Tra La La Drake's Office

Why do US Senators and House Representative have offices around their district?

If you answer so constituents can come and communicate with their representative that would have been my guess also.

I've always been shocked when I have joined with others (usually 10-25 constituents) to deliver our opinion and petitions to Thelma Drake at her office. We have actually been told to leave or be arrested. We always pledged to be polite, and our plans have been to gather at the office, maybe speak for 15 minutes and talk with the press, have one to two people enter the office, leave our petitions and exit.

Today Drake's constituents decided to participate in the MoveOn.org action to stop the Iraq War escalation. They attempted to deliver a message to Thelma Drake opposing Bush's escalation of the Iraq War. The plan was to hold a half hour rally in front of her office, hopefully talk to the press, and deliver the petitions to Tra La La Drake. Nothing that was illegal or "out of the ordinary" behavior for a public official's office.

So why did Drake's staff sit in a darkened office (pretending the office was closed). The staff knew about the MoveOn rally. Why did the property landlord (or manager) have the police on hand to charge Virginia citizens with trespassing because they were attempting to communicate with their legislator?

Tom Palumbo, a local anti-war activist was arrested (he had his hand on the office door and/or was leaning on the door). A rally participant reports that after Palumbo was arrested the office lights were turned back on.

Aren't the office of our representatives and senators paid for with "our" tax dollars? Why can't constituents hold a press conference and attempt to deliver petitions to their elected officials without being threatened with arrest?

Something needs to be done about Tra La La Drake's attitude towards her constituents. If she's going to accept tas payers money to have an office to meet with and communicate with her constituents she needs to have her office at a "public" place where her constituents can gather without being threatened with arrest when they are "peacefully assembled" and attempting to deliver letters and or petitions.

It's utrageous that the local southside press does not report any of this even though they were contacted and had full knowledge of the event.

If Drake cannot "meet" with her constituents to discuss issues in her office then the money should be refunded back to our treasury and applied to a purpose that benefits the public.

It's NOT legal for public funds to be paying for a private office for Tra La La Drake. Maybe when a decent candidate is put up in the next election we will no longer have to put up with Thelma Drake and her Bush/Cheney neocon lockstep attitude.