of one of his contributors. Only problem for a City Council candidate: It's in the county.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
At the Jefferson School groundbreaking September 14, the topic of conversation sometimes seemed to be less the milestone the historic school had achieved, but instead the former City Council candidate who allegedly suffered Charlottesville's only earthquake injury and who had just been outed for fabricating a claim that he co-owned Snap Fitness. A few blocks away that same morning, the Charlottesville Electoral Board was sending the campaign filings of James Robert Halfaday over to the commonwealth's attorney for possible prosecution.
The fitness center and earthquake questions may be the tip of iceberg. The Hook has discovered that people residing at his listed city address have no knowledge of his living there. Moreover, some of his 21 supposed financial supporters dispute his claim that they donated exactly $499 to his campaign.
"No way," says William Nowell, pastor at New Covenant Pentecostal Church, one of the alleged contributors. "I didn't even consider him as a candidate, and I know I wouldn't give him any money."
Nowell says he's concerned about having his name associated with Halfaday; his connection with the candidate, pastor Nowell says, consisted merely of his coming to the church a few times.
"James lied," says Charlottesville resident Sharika Greene, Nowell's granddaughter, who also is listed, as is her husband, as a $499 contributor.
"I'm a caregiver, and my husband is unemployed," says Greene. "If I had $500, I'd sure be doing something else with it."
Greene says her husband, Guy, met Halfaday at Snap Fitness and worked on the campaign. After Halfaday filed a campaign finance disclosure report for the July 1-August 10 period that listed all the $499 contributions, Greene says, "He texted my husband and said, 'Tell your old lady to say she donated money to my campaign.'"
According to a pre-primary newspaper story, Halfaday claimed he received the series of $499 campaign contributions as birthday presents from eager relatives. But Greene offers a new take on the Halfaday fund-raising strategy: "He told me he donated his own money and used our names."
According to Greene, there's another bombshell about the man who would serve his city: "He lives in the county."
According to registrar Sheri Iachetta, Halfaday registered to vote and registered his candidacy using the city address of 2423 Sunset Road. However, neither of the two names on the mailbox of that split-level house is Halfaday's.
Leslie Whelan says she's lived in the lower apartment there with her husband for two years; during that time, she adds, the upstairs unit was rented by two women.
"He doesn't live here," says Whelan. "He definitely doesn't live here."
An Internet search for Halfaday turns up a Richmond Road address, one that's also the address of another $499 contributor: Dr. Kenneth Horneman. A message left for him at Barron Associates, an aerospace and healthcare research company Halfaday listed as Horneman's place of employment, elicited a return call from an employee who said Horneman was not allowed to make personal calls at work.
At Horneman's rented home at 1248 Richmond Road, a reporter's knock on the open door wasn't answered by a resident, but it did send at least four chihuahuas into a frenzy on the sun porch.
(Halfaday's Facebook post detailing his alleged neck collar-wearing injury resulting from a fallen sunroom ceiling in the August 23 earthquake describes finding his chihuahuas hiding in a corner. Could these be the same earthquake survivors?)
Halfaday lists several people named Horneman as $499 contributors to his campaign, including a couple from Waxhaw, North Carolina, Jane and Donald Horneman.
"That's a bold-faced lie," declares Jane Horneman when asked about the donation during a telephone interview. Could Donald Horneman have made the contribution?
"If he did, I'd kill him," replies Jane Horneman, declining to comment further other than to say she's "not surprised" that Halfaday's campaign has raised questions.
Repeated phone calls and emails from the Hook in the past two weeks have not produced any response from Halfaday. The 32-year-old from Dumferline, Illinois, who ran as the city's first openly gay candidate, has received more media attention since the August 20 primary, in which he finished seventh out of seven, than he did before the election.
The same day the earthquake allegedly knocked him unconscious, Halfaday– who claimed to have received a barrage of anti-gay messages during the campaign– said he was the victim of a threatening message from a married female volunteer for Democratic Council nominee Kathy Galvin. Halfaday took out an emergency protective order against the volunteer, and she was arrested after he alleged she violated the order. "There's absolutely no truth to these allegations," she told the Hook.
Later, an attorney representing Mike and Nancy Hamdani contacted the Hook to say that the Hamdanis have owned Snap Fitness since 2008 and Halfaday has never owned the fitness franchise.
