Office sought: State Senate, District 31
Party Affiliation: Independent running on Republican ticket
Previous offices held; please include dates:
Incumbents: when elected to this position:
Occupation: Attorney
Current employment (include name and address of employers): Hanania, Kheder & Nawash, P.C., 6066 Leesburg Pike, #101, Falls Church, VA 22041
Previous employment: Hanania & Nawash
Education: (please list schools attended, degrees and dates) Southeaster Louisiana University, Business Management, 1992; Thomas Cooley Law School, Juris Doctor; American University, LL.M., International Legal Studies.
List a few current endorsements you are most proud of: “Top of the Class” rating by Fairfax PTA; Republicans for Choice (Pro Choice group)
1. What is your top public-service accomplishment?
Host of a local radio show (1120 AM) where I focus on the most pressing issues facing members of the community and helping immigrants assimilate into the fabric of America.
2. Incumbents: Describe the top accomplishment of your last term.
Why shouldn't voters blame you for current problems in your district?
3. What are the top five problems facing your constituents and what approaches will you use to solve them?
Transportation:
Instead of wasting more than $25 million on expanding I-66 for only one mile, which many experts say would not make much of a difference in traffic congestion, Kamal will expand metro rail to local high density areas and bring mass transit into the communities instead of making the community go to mass transit. Shuttle service for commuters near their homes on a more regular and less costly basis would do more to reduce traffic than the expansion of I-66 for only one mile. Kamal considers the traffic congestion to be an issue affecting both quality of life and economic prosperity for his constituents. Instituting HOT lanes, special express lanes on the existing Capital Beltway is another central point on Kamal’s transportation agenda.
In addition to redirecting Richmond’s priorities to meet the 31st District’s traffic needs, Kamal believes in the need to put his constituent’s concerns first! The proposed Arlington Stadium should, Kamal strongly feels, be funded by the investor sports moguls and players who will use it and reap the economic benefits instead of diverting $400 million from public taxes for its construction. Not only does the Stadium disadvantage the 31st District by diverting funds it needs for education, health, and other essential services, the traffic nightmare that the Stadium would create is not addressed by its supporters. If you feel, like Kamal does, that 4000 parking spots for an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 extra cars on area roads if the Stadium is built will only make a difficult traffic situation unbearable, then make your voice heard and vote for Kamal! If the Stadium’s supporters can fund construction without stealing tax dollars for their profit margin, and if traffic concerns are addressed then Kamal would consider lending the project his support, but only if his constituent’s needs are met in full, first. Corporate welfare will never be part of Kamal’s agenda!
Education:
Education is an integral part of Kamal’s vision. He proposes a new program called Seniors to Schools that would make it easier for our senior citizens to teach and volunteer their time in local area schools. With this program, Kamal wants to give every teacher a teacher’s aid and every student who needs assistance, a tutor. Kamal will induce qualified seniors citizens to volunteer in our public schools by providing them with free prescription drug coverage. In his own words, “I want our younger generation to benefit from the wisdom of more experienced generations!”
Reducing the digital divide is also high on Kamal’s list of priorities. He envisions an educational system where every child, whether rich or poor, has access to the computers and computer training that are essential components of success today. Children are most vulnerable to adverse situations and pressures in the hours immediately following the end of school. To ease the burden on families with two working parents and to safeguard our children from harm, Kamal wants to keep public school facilities such as computer labs, libraries, and sports facilities open until 7:00 p.m. to give children a safe place to stay and learn while their parents work for a shared prosperous future!
Describe one challenge (or more) in your district that is different than in other parts of the state.
Traffic is different because of the enormous density in my district. Also, the large number of immigrants who live in the district who live in the shadows without any involvement in their governmental or civic affairs.
4. What qualities, qualifications and characteristics will you
bring to this office? I have been involved in government and civic affairs since my teenage years. I have an excellent grasp of the issues and my background as an immigrant and an attorney puts me in a unique position where I can represent all the people of my district which includes a large number of immigrants.
5. How will voters best distinguish between you and your opponent(s)?
I absolutely shun party politics which places me in a great position to work with both Democrats and Republicans to serve the people of my district. Over the years, I have done an enormous amount of research on solving traffic congestion and consequently I am the only candidate with a comprehensive solution to solve our traffic problem. Not only does my opponent not have a solution to solve our traffic problem, her major project is to bring a baseball stadium to Arlington which will almost certainly turn our traffic problem into a nightmare.
