Office sought: Supervisor from Providence District in Fairfax County
Party Affiliation: Republican
Previous offices held; please include dates:
Incumbents: when elected to this position:
Occupation: Attorney
Current employment: Piper, Rudnick LLC
1200 19th St. Washington, D.C.
Previous employment: 18 years in federal government, aide to John Warner and Legislative Director to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Education: GMU Law School, JD, 1989
George Washington Univ. BA Political Science 1982
Community ties: Born and raised in Vienna, Va. Graduate of James Madison High School; Founded the GMU Law School Capitol Hill Alumni Group. Member, the Friends of the Oakton Library; Member, Governor George Allen's Transportation Department Transition Team. Appointed to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation Board.
ENDORSEMENTS: Senator John Warner, Congressman Tom Davis and Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.
1. What is your top public-service accomplishment?
Creation of the unique Breast Cancer Stamp. Over 400 million have been sold and 28 million dollars has been raised for breast cancer research since 1997.
2. What are the top five problems facing your constituents and what approaches will you use to solve them? Describe one challenge (or more) in your district that is different than other parts of the county.
Residents in Providence are concerned primarily with: worsened traffic congestion, double digit property tax increases, irresponsible land use and planning, and education spending. Providence is a very diverse district, with residential areas like Oakton and Mantua and heavy commercial areas like Tyson's Corner in the same district. My challenge is to keep Providence a thriving residential and business community for the County and alleviate the traffic congestion that's stifling many areas.
3. What qualities, qualifications and characteristics will you bring to this office?
I'm a life-long resident of the Vienna area. I have 18 years of government experience. I'm a husband, father of 2 kids in school, and I've spent 25 years commuting. It will take new, innovative ideas to solve our old problems and I'll work diligently to find new ways to tackle the problems facing Fairfax County.
4. How will voters best distinguish between you and your opponent(s)?
I will stop the excessive property tax increases. My opponent skirts her pro-tax-hike position by talking about "tax restructuring". Having commuted for 25 years, I know first-hand how frustrating our traffic problems are, and transportation is one of my top priorities. My opponent has no viable solutions. I have never heard my opponent say that a new road bond or widening I-66 are priorities.
5. What specific solutions will you propose for the transportation dilemma?
Please address funding, prioritization, air quality, bus service and other non-rail public transportation solutions, expansion of rail service, and any other possible approach.
It's time for the Board of Supervisors to take responsibility for traffic nightmare and stop assigning blame. It's time for a road bond in Fairfax to fix traffic tie-ups in the County, and we haven't had one in ten years. It's time to widen 1-66 from the Key Bridge to the Dulles Access road. It's time that we finally stationed accident response teams on our main roads and bridges during rush hours. We need to work with Richmond. I've already spoken to the incoming Transportation Chairman in the House of Delegates and the Speaker of the House about our unique needs. At the federal level, we should expect - and pursue funding for rail projects, like Dulles and extending the Metro system west.
6. Fairfax County now dedicates more than 50 percent of its budget to the public school system. How will you measure the effectiveness of this expenditure? What do you see as the biggest challenges? Is this sort of expenditure sustainable given that fewer than 25 percent of households have children in the schools?
Education is a top priority. Teacher pay should be raised to a competitive level so that we don't lose good teachers. We need to reduce class size, and get rid of the school trailers. Recent reports indicate that we can save hundreds of millions of dollars by improving early reading. Also, I support the appointment of Inspector General for the school system to find cost savings, trim excess fat off the bureaucracy, and make sure that more money goes to the kids in the classrooms, where it belongs.
7. Many parts of Northern Virginia are approaching buildout, and the current economic climate favors residential over commercial construction. Do local governments have the tools they need to control and guide growth? How will state and local governments cope with the additional demand for services that comes with additional residential construction? What are the important features of "smart growth," and can more emphasis on smart growth help offset some of the effects of suburban development?
