Democrat Susan Conrad knows she has an uphill battle in her quest to unseat Tim Hugo as 40th District delegate, but that only makes her try harder. She thinks it will make him try harder, too.

“Nobody was running against Tim,” she said. “I really love Virginia and think I can make a big difference.”

A Clifton Crest resident, Conrad has lived here 10 years with husband Paul, a FEMA ethics lawyer, and daughters Angela, 23, Tina, 22, and Juliana, 13. After working 25 years in information technology, Conrad is on full scholarship at GMU in a master’s program in instructional technology.

It’s Conrad’s first bid for public office, but she previously worked for Wisconsin Sen. Bill Proxmire. She’s involved with the Sully District Democratic Committee, is on a healthcare advisory board for Fairfax County and has definite ideas about how to improve Virginia.

“I’ve seen the transportation problem in this area getting no attention, and the school system isn’t getting the money it needs,” said Conrad. “Most of Northern Virginia’s money goes to the rest of the state, so we’ve got to nurture this area. Businesses want an educated workforce and a solid infrastructure — roads, water and sewer — so they can move their products. And if you don’t take care of that infrastructure, it’ll cost you more in the long run. You’ve also got to take care of business; if people aren’t working, you have problems. ”

To help ease traffic congestion, she said, incentives should be given to businesses offering telecommuting, varied hours and online meetings. “We also have to look at how transportation is funded,” said Conrad. “When people drove gas guzzlers, the gas tax made sense.”

She said she wouldn’t take money from education to fund transportation. Instead, she suggested some type of tax increase, “possibly one-fourth cent on sales tax. People are spending more time idling away their gas in traffic than the amount they’d spend on the sales-tax increase.”

In the long run, said Conrad, “What could create tremendous revenue is expanding our development of solar-cell technology. It would generate revenue and jobs. We could put solar panels in all the state and county buildings to collect energy and feed it into the power grid, right away. Eventually, they’d receive money back from the power company for the energy they’re not using.”

She said it would generate jobs in this new field and Virginia could take the lead in it on the Eastern Seaboard. “We should also involve the colleges and universities and have their students work with start-up businesses on this,” said Conrad. “We should also provide incentives to universities to come up with these ideas because, when great ideas come, jobs come — and this would also keep our talent here.”

But the key to progress, she said, is economic development because its benefits will be money for transportation and education. One way to stimulate the economy, said Conrad, is to give a tax credit to every business that adds a net, new employee.

“What I offer is an open mind and a collaborative approach,” she said. “Let’s look at where we’re spending our money and prioritize. What are we doing to encourage and promote tourism? It would benefit the state because we have so much to offer. We need to bring in conventions and maybe put a tax on hotels and car rentals — those people don’t live here, anyway.”

Regarding public safety, Conrad said the police, fire and health departments need to be supported and sustained.

No matter the outcome of the election, Conrad has no regrets about running. “I think I’m going to make a difference, whether I win or lose,” she said. “I’m not going to give up on funding transportation and getting the roads and mass transportation we need to be a viable community. I’m attracting voters who normally don’t get involved — they know I was a businesswoman, raising kids, and a retired military spouse. My husband was in the Pentagon during 9/11.”

Conrad is especially pleased about all the “wonderful people” she’s met during her campaign. Talking with them, she began to understand the problems affecting them.

“People are concerned about their neighborhood and the wellbeing of their community,” she said. “They want to give their kids good opportunities and wholesome places to go. They wonder how to integrate people coming here from all over the world and how to get them to feel comfortable here and participate in their community.”

“I don’t have to have the solutions, but I’m good at bringing people together,” she said. “And a team — a bipartisan one — always produces a better product. I’ve gotten new ideas from the people I’ve met and will work with others to make this a better place to live. You can either be a talker or a doer, and I think it’s time to be a doer.”

Centreville residents Larry Baldwin and Jerry Foltz agree and are firmly in Conrad’s corner. “I’ve known Susan several years and I like her business background,” said Baldwin, of Centreville Farms. “She knows what’s going on and what would be good for the state of Virginia. And I believe it’s time to do work with solar-cell systems, and it has to start at the state level. But you need to know a lot of business elements to make this thing work — and she does.”

Foltz, of Country Club Manor, praised Conrad’s “variety of good experience. She’s invested in the community, is energetic and upbeat, and I like her positive approach. And she’s a good thinker and someone whose views I share. I think she’d be a great fit with some other local, Democratic leaders, such as [Sen.] George Barker (D-39) and [Del.] Chuck Caputo (D-67). I think they’d make an impressive team.”