August 1, 2002
Help Wanted:
Nation’s 11th-largest urban center seeks legislator to represent flagship magisterial district. Must reside in Dranesville District and be qualified to vote. Attendance required at two monthly meetings. Annual salary: $59,000. Office budget: $331,246.
FOR THE FIRST TIME in anyone’s memory, the office of Dranesville District supervisor is wide open.
Stuart Mendelsohn, the incumbent Republican from Great Falls who won two terms and would probably be elected again, announced on July 22 that he doesn’t want a third term.
With his 50th birthday coming on Aug. 8, he wants to spend more time with his daughters, Michelle and Sarah, he said.
They were a toddler and a baby when he entered public service in 1993. Now, they are pre-teens, and a third Mendelsohn term would extend all the way through high school for the elder daughter, Michelle.
Other than the controversial Evans Farm development, Mendelsohn’s supporters and opponents alike acknowledge that peace has prevailed in Dranesville District in his first six years in office. They say they understand his decision to step aside.
Now, they look for a successor to be chosen in a general election on Nov. 4, 2003, less than 16 months from now. Between now and then, anything could happen.
WHO RUNS?
Candidates come from two potential pools: those who seek office because they want to be in politics, and those who are entreated by others to run on the basis of their deep commitment, perhaps to a particular cause.
For the office of supervisor, there’s a third group: people who could well perform the duties of a demanding, often thankless job, remunerated by a salary that may be deficient, considering the hours, education, experience, and training required for successful performance.
“It’s a demanding job,” said Adrienne Whyte, chairman of the McLean Citizens Association Planning and Zoning Committee. “On the whole, there is very little public recognition of how much time our supervisors spend on their jobs. They go to every ceremony. They spend many hours meeting with constituents and county staff. They attend Board [of Supervisors] meetings, but also board committee meetings, and meetings of the outside task forces in which they participate.
“That’s a lot of work for what in Fairfax County is not a lot of money,” said Whyte, a Republican who’s considering running for supervisor. “When you add it up, it’s more than a full-time job.”
“When you assess whether you want to run, you have to ask yourself, would I be willing to do what they do? And also, whether you’ve got any kind of broad-based support,” she said.
“The lifestyle impact on family, and the ability to maintain your profession” are among the issues that potential candidates face, said John Foust, a Democrat who is considering a race for Dranesville Supervisor.
“THERE ARE LOTS of different reasons for running,” said Rufus Phillips, a former Dranesville Supervisor whose wife, Barbara, ran against Mendelsohn in 1999.
“I suppose that having some political ambition plays a part. I think that in my case, there was tremendous movement to really do something about the county’s lack of a comprehensive plan and land use policies. There had been a huge controversy over the Burling tract [now Scott’s Run Nature Preserve]. and there was a feeling the supervisor in this district simply was not sensitive to the problems and concerns,” Phillips said.
“I was an unknown. I had been running an engineering and planning firm. I got involved out of conviction that things had to change, and there was a better way of doing things,” he said.
“There was quite a citizens’ movement, and the whole Board [of Supervisors] changed significantly,” Phillips said. The newly-elected board established the first comprehensive zoning plan for Fairfax County, ousting the “good ‘old boy” network that had controlled its business practices.
“Back when I ran, the pay was nominal,” said Phillips. “It was about $15,000. You had to pursue another profession or business to make a living. That has changed. With the current board salaries you have more full-time supervisors.
“The curious thing is that then, we used to meet every Monday. Now, they meet every second Monday. Of course, the county has grown,” Phillips said.