The Board of Supervisors has the tools to manage growth responsibly, and it's an embarrassment that they haven't used them. Current planning incumbents have approved thousands of new homes in Providence, leading to millions of new car/road trips, annually, but they refuse to issue a new road bond to fix our traffic problems. It's time to work with the building industry in a serious way, and secure their help in funding traffic and educational structures to accommodate this residential growth.
8. What are your top environmental priorities? Please address air quality, water quality, open space, etc.
First, my priorities would be an improved planning process that includes: greater citizen involvement through technology, like e-mail notices of planning meetings and Area Plan Review amendments; improved tree preservation; building assistance for schools; and encouraging businesses to implement telecommuting plans. Second, I would encourage greater recycling awareness, and develop appropriate County programs. Estimates are that nearly 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled despite an annual rate of seven billion pounds being sold. Computer equipment recycling is an emerging issue that needs more attention. For example, 420 million ink and toner cartridges are purchased each year, and most are disposed in landfills, yet, they can be recycled.
9. Are residents safe enough? How do public safety officials balance new demands of "homeland security" with other safety and quality of life issues?
I applaud our public safety officials. Providing the resources they need to keep up the good work will always be a priority.
10. Do you have any concerns about civil liberties and public access to information in the wake of the Patriot Act and other responses to Sept. 11?
We will do what is necessary to stop terrorist networks, some of which were formed right here in Northern Virginia. Congress is working on legislation right now that will enhance our ability to keep financial information private. I support the "do not call" list, and I believe our Courts are the best place to address perceived infringements on civil liberties.
11. Working poor families in Northern Virginia face a daunting cost of living, with little in the way of affordable housing, health care, child care and transportation. Are low-wage workers important to the local economy? What do you propose to address the needs of these families?
Current Board of Supervisors leadership is not innovative in their approach to affordable housing. We can reduce the taxes also. We can work closely with companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create affordable housing opportunities, and unique mortgage programs that help first time homebuyers get into a home and have funds for refurbishment. Also, Fairfax County has a vital after school child care program that we need to continue.
12. Should counties have the taxing authority of cities?
No, this is a disguised tax increase. Instead we should work with state leadership to secure a better return on our dollars from Richmond before we raise taxes on ourselves. Even one Democrat Northern Virginia Senator said "Man, you don't want to do that" when told of this proposal. Also, cities have to maintain their own roads and have other responsibilities.
13. What proposals do you have for mitigating the effects of soaring property values and related taxes? Do you endorse the 5 percent cap on property tax increases? If you support a cap on property tax increases, please name at least one service provided by county government that you currently use that you would be prepared to live without.
Irresponsible tax-hikes are hurting seniors and families. That one big reason I've pledged to keep property taxes low, and we can do this by simply setting priorities in the budget process. Currently, the County directs budget officers to spend every penny that might possibly come in the door. That's irresponsible. Instead, let's set a budget limit early in the process. And while that might mean that the County can't subsidize ballroom dancing classes, it's the only responsible course of action.
14. Fairfax County has more than 10,000 full-time employees. How should the Board of Supervisors guide such a large bureaucracy? How do you measure the effectiveness of such a work force? We've heard stories of departments that resist change and are unresponsive to both citizens and elected officials. How would you address these concerns? Please give specific examples.
We need an Inspector General and GAO (General Accounting Office)-style office to look for ways to reduce spending and maintain integrity in our workforce. We need firm deadlines for administrative action. If any action item can't be done on time by bureaucracy, it should be referred to the private sector.
15. What campaign finance reform do you support? How should the county avoid conflict of interest, or even the appearance of conflict, given the Board's role in approving development and zoning changes and contributions by development interests?
I support disclosing all campaign contributions, not just those over $100 or $200. I was the first candidate to call for on-line disclosure of campaign reports, which is now reality. As a member of the Planning Commission, my opponent has accepted a large number of "just-below-the-limit" contributions in increments of $199, just one dollar shy of what has to be disclosed in land use cases.