6. What is one thing you promise not to do if elected? I promise not to attack my colleagues because of their party affiliation as my opponent does which has rendered her the most ineffective senator in all of Virginia.
7. What do you predict for the one-to-two year future of the budget
and what adjustments will you propose to prepare for your prediction?
What impact is this likely to have on your constituents?
I believe that our budget will begin to rise and make up for the lost revenues over the last two years. As revenues rise, I plan to increase expenditures on public transportation, reduce college tuition and increase funding for our public schools.
8. 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.
Instead of wasting more than $25 million on expanding I-66 for only one mile, which many experts say would not make much of a difference in traffic congestion, Kamal will expand metro rail to local high density areas and bring mass transit into the communities instead of making the community go to mass transit. Shuttle service for commuters near their homes on a more regular and less costly basis would do more to reduce traffic than the expansion of I-66 for only one mile. Kamal considers the traffic congestion to be an issue affecting both quality of life and economic prosperity for his constituents. Instituting HOT lanes, special express lanes on the existing Capital Beltway is another central point on Kamal’s transportation agenda.
In addition to redirecting Richmond’s priorities to meet the 31st District’s traffic needs, Kamal believes in the need to put his constituent’s concerns first! The proposed Arlington Stadium should, Kamal strongly feels, be funded by the investor sports moguls and players who will use it and reap the economic benefits instead of diverting $400 million from public taxes for its construction. Not only does the Stadium disadvantage the 31st District by diverting funds it needs for education, health, and other essential services, the traffic nightmare that the Stadium would create is not addressed by its supporters. If you feel, like Kamal does, that 4000 parking spots for an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 extra cars on area roads if the Stadium is built will only make a difficult traffic situation unbearable, then make your voice heard and vote for Kamal! If the Stadium’s supporters can fund construction without stealing tax dollars for their profit margin, and if traffic concerns are addressed then Kamal would consider lending the project his support, but only if his constituent’s needs are met in full, first. Corporate welfare will never be part of Kamal’s agenda!
9. 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?
I do not believe that local governments have the tools to deal with the unprecedented growth we are experiencing. It is important to give Northern Virginia more autonomy from Richmond which fails to understand the needs of Northern Virginia. The most important feature of smart Growth is to create a world class public transportation system that places the convenience of the rider as the number one priority. One of the reason for suburban development is traffic congestion and the lack of affordable housing in urban areas. I want to make it easier for renters to purchase a home without the prohibitive down payment that is associated with the purchase of a home in Arlington and Falls Church.
10. What are your top environmental priorities? Please address air quality,
water quality, open space, etc.
One of the biggest causes of pollution comes from automobile exhaust. This is another reason why we need to expand metro rail to local high density areas and otherwise build a state of the art, convenient public transportation system.
11. Are residents safe enough? How do public safety officials balance new
demands of "homeland security" with other safety and quality of life
issues?
Over the last two years, we have increased spending on first responders such as police, fire fighters and ambulatory care. These expenditures were essential in light of the role that first responders played on and after September 11. However, I am concerned that we have neglected basic crime control. In the 31st District we are seeing a rise in gang violence which I believe must be defeated before it gets out of hand.
I want to change the funding formula for the purchase of police units so that every police officer can have his own police unit that stays with him/her 24/7. It is essential that people know that one of their neighbors is a police officer. It gives the neighbors comfort and causes discomfort among potential criminal.
12. 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?
Absolutely. Today, Americans are more at risk of having their civil liberties violated than at most other periods of American history. The Patriot Act has given government too much power that can easily be abused without any accountability. Moreover, it is significant to note that this additional power has not enhanced the fight against terrorism. A recent report by the Justice Department indicated that more than 70% of the people arrested on suspicion of terrorism in fact had nothing to do with terrorism. The Patriot Act must be revisited. The Act was passed into law immediately after 9/11 when most members of congress did not know what provisions were in the Act.
13. 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?
In Northern Virginia, the cost of housing is the biggest barrier and expense for most people. I want to make it easier for renters to purchase a home without any money down.
We can do this with state programs that guarantee home loans in returns for the lending institution providing loans with no money down. Everyone benefits from this program and it has the potential of not costing the state any money.