If Halfaday is prosecuted for the alleged false statement of economic interest, he's looking at a Class 5 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. The Board of Elections also directed registrar Iachetta to turn over Halfaday's campaign finance statement to the prosecutor if the document isn't amended by September 16.
That's the date by which candidates who collected more than they spent– Halfaday allegedly got $10,479 and disbursed just $934– must either return the excess to contributors, donate it to a charity or another candidate, or keep it if the candidate intends to run for office again– and file regular statements.
The first thing that caught Iachetta's eye was the exactly $499 donation from each contributor. "To me, knowing the law that a local candidate who receives $500 or above has to file extra paperwork within 24 hours," she says, "I thought he didn't want to file the paperwork."
The second thought? "That's a lot of contributors at $499," says Iachetta. "And 'good for him' was the third thought." Halfaday was a top fundraiser for that period.
Falsifications of voter registration or of campaign finance statements are all Class 5 felonies, says Iachetta. Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman had not returned phone calls from the Hook at post time.
98 comments
TOLD YOU SO ... 21-individuals all donating $499 is very questionable. I noted these donation were 'cash' only. That's odd to begin with. The Virginia SBOE and the Charlottesville Commonwealth Attorney will be checking his credit card statements and bank accounts.
Did the four chihuahuas donate money as well?
The bogus address is the cherry on this cake!
Mr Halfaday called me last spring and left a message asking me to call him regarding a civic matter that received a bit of publicity in the media. The caller ID said Kenneth Horneman, and that was the number he asked me to use to call him back. I remember at the time wondering why he was using a phone belonging to someone else. This was fairly soon after announcing his campaign , I believe.
His FB has been peppered with weird self-laudatory and drama-filled posts for many months now. Perhaps some form of messiah complex?
The fun part now will be getting an actual interview with Jim.
Leave the guy alone. It has become obvious he has emotional problems which doesn't warrent the Hook having a feeding frenzy at his expense. Go set your sights on another victim Hook.
Keep at it. Where there is smoke, there is fire.
The funniest part to me is that the money that was (not) donated by the 21 donors will now be returned to them. BONUS!! hhaha
George, I actually agree with you! It's a shame to see a good man go to waste. If he wants to work for the city or county government so badly, he would fit right in with this new breed of rookie the local police departments seem to be hiring nowadays! Even better yet, if he was to attend and finish law school, we could have a new law firm in town.... Maurray & Halfaday!
The curious case of Mr. Halfaday continues.
Who or what Mr. Halfaday is will hopefully
Be unwound.
Perhaps nothing more than a riff on Woody Allen's Zelig.
How one represents themself , and behaves in public life
When running for an elective office that involves the public trust
Should not be minimized .
I have to admit, this is getting pretty good.
I doubt he was lying about being gay . Why else would he be living with Dr Horneyman . Place of residence and where one lives is not easily pinned down . Many have several residences,places where they stay for periods of time etc. etc.while naming one official place of residence for the record . A neighbour saying someone doesn't live in an area at a particular place is often incorrect and can cause damage to an innocent person such as this situation. Making the case of lying about an official place of residence in a public media outlet without the consent or input from the person involved is beyond unfair .
I would like to use a quote by Barney Fife when he was talking about Ernest T. Bass; "He's a nut!"
Big Chief Half Moon: You gave me my laugh for the day. I almost fell on the floor. I hope you intended what you said. I'd hate to think it was a typo.
I'm with George. The job of exposing this guy and obviating him from public office is done. Have some mercy on someone who clearly needs treatment and isn't putting anyone in danger.
The Hook is obviously digging for sensational content to keep this story alive, bringing up a lot more innocent names in the process of selling ad space.
The investigation is announced, the journalism is done, move on!
@BeReasonable,
Don't like it? Don't read it.
Halfaday's actions have earned him whatever is rolling his way.
Personally, I would also like to see him pay back the city's Democratic Party one seventh of whatever they spent on the recent primary.
He has made himself into the celebrity he always wanted to be. Just not for the right reasons.
You really can tell your kids, "ANYONE can run for city council!"
