AGE: 58
FAMILY: Wife, Beth; daughter, Spencer
CAMPAIGN MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 959, Haymarket, VA 20169
CAMPAIGN PHONE: 703-310-6312
E-MAIL: info@bruce2005.org
WEBSITE: www.bruce2005.org
OCCUPATION: Educator
EMPLOYMENT: The George Washington University
EDUCATION: A.A.S., Lord Fairfax Community College; B.S., University of Maryland; MA George Washington University; Ed.D., NOVA Southeastern University
QUALIFICATIONS: Life-long public servant and proactive problem solver.
1. What is your top public service accomplishment?
My top public service accomplishments are my 21 years of service in the Prince William County Fire Department and my service in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam.
2. What sets you apart from the other candidate(s) in the race?
I am the only candidate in this race who has pledged to make reducing traffic his number one priority and who has an actual plan to do it. Road congestion is, by far, the most important issue in this area and my opponent has done nothing to address it during his 12 years in office.
3. What is one thing you promise not to do if elected?
I promise not to spend my tenure ignoring the most important issue — transportation.
4. What is the biggest issue facing your district? What should be done to address it?
The biggest issue facing my district is traffic. We sit in traffic hour after hour, day after day, year after year, while our representative in Richmond does nothing. Something has to change. First and foremost, we need a delegate committed to addressing the problem. I plan to be that delegate.
There is no silver bullet to solving the crisis. My plan includes a commitment to stopping sprawl, kick-starting unfunded projects, building commuter parking lots and developing a modern mass transit system.
5. Is there any additional legislation in regard to abortion that you would support? Would you make any changes to the current laws and regulation about abortion in Virginia?
I’m a moderate on abortion. I support some reasonable restrictions, but don’t believe that we should criminalize health care decisions made between women and their doctors.
6. In Virginia, local governments have limited control of revenue and taxing authority. Should they have more? Less? What changes would you propose?
I generally support giving authority to local governments. More pressing than the need for revenue and taxing authority, however, is the need for more tools to control growth and stop sprawl.
I support adequate public facilities legislation, impact fees and an enhanced proffer system. These are tools that Prince William and Loudoun counties need and deserve.
7. In Northern Virginia, property taxes have increased dramatically in recent years. What role should the state play in this?
I support implementing a homestead exemption program in Virginia. This program would allow, but not force, localities to exempt up to 20 percent of a home’s value from personal property tax.
Additionally, the state government must fulfill its commitment to fully funding education and to investing in transportation projects. These actions would relieve considerable financial burdens from localities, allowing them to reduce their reliance on personal property tax revenues.
8. What do you believe the role of the state should be in determining the status of same-sex couples in Virginia?
My view is that marriage is clearly defined in both Virginia and federal law. Piling on additional restrictions is unnecessary and is a major distraction from what should be the focus our elected officials — solving real problems like traffic and sprawl.
9. What are your views about public-private partnerships and other mechanisms to privatize Virginia's highway system? What are the caveats you would identify as we move forward with this process?
I think that public-private partnerships can be an important part of our transportation system. We must be absolutely sure, however, that public-private projects receive the same amount of citizen input as public projects.
10. Do you believe that illegal immigration is a problem in Virginia? If so, why, and what should be done?
I’m opposed to illegal immigration. But we have to recognize that the system — the federal system — is broken. Virginia is forced to deal with the effects of that broken system.