Del. Tom Rust (R-86) and State Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33) met with constituents to find out about their concerns about important issues on Jan. 17. Photo by Reena Singh.
Education, town elections and transportation.
Those and more were the topics Herndon residents asked about during the town hall meeting with Del. Tom Rust (R-86) and state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33) on Jan. 17.
About 20 people showed up at the town council chambers to hear about the bills the two legislators are supporting and talk about the issues that mattered most to locals.
“I do have a bill to allow the town charter to have those elections in November rather than May,” said Wexton.
SEVERAL CITIZENS who opposed the Herndon Town Council’s decision to have November elections asked the legislators to reconsider their support for the bill.
“This is being done without the consent and the approval of the citizens,” said resident Tom Kellner.
Former Mayor Steve DeBenedittis also spoke up at the meeting about the vote.
“There’s a huge ethical dilemma here when politicians act in their own self interest,” he said.
He said that even if changing the election dates were a good decision, it should have gone about in a different way.
Wexton disagreed, however.
“The town council has determined that this is the best way to ensure more turnout, more participation,” she said.
She added that the residents have a responsibility to vote for the council that will represent their views best.
“It was the majority’s decision that this was the best thing for the town,” she said.
Kellner asked Rust to say what his opinion of the vote was. Rust said he had a meeting with Mayor Merkel and town council members after the decision.
“I told them that I was not in agreement with it and I will not support it,” he said.
Barbara Glakas, from Cultivating Community Initiative, said there were many people who supported the Town Council’s decision. She noted that those who did not support the impending decision had the opportunity to have a referendum.
She also said the term length for the current council would have to be changed because the elections were moving to the other end of the year. Some residents would be equally upset that the councilmembers they voted for are not serving their full term.
“When you change the date, you will either be lengthening or shortening the terms,” she said.
Both Rust and Wexton are also supporting bills that are non-Herndon specific for this session.Rust said a major initiative the governor is making this year is workforce training for veterans.
“Workforce training is designed around STEM, and that’s an area we’ll need a lot of people in,” said Rust.
He also noted that there may be legislation addressing campus sexual violence.
Wexton said some of the other bills she is supporting stem from her background as a prosecutor. One of her bills will make heroin dealers more responsible for client overdoses.
To ensure that seniors are able to vote in elections despite weather events, she is calling for no-excuse absentee voting. Additionally, she wants to have the state Department of Education add a certificate of biliteracy so students will have more of an incentive to meet international standards.
“This is going to provide students with opportunities for going the extra mile to learn a new language,” she said.
Rick Baumgartner, from Loudoun County, came to the meeting to ask whether Wexton was going to pressure the school system to begin providing full-day kindergarten. He said the county is one of three school systems in the state that do not have the full-day program.
Wexton said that a committee to make full-day kindergarten a possibility for all schools was going to be formed, but when the leadership in the state senate changed, it never met. However, she noted that in her talks with the new Loudoun County superintendent, there are plans to move forward with the program soon.
MANY RESIDENTS were also concerned about the constant toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road, and asked whether Virginia has plans to buy the road back.
“We were promised over and over that the tolls would go away,” said resident Dudley Caswell. “How about making a sunset clause that would make the toll roads go away?”
Rust said most toll roads in the state have a sunset clause attached to them.
“It has been estimated that is would be about a billion dollars to buy back the toll road,” he said about the Dulles Toll Road.