@ Be Reasonable
Some people here are making Halfaday out to be on the level of a mentally challenged person, in which case yes, it would be unfair, like shooting fish in a barrel and ganging up on a five year old who can't defend himself. But if what Sharika Green says is true, that Halfaday texted her husband with: "'Tell your old lady to say she donated money to my campaign'" then Halfaday knew what he was doing and he truly thought he was pulling one over on people. That needs to be called out. Halfaday hasn't realized this isn't a Hollywood movie directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Earthquake question: Did Halfaday have a neck brace just sitting around the house?
He finished seventh place (last) in the primary. How many people voted for him?
@ The Hook---At Horneman's rented home at 1248 Richmond Road, a reporter's knock on the open door wasn't answered by a resident, but it did send at least four chihuahuas into a frenzy on the sun porch.
(Halfaday's Facebook post detailing his alleged neck collar-wearing injury resulting from a fallen sunroom ceiling in the August 23 earthquake describes finding his chihuahuas hiding in a corner. Could these be the same earthquake survivors?)
Questions--Did you see the ceiling in the sunroom? Had it fallen? I didn't really think so, but it would be good if you could confirm that no ceiling fell in the earthquake.
@ the Hook---if he was not co-owner of Snap and if he did contribute his own money, where does his money and income come from??? Except for his bogus business ownership, I don't see anything that looks like a job with income in his history. Can you find any gainful employment in the last several years?
@Snap Crackle Pop--he has been associated with a fire department and has some EMT training, so I can imagine that he had collar around that he could use for dramatic effect.
Deleted by moderator.
I think the Hook should follow through with their investigation to where he lived before coming to Charlottesville. On Myspace he claims he "lives" in Charlottesville and "resides" in Diamond Bar, California, which he claims as his hometown. Also on his website he claims an award in Kansas: “Outstanding Citizenship Award” Park City, Kansas
About me:
Hello my name is James Halfaday and I currently live in Charlottesville, Virginia in Albemarle County and reside in Diamond Bar, California Los Angeles County. Iron can not become steel until it endures a lot of heat."
Education: Grad / professional school
Occupation: Peace Officer
Income: $150,000 to $250,000
A "peace officer" making $150,000 to $250,000? THat's more than the VP of the US makes!
Vice President's Salary
The salary of the vice president is currently (for 2011) $230,700
If it werent for the Hook, much...if not all, of this would not have been uncovered. It certainly seems reasonable that he knew what he was doing every step of the way. Everything that has been done all seems to be to get 15 minutes of fame (over and over again) or attention. If this happened here what else happened other places before his arrival in Cville? Look Deeper, there is probably more.
Out of all the lies, one thing appears to be true:
CITY OF PARK CITY
MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
APPROVED MINUTES OF 7/26/05 AS WRITTEN
Mayor Stuart requested that James Halfaday come forward and she presented him a Certificate of Commendation for his outstanding citizenship. He had observed an incident at the park on Grove Street, he came to City Hall and found a Police Officer and a suspect was taken into custody.
CERTIFICATS OF COMMENDATION TO JOHN HALFADY (sic)
Let's review:
He may have lied about living in the city
He lied about owning Snap Fitiness
He lied about his donors
He probably lied about being an earthquake victim
He probably defamed a Galvin staff, who should sue for defamation
All that and there are people who say leave him alone?
That may be the oddest thing I've read in this whole story.
Is he really who he says he is? where did he get the money? and is he going to jail? are what I hope the Hook answers next.
The Democrats in Charlottesville are to be commended for voting him 7th- the wisdom of the crowd.
A sad story, but my hat is off to Jim Nix and the Democratic Committee for not letting Halfaday ruin the Democratic primary while at the same time not jumping to conclusions about him and allowing him to run after he filed the paperwork. These committee members did a fine job of keeping an eye on Halfaday and seeing that the Democratic community members knew to be skeptical of him, and spreading the word that community members needed to vote carefully.
Of course, Dede Smith is kind of a nut too, and she actually managed to eke out a non-majority victory in the election, unfortunately defeating Paul Beyer by a few votes.
"The Democrats in Charlottesville are to be commended for voting him 7th- the wisdom of the crowd."