14. Should counties have the taxing authority of cities?
Northern Virginia needs much more autonomy from Richmond. The people in Richmond just don’t understand our needs. It is counterintuitive that a city like Falls Church has more authority to raise revenue than Arlington for example.
15. What is the appropriate state and local tax rate for cigarettes?
The appropriate rate is the rate we can succeed in passing Richmond. It is foolish to propose an arbitrary rate and have the attitude of all or nothing. This is what my opponent does and hence, she constantly fails miserably and the people end up with nothing.
16. What is the appropriate state and local tax rate for gasoline?
There is no tax that can affect our lives more than the gasoline tax. We have more than 500, 000 large trucks on the road that deliver goods throughout the United States. When the price of gas goes up everything goes up especially the price of food. We must be very careful before we play with the gasoline tax. Moreover, the world oil market is not stable. It is impossible to determine the appropriate tax on fuel. The base gasoline price goes up and down sharply as was the case in 1999. At that time, the sudden increase in fuel put so many American transportation businesses on the brink of bankruptcy.
17. How would you restructure the tax code in Virginia?
We need a fair tax code that reflects our modern economy. Our localities are too heavily dependent on real-estate taxes which are rising at an unprecedented rates and causing a serious affordable housing problem. Our tax code was designed when most people in Virginia were farmers. We need turn our attention from relying on real-estate taxes to relying more on services and other used based taxes.
18. How should income taxes be collected and distributed locally?
I want the income tax to be distributed in proportion to the regions that produced that revenues for the state. In this situation, Northern Virginia should get a much higher rate since we provide the state with approximately 70% of it revenues.
19. 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 state or local government that you currently use that
you would be prepared to live without.
The largest number of victims of the 62% increase in real-estate taxes over the last four years have been senior citizens living on Social Security and other fixed income. They are being forced out of their homes because the three percent annual increase in their social security and other income is not enough to pay for the 18% annual increase in their real-estate taxes. We must provide more relief for people on fixed income. I believe that a successful society should be judge on how they care for their children, their disabled and their senior citizens.
Providing relief for people on fixed income would not require us to give up other services. Arlington County and Falls Church have experienced surpluses as a result of the sharp increase in real-estate taxes.
20. After redistricting, Northern Virginia now has a critical mass in the General Assembly, but so far that doesn't appear to have translated into additional political clout for the region. Why? What will you do to increase the influence of Northern Virginia in Richmond?
I blame both Democrats and Republicans for Northern Virginia’s ineffectiveness in Richmond. In campaigning for office, I was saddened to learn that so many of the Northern Virginia legislatures are hostile to each other for no other reason than party affiliation. Our goal as legislatures should be to serve the people and not to expand our political parties. It is essential for the Northern Virginia delegation to go to Richmond as a united block. We must meet before the session begins and hammer out a united agenda before going to Richmond. Then we must unit with other urban areas in Richmond that are more likely to understand our needs and agree with us than do rural areas. The split in Virginia is not between Democrats and Republicans. It is between rural and urban. The Northern Virginia delegation needs to understand this and not be sucked into partisan fighting to the detriment of the people.
21. Do you favor the repeal of the Dillon Rule? Why or Why not?
The Dillon Rule means that municipalities get their authority from the state. This is not unique to Virginia. However, what we need to do is grant Northern Virginia more autonomy from Richmond since we are so different from the rest of the state. This is why it is important for the Northern Virginia delegation to be united.
22. What is right and wrong with Virginia's current laws governing
abortion? Would you support any changes?
Virginia needs to accept that the Supreme Court has designated a woman’s right to chose as a fundamental right. We need to codify this as state law and move on to solving more pressing issues such as reducing traffic by improving public transportation and improving our public schools.
23. Would you support allowing localities to ban weapons from public?
Buildings?
I support a ban on public buildings such as schools, court houses and other buildings where justice is administered or other buildings where government officials maybe in danger of retaliation.
24. The state provides only a fraction of the funding for local schools that it should given requirements under the "Standards of Quality." How would you address this?
I go back to the issue of the ineffectiveness of the Northern Virginia members of the legislature. We need to go to Richmond as a united team and push to increase funding for public schools. There is no better investment a state can make than to public education.
25. How would you rate the Standards of Learning tests and what
improvements still need to be made?
I think it is too early to judge the effectiveness of the standard of learning test. Having said this, I would like to see more focus on teaching our children the art of analysis.