July 11, 2002
<bt>On Sunday July, 7 at the Herndon Train Depot, John Stevens began his journey to end the 22-year career of Frank Wolf as U.S. representative of the 10th congressional district.
"People are thinking that that's a great big advantage, and it certainly means that he's starting off with an awful lot more name recognition and an awful lot more money, but at the same time he's got 22 years worth of explaining to do, and that's a pretty big burden. I mean personally, I feel kind of sorry for him having to run against me," Stevens said.
Stevens has never run for a public office, but has been active in his community. He is a member of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, the Loudoun County Community Criminal Justice Board, is a member of the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission, and is president of a database software development firm.
At the rally, Stevens questioned Wolf's commitment to the families of the district. Accusing Wolf of accepting WorldCom contributions in his 2000 campaign, Stevens said, "In the name of those getting their pink slips last week, I demand that Frank Wolf give back the money and explain to them this outrage."
Around 50 people attended the Stevens rally on Sunday. Some had recently been laid off by WorldCom.
When asked about the problems facing the Herndon community itself, Stevens said, "Our quality of life is being threatened by overdevelopment, by the need to sit for hours everyday in traffic. Even then you have to worry about my community supporting my public schools so that while I'm at work my kids are being educated at that high standard that we all demand. Then at that point you have to ask yourself, even if I'm working and supporting my public schools can I afford a health care plan?"
The biggest transportation issue continues to be getting rail to Dulles, said Stevens, noting that he would not comment on the specifics of his plan on how to get rail to Dulles at this time in his campaign. However, he did emphasize that buses were not the answer and that rail to Dulles is his "top transportation priority."
Stevens pointed at more affordable housing as a large step towards easing the overdevelopment problem. In order to have this occur, Stevens believes that there must be a mix in the size of lots and houses, instead of huge building projects. Stevens believes that this can only strengthen the community.
"What I have to do is stand up and show that I've got the kind of ideas and the kind of values that are important to the folks in this community," he said.