Well, there were those like Charles Alexander, Cornelia Johnson, and Julian Taliaferro who endorsed Halfaday. The real lesson here is that the gullible voters in this town who reflexively vote to elect whoever and whatever the local Democratic party throws their way have been putting control over the future of this city in the hands of people who even those in the know actually know nothing about. Do those who endorsed the winning candidates really know any more about them? Did the voters in the primary?
I'd probably never vote for their candidate(s), but I really wish we had an effective Republican opposition in this city so the Democrats would have to come up with some worthwhile candidates of their own for a change. Huja in particular has had years to do something and hasn't really accomplished anything worthy of note. That's with all the inside connections he has from being a city employee for years. Despite that, the party insiders spoke and the sheep followed. We really deserve better than that.
OK, its time to play, "Where in the World is Waldo?" Is he in Charlottesville, Albemarle or has he moved to his next location to start this all over again? Where was he before and what was the story there?
BeReasonable...the journalism is not done. How many other people has he conned? Where is he? Is he capable of harming others?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1477629424
Mayor Dave Norris is still facebook friends with Halfaday.
His website lists his birthday as 7/3/1979 and his Facebook page says he was in the class of 92' coming out of high school. That would mean he graduated when he was 13. My guess is that his birthday is actually in 1974.
@ Robbie He is 32 years old, so he was born in 1979.
If he is not now and never has been a co-owner in Snap Fitness, and not even an employee, WHERE does his income come from?? This needs to be investigated. He lives high for someone without gainful employment. If he donated his own money, as Mrs. Greene says, where did that money come from??? Nowhere on his multiple websites does he show that he is employed at anything, except on Myspace where he says he earns $150,000 to $250,000 as a "peace officer." He spends like he is wealthy, but I want to know how he supports his lifestyle. Having a Sugar Daddy in a big house in Albemarle County doesn't count.
@Sunny - So would you agree that it's very unlikely that he graduated from high school in 1992 if he was really born in 1979? What proof is there that he was born in 1979?
@ Robbie--I feel certain that he didn't graduate high school in 1992. I have not seen that claim made anywhere else except on Facebook. He graduated college in 2002, (also when he defaulted on student loans), so if he was smart enough to graduate high school in 1992, it was 10 years later for college. The fact that there is a record of the 2003 default on student loans that caused his PI license to be yanked supports that he was born in 1979. He would have been 23 in 2002, a reasonable age to receive a bachelors degree.
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL
1998 to 2002
Graduated: 2002
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
2002 to 2005
Graduated: 2005
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Master's Degree
There is some kind of karmic irony that we have here a public figure who has collared himself, I think. As to whether he should be the subject of public comment and opinion, well, that kind of comes along with being a public figure, after all. While Jim's behavior is not inconsistent with a pathological condition, it is hard to know, and impossible to say, really, if his actions arise from some mental adjustment issues, or if they reflect some agenda which is the result of rational thinking. But either way, he would not appear to be suitable for public office and this is reflected in the low vote turn out. Fact is, we'll never need to worry about him being in public office. Not here, anyway.
Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned here is not about what Jim did, but rather about so many people (Hook staff included) accepting his statements at face value. Certainly, among the first things that should happen regarding any candidate is a prompt and thorough background check - something which did NOT happen this time, apparently. We might take some comfort from the fact that Jim, while evidently not truthful, is nonetheless innocuous. Or so it seems.
@ Robbie--Being born in 1979 actually be in line with his claim that he was elected to "city council" in 1998 at the age of 18, but in turn that would be called into question since he claims to have served a term from 1998 to 2001, but he also claims to have attended college from 1998 to 2002 at a campus an hour away from the village where he was supposed to have been elected city councilor. Did he drive two hours round trip to his college classes and still have time to do his duties as "city councilor" back at home? His home town of Dunfermline, IL is a village with a population of less that 300, and they have village trustees, not city councilors.
Although it makes more sense to fib about age versus the year he graduated, it's sounds like Sunny's right.
I wonder if Tommy Lightfoot Garrett was part of Halfaday's campaign team.
3...2...1...poof! His Facebook page is gone.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1477629424
Has he vanished as well?
I simply find this very intriguing. And as I said some time back, I am certain there are more intriguing things to discover. Perhaps this is all for the making of a book of intrigue and drama. He might be smarter than anyone thinks. Cville Weekly even outlines more discrepancies from his own MySpace, Facebook, etc.
