Two of the candidates for the 39th District House of Delegates race met for the third, and most likely final time Tuesday, Oct. 13 in the hopes of swaying any undecided voters that are still out there.

Incumbent Del. Vivian Watts (D-39) and Republican challenger Joe Bury appeared before the Broyhill Crest Community Association at the Lacey Government Center in Annandale to discuss their platforms and take questions from the audience in a forum-style meeting. The two other candidates on the 39th District ballot, Jim Leslie (IG) and John Cholko (L), did not take part in the forum.

Though Bury and Watts touched on the major issues facing the area, political ideology and the government’s role in these issues seemed to have more of an impact on the audience than the issues themselves.

“Fundamentally, yes, I had a candidate in my mind before I came here,” said William Peters, Broyhill crest resident. “But it’s good to talk to people to get a sense of how they see things. The toughest issue [today] is the role of government and that was a good deal of what this was about tonight.”

Each candidate was given 25 minutes by community association president and moderator Keith Taggart, during which they were to give a statement and use the remaining time to field questions. Watts led the forum off, speaking about education and transportation, two of the hallmark issues of her campaign. Watts said that Fairfax County does not get an equitable return on its education investments, as the county pays more in state school taxes but does not get a dollar for dollar return on the money it puts in.

To alleviate this, Watts said that she wants to change the formula the state uses to determine school funding. Watts also decried the use of private-public partnerships, saying that they do not require any public accountability and therefore, benefit the company more than the public. Taxes, she said, while frowned upon, are necessary to get these things done.

“You can’t have a private-public partnership unless you’ve got public investment,” Watts said. “You’ve got to have public accountability [in these partnerships], so I will continue to make the case that we need to bring reality to this idea.”

On the other hand, Bury said that the key to stimulating the economy and creating jobs is to support small business and private enterprise, and stressed that government should support these endeavors. Bury said that for transportation, private companies should bid to design an effective telecommuting system that is accessible to all residents.

To create jobs, Bury said that small business should get tax breaks or incentives to do business in the area, and he also stressed the importance of bringing the alternative energy industry to Virginia. Both of these, Bury said, would not only create high paying jobs, but also allow citizens access to health care.

“I’ll do things differently than they’ve been done the last 16-plus years,” Bury said. “I believe in free market principles, limited government and the empowering of individuals to succeed and pursue their dreams, which should not come at the expense of others who are successful.”

THE DIFFERING ideologies of the candidates were shared by the members of the audience, and most said that these political values had already steered them toward a particular candidate. Like the candidates, the audience thought that jobs, transportation and the economy were the most significant issues facing the district right now, but had their own ideas on how to address them.

“This characterized the discussion at the local and national level,” Peters said. “This forum reflects this ongoing conversation [in the country], and there are many people who feel very strongly about it. People ask what government can do for them; well schools, national defense and the sense of community we have are some of those things.”

Other audience members echoed the sentiment that their own stances on the issues had swayed them toward voting for one of the candidates prior to the event. Rita Taggart, a Broyhill resident, said that jobs and job security are the most important issues to her, and that she already felt that a certain candidate had won her over on the issue, though hearing other ideas is an important in arriving at a decision.

“An event like this makes me more aware of the importance of listening to the candidates,” Taggart said. “It may not have changed my mind, but it’s important to take the time to hear what you think is going to be a differing opinion than what you have.”

Deborah Burk, another Broyhill resident, shared the same feeling as Taggart. She said that she, too, had already made up her mind on her vote, but was there to hear from the other side.

“I tend to follow things, so I had a candidate in mind,” Burk said. “It’s nice to hear differing opinions but it didn’t necessarily change my mind.”

Regardless of their personal opinions and ideologies, Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-35), who was in attendance, implored the audience to recognize how difficult the job is, and that neither candidate would be able to solve all of the region’s problems in one term, let alone overnight.

“There are no easy answers in government,” Saslaw said. “Nothing is easy, and we’re going to be dealing with these issues for a long time to come.”