As posted over at Leech City, Manassas city council members have finally relented and agreed to attend the state-mandated training for elected officials in the new year. We take full credit for this development. For years, the council members (Audrey solely excepted) had been steadfast in their refusal to attend this training. As such, this announcement is a marked sea change in their approach to this training which occurred since we launched Leech City.

Also, we are beginning to see cracks form between the city and its support network among various other governments, officials and quasi-public entities, many of which appear to be tiring of their creative antics. We have shined the light on official misconduct, especially the ridiculous allegations against me and the forthcoming consequences thereof, and simple poor judgement, any of which could put themselves and other officials in legal jeopardy. By doing this, these other officials are becoming less likely to continue sticking their necks out for Manassas. Instead of a friend-and-favor public economy, Manassas is now being serviced in a more by-the-book capacity, as should have been the case all along.

This last achievement is an important psychological milestone, as in the past the city has gone out of its way to demonstrate how many friends it has, even to the point of dragging various local dignitaries in to suffer through public loyalty ordeals. Having trimmed off the casual and unwary well-wishers, those who back their antics now will be more exposed as having hidden motives beyond just simple camaraderie. This will make it easier for us to drill into the underlying motivations, and uncover new avenues of inquiry exposed by these relationships. More generously, by taking away external support for foolishness, we have effectively taken sharp knives out of the hands of children, protecting them, and the taxpayers who would have to foot the bill, from self-harm.