@ Hollowboy
Not to pour salt in your wound but a person with sense would have taken one look at Halfadays's website and known the guy was off. http://www.halfadaystrong.com/DEMOCRAT_HALFADAY.html
Smart people don't get pulled into the web of politics. I'm a proud non-participant and non voter and always will be. I'm not a Dem, I'm not a Repub, I'm not any of them, and I don't participate nor do I get sucked into their lies. Humans are fallible. There isn't one out there who can be our "savior." Yet over and over and over again people think with every election that THIS candidate is going to be the one, THIS candidate is different from the rest, THIS candidate is the real deal, THIS candidate really cares about the people, THIS candidate is going to rescue us from this mess.
Not gonna happen. Don't hold your breath.
I'm just sitting here waiting for the system to finally cave in on itself. Which it will. Until then I turn my back on it. You'll never see me on here saying that I got suckered in by a Rob Schilling or a James Halfaday or a Tom Periello or Barack Obama or Ron Paul or Hilary Clinton or...or....or...etc.
:)
@ Bwaahaha!
His Facebook page is loading up just fine. As is his regular website.
@booo!
Nope. As of 2:30 p.m. eastern time, 9.18.11 the Facebook page is scotched.
"This content is currently unavailable."
Glad the other website is still up; it is low comedy at its finest and not to be missed.
Confess I never looked at his Web site, may I should have.
I've heard the arguments for not voting. I've also heard the argument that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about who gets elected.
I've voted for candidates who have lost, candidates who have won and been disappointments, and even candidates who have won and have not disappointed. So I don't think you can tar them all with the same brush. Don't expect "saviors" whatever that means. But I do think we have a right to expect public officeholders to display at least a modicum of integrity and competence.
@ Bwaahaha!
I don't know what's wrong with your computer, but Halfaday's Facebook continues to load for me just fine. I even cleared out my computer's cookies and saved forms and was able to load it up. *You just have to make sure you're properly logged into FB if you want to see it.* If you're not then you're probably going to get that error message. So, you can get on here all you want arguing otherwise but I'll just keep reiterating what I see happening on my end: A FB page that loads just fine. I know it makes things MORE EXCITING! to think Halfaday yanked his FB page and is now on the lam or something, but that's not the case. FB is still up, regular website is still up, and he's probably just hanging out at the Richmond Road address with his dogs. yawn.
The facebook page loads fine, but it has been altered. He was probably working on it when Bwaahaha! tried to access it.
He has removed many pictures, but also added many pictures, such as pictures of the supposedly collapsed sunroom ceiling, which supposedly fell on him, knocking him unconscious, during the earthquake. He added a picture with the neck brace on, but it was a close-up of what looked like debris in his hair. He is going on about how poorly the 1990's ceiling was installed. Maybe he is going for a lawsuit.
Even if he takes facebook down, I am sure that I am not the only one who knows how to preserve internet data which one might want to make disappear by utilizing screen shots.
A user can alter their Facebook account any time they choose to do so. But the original content, in it's entirety, is always accessible by subpoena directly to Facebook. Just because you delete a picture or entry does not mean it is totally deleted.
@ boooo!
From this end, not a phuque has been given, nor an argument stirred.
Don't flatter yourself; I most certainly have not come this far to entertain any notion of arguing with the likes of you and your all-caps rhetorical exertions.
Yawn, indeed.
Not much has been said about Halfaday having been on the City of Charlottesville Department of Police Advisory Board since 2009. That's kinda like letting the fox guard the hen house. Besides, with his involvement with the cops, and cops providing security for businesses, wouldn't the police know if he was truly the owner of Snap Fitness? In case a business is broken into in the middle of the night, there is usually contact information on file for the owner or person responsible in an emergency.
It just seems suspect to me that this guy is rubbing shoulders with city and state politicians, law enforcement, fire/rescue personnel, business owners, etc., and nobody knows that he does not really own a gym and they don't know where he lives. If they did think he really owned the gym, where did they think he got the money to buy it?
Rubbing shoulders with city and state politicians, law enforcement, fire/rescue personnel, business owners, etc., and none of them knowing what he does, whether he really owns a gym or not, and not knowing where he lives is not important. Because he did not fool the voters. Will he be prosecuted? Probably not. Because all those listed above and many others want this thing over with and forgotten as fast as possible.
fun, fun fun until your "daddy" takes your neck brace away.................
@ Sunny
Claiming membership to a board/group/organization and then actually showing up and doing the work and participating are two different things. ;) So one must always keep that in mind with *any* of the claims that Halfaday makes in regards to all boards/groups/organizations he claims membership to.
Is he truly an active participant, or is it something he "joined" so that he could have one more thing to pad his resume?
A Hook Reader -"James didn't lie about trivial matters; he lied about co-owning a fitness shop, donations to his campaign, place of residence, etc." Really, those are pretty trivial compared to a lot of what politicians lie about. Keep in mind that we've had troops in Iraq since 2003 based on lies.
"Thank God he didn't make it to the top 3." So what do we know about the top 3? Any more really? What did the voters know about Blake Caravati when he was elected? Would he be re-elected based on what we know now? Would what we know now or more correctly, what we think we know now make any difference in his ability to be an effective mayor?
I'm not defending Halfaday, and wasn't planning on voting for him anyway. My point is that thinking that the process has somehow magically worked to weed out someone with questionable personal traits and selected 3 angels is very foolish.
This distraction does nothing to help us select among those who are still in the running. Lets look more closely at Satyendra Huja for example. I'm unaware of any juicy personal gossip associated with the man, but he does have a record as a City Councilor.
Huja has a youtube video outlining his vision for the city. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re6T_tHlZOc If he has a vision for what he wants to accomplish as a City Councilor, then why has he been sitting on his ass for years and accomplishing none of it? Asking questions like that isn't anywhere near as fun picking on the clear loser while he's down, but really, isn't a lot more relevant?
Even if he had made it to the Top 3, the Democrats would have dumped him long before the Nov 8 election.
He's not in this boat alone, lying seems to be the trend nowadays. While reviewing job applications a while back, a girl had an outstanding resume. But she forgot to mention she was fired from her last job for merchandise theft and embezzlement of money.
And of course one of the Obama Administration's latest capers, asking General William Shelton to lie under oath to Congress in the Lightsquared Scandal.
@boooo!,
"Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”
-George Jean Nathan
"In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote."
-David Foster Wallace
Earthquaker, why do people in this city even need to turn out to vote on Nov 8? The Democrats will be running unopposed, something they do more often than not.
School Board.
Those "unopposed" Democrats are, in fact, opposed by five Independents whose chances are certainly not improved when their supporters fail to show up.
Ohh! I guess I haven't been keeping up lately.
I was not aware 5 independants were now running. Thanks!
("boooo!" at 10:17 am was not me, it was somebody posting under the handle I've been using. But, it's nice to know that I've apparently gotten so far under somebody's skin that they feel the need to do that. ;) )
boooo!, people do that to me all the time.
There's been quite a few remarks on The Hook that I haven't made in the past.
@ Earthquake Survivor
Problem with that logic is, it's assuming that one of the finalists handed to people on a platter to vote for would actually be one of the "good guys" worth voting for.
What happens when none of the finalists are good guys? (Or even the semi finalists?) What then? Are we supposed to dumb ourselves down and just vote for "the lesser of the two evils"? No thanks.
Nobody really stops to question why truly normal, everyday yet, intelligent, sane and honest people don't seem to ever become a candidate in the political races. Let alone why they would never make it to the finals. Let alone why they don't get elected.
Let me spell it out for those who don't yet know - it's because you have to either be part of the "accepted" bloodlines, and/or a member of one of their little fraternal organizations who've already sworn allegiance to certain interests and powers.
Without that, you're not going anywhere in this world. Truly good guys aren't allowed to play ball, so to speak. I realize this, as do many other people out there, and for that reason we don't play the game.
Oh yeah, and forgot to address this comment from Hollow Boy from earlier: "I've also heard the argument that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about who gets elected."
Well you don't see me complaining about who gets elected. I don't get on here whining and bitching about who's not living up to their promises and who's falling short, because I'm not stupid enough to get duped by them in the first place. I just don't play the game, period, which includes "complaining" about them.
(aannnnndddd......waiting for the imposter to get on here posting as me again, because my comments apparently bug them THAT much. :D )
(btw...my previous post I'm referring to the bigger political positions, like Senate, Congress, President, etc. Not the local council person from a podunk small town or inconsequential city.)
@boooo!:
Your perspective on politics is so staggeringly uninformed as to border on the cartoonish. Such sentiments evidence a complete and total lack of understanding of the role that active citizens should play in the political process as well as an utter disregard (if not outright disdain) for the democratic ideals upon which this nation was founded. If everyone shared your outlook, James Halfaday would have won the nomination, as the Halfadays of the world thrive in such an apathetic environment.
Here's a clue... The electoral process ENDS at the ballot box, but it BEGINS much earlier, with the efforts of like-minded individuals, organized into larger groups, advocating for their particular interests in the marketplace of ideas. Those efforts typically (but not always) culminate in the nomination of candidates for office. Perhaps you need to get involved in the process a little earlier? Some folks do this by working within the Two Party structure to make one party more reflective of their ideals. Others work outside that structure (Third Party?) to affect the change they seek. If you are so thoroughly disgusted with the fact that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans ever give you palatable choices, yet you continue to sit back on your "brains" doing NOTHING but lamenting that fact, then you are getting precisely the choices that you deserve. Lame conspiracy theories about “accepted bloodlines” or shadowy fraternal organizations pulling the strings from behind the scenes are a lazy cop-out. If you want better choices, it is up to you to get off your a$$, get organized, and provide yourself (and those who share your outlook) with better choices come Election Day! If that is too much bother, then by all means continue passively lapping up whatever the government dishes out.
Here's another clue… The decisions made at the "podunk" small town level or by an "inconsequential" city council (think water rates, road construction, school budgets, police and fire protection, zoning regulations, property taxes, etc...) arguably have a much more direct impact on peoples' lives than those made at the State and Federal levels. But keep right on patting yourself on the back for your refusal to participate in the process. As you do so, continue bending over and taking it in the rear from those you evidently so despise.
@ Earthquake Survivor
If you say so. :D
And you think I'm the one with staggeringly uniformed and cartoonish beliefs? :D I'd tell you to take another gander through your post but if you could see the forest for the trees you wouldn't have written that post to begin with.
I put what I know and have observed out there. People will either 'see' it or they won't. If they can't, then I'm not going to waste time arguing with them. You're free to believe what you wrote. I'm free to know what I wrote. It's as simple as that.
This is starting to look like a social experiment. He lies about EVERYTHING to see how far he can take it. About the only things that have not been debunked are his ethnic heritage and his sexual orientation. If those prove to be lies--this will be very interesting.
Methinks "Earthquake Survivor" is Halfaday.
Methinks "never surprised" is a fracking dunderhead.
like I said.....
call it a hunch
Call it whatever you like. You're still wrong.
I'm James Halfaday!
Just kidding. I'm Spartacus!
I'm one of the 3 Democratic nominees. Happy no one's looking my way.
I do wish the Hook comments section had an ignore button.
@never surprised-- if you think that Earthquake Survivor is James Halfaday, then you've obviously never read anything Halfaday's written! He can barely string a coherent FB status update together, much less a multi-paragraph blog comment.
Halfaday's FB page has long been a surreal trainwreck, and I count it among my guilty pleasures.
Once convicted, do you think James Halfaday will claim he owns the prison gym?
probably not, but think of all the fun he will have there........he might look forward to it
@ shempdaddy:
"About the only things that have not been debunked are his ethnic heritage and his sexual orientation. If those prove to be lies--this will be very interesting."
Well, now that you mention it, check out Cville news where the third bullet point says:
"• Is he really gay? On his MySpace profile he lists his sexual orientation as “straight,” while also saying he came out at the age of 31."
dun dun DUUUUUUUN!! :D
@ shempdaddy:
"About the only things that have not been debunked are his ethnic heritage and his sexual orientation. If those prove to be lies--this will be very interesting."
Well, now that you mention it, check out Cville news where the third bullet point says:
"• Is he really gay? On his MySpace profile he lists his sexual orientation as “straight,” while also saying he came out at the age of 31." http://cvillenews.com/2011/09/17/halfaday-questions/#comments
dun dun DUUUUUUUN!! :D
Why don't we just live this guy alone - I'm concerned that all this negative attention will cause more bad judgement
Off the street: Without the negative attention, people will never learn NOT to try to fool a whole town. If he decided to take us all for fools he DESERVES the negative attention plus whatever may come of the investigation. Being quiet on this is condoning this type of behavior, which should never be condoned.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." Abraham Lincoln
But you can TRY to make fools of all of the people all of the time unless you know you will end up looking like the fool.
Why don't we go for an even 100 comments so...
Accurint investigative report shows: James Halfaday lives at from Aug 2009 to Sept 2011 living at 1248 Richmond Road. July 2007-Oct 2009 shows him at 23 Ridgeview Circle, C-ville. And finally from Nov 2007-May 2008 at 2423 Sunset, C-ville.
Are you trying to say "Accurate investigative report?"
"Accurint" (do a google search on it) is a pay investigative service offered by Lexis-Nexis of C-ville. It tracks people's addresses, bankrupcies, civil judgments, phone numbers etc. The prosecutor I'm sure uses it.
Jim Baldy for MAYOR!
Thanks, Sam. I was hoping to hear “Accurint investigative report’s" explanation, but thanks anyway. Who would pay for and publish that? Someone wanting to make it look like a harmless error?
wow...seems like someone has too much time on there hands to dig dirt on Mr. James. Bake a pie....Eat a pie!
Inneresting. I wonder if the hospital judgments were because of health ailments and not having insurance? If so I guess that could happen to anybody who's uninsured.
100 is mine!!!!
Who cares if he declared bankruptcy. I'm thinking the people who are commenting so much A.have nothing better to do. B. Must of been dumped by him C. Are PERFECT & never made any mistakes or have never done anything wrong in their life.....right! So tired of listening to the drama. Even tho I may not know him personally....I hope he is doing well. Best of luck Mr. Halfaday. P.s. the pictures of his dogs.....what did they have to do with this?? Did you get their permission to take a picture of them or to even publish it?
Who cares if he declared bankruptcy. I'm thinking the people who are commenting so much A.have nothing better to do. B. Must of been dumped by him C. Are PERFECT & never made any mistakes or have never done anything wrong in their life.....right! So tired of listening to the drama. Even tho I may not know him personally....I hope he is doing well. Best of luck Mr. Halfaday. P.s. the pictures of his dogs.....what did they have to do with this?? Did you get their permission to take a picture of them or to even publish it?
Damn computers........
@ DamnTheBeaver
"B. Must of been dumped by him..."
Must have forms the contraction must've. Not "MUST OF." Must of doesn't even make grammatical sense. Would've could've should've must've.............get it? It's called grammar. Learn it.
"wow...seems like someone has too much time on there hands to dig dirt on Mr. James."
I think the word you were looking for is THEIR. Not THERE.
Now excuse me while I go back to nursing my wounds for being dumped by James Halfaday all those years ago. I'm still so bitter over it, you have no idea. *sniff.* Maybe I'll Facebook stalk him and let him know that there's a knife for both of us. Do you think that will help me win him back??!
One of our actual candidates for city council can barely speak the language, but rather than talk about him, let's keep the focus on the grammar of anonymous posters to the comment section of an article on someone who has already been eliminated from the contest.
Trying to point out the shortcomings of candidates or those who are on the council seems to be like banging heads against a wall. Perhaps that is why people are so interested in the alleged frauds of former candidates. They're hoping those who turn a blind eye might just see this and wake up to the reality that Charlottesville is not perfect and some people are going to take advantage of the fact that many don't want to see that.
@ boooooooo
Wrong...the answer was C. U R PERFECT! Or was is A.?? Then again maybe it were all of the above. Mayb u should of been more down to earth during yur relationship & yud b still together. To find fault with others is just telling us yur not happy with yurselph. Could of, would of, should of.......used spellllchker first, bettr yet, let's ask boo to correct thee errirs.
The question now is where is he, will be be prosecuted for election fraud and how many times has he done this??? There does seem to be a trend with his finances though. Did I say, "Catch me if you can." Life imitating art.
Lest us not attack each other or bring others into this conversation that are not related to the topic. Stay on point.