Two years ago, the intersection at Lees Corner and Poplar Tree roads in Chantilly was an accident waiting to happen. The location had been the site of several fender benders and was going to cause more problems unless a traffic signal was installed, said John Moore, a board member with the Brookfield Civic Association who lives nearby.

"It was a very nasty safety hazard," he said.

In search of help, Moore and his neighbors contacted Del. Chuck Caputo (D-67) to see if the elected official could secure funding for a new stoplight. To Moore's surprise, Caputo was actually able to find money for the project rather quickly.

Approximately a year after Moore's community had approached Caputo, a brand new traffic signal was up and running at the intersection, said the Chantilly resident.

"He went to bat for us. ... I am sure he had more problems getting the funding than we know about. This was all going on when there was that crescendo of budget catastrophes," said Moore.

Moore is a loyal Democrat and probably would have supported Caputo regardless of the outcome of the traffic light situation. But the civic activist said he some of his neighbors may choose to vote for Caputo just because of the delegate’s work on the stoplight.

"His staff is just superb. They always respond to us. It is just absolutely amazing," said Moore.

Caputo, who was first elected in 2006, faces Republican challenger Jim LeMunyon in a general election Nov. 3. The House of Delegates’ 67th district, includes parts of Centreville, Chantilly, Oak Hill and Loudoun County.

IN HIS FIRST two terms in office, Caputo has tried to focus on doing the best with what is available, especially when it comes to transportation improvements.

"In 2007, transportation was the number one issue. That has not changed," he said.

Democrats and Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have been in a stand off over how to boost transportation funding for several years and revenue for projects that could reduce traffic congestion in Northern Virginia continues to diminish.

Fairfax County received between $200,000 and $300,000 from the state — approximately enough funding to install one stop light — to cover all of its secondary road projects this year, including such small fixes as the installation of new parking signs.

So Caputo is trying to make the best with what is available. In addition to the Brookfield’s community’s traffic light, he worked to get the Interstate 66 shoulder opened to through traffic for an extra hour in the morning and an extra hour in the afternoon to help relieve congestion on the corridor.

"I work on the things that are possible. I try to respond to constituent concerns," said the delegate.

Until Democrats hold a majority in the House of Delegates, Caputo sees little chance of resolving the larger transportation funding problems.

The Republican delegates, who have fewer Northern Virginia representatives than they used to, have been unwilling to vote for any legislation that includes a statewide tax increase. Democrats, and some recently retired moderate Republicans, have insisted a new source of revenue, such as an increase in the gasoline tax, is needed to make up the transportation funding shortfall.

"Until we have a majority in the House of Delegates, we will always be stymied on transportation," said Caputo.

CAPUTO’S OPPONENT, LeMunyon, has accused the Democrat of having too narrow a focus when it comes to transportation. He said Caputo must look beyond a tax increase for a solution to the traffic problem.

"With regards to transportation, we have to ask what we are going to do to get the most for our money," said LeMunyon.

Though he concedes that Caputo is a "nice guy," LeyMunyon said the Democrat could also be doing more "behind the scenes" to work out a solution for transportation.

The Republican also questions why Caputo skipped votes regarding transportation funding during a special legislative session called by Kaine at the end of 2008.

"He skipped them all and went on vacation …. I think we have to ask if this issue is really important to him or not," said LeMunyon.

In regards to the missed votes, Caputo said he was present for the first special session Kaine called to address transportation at the end of June 2008. But, with less than 10 days notice, the General Assembly reconvened for one final day on July 9 to try and pass a transportation package, he said.

A year earlier, Caputo's family had scheduled their "dream vacation" to Italy to visit his ancestors home and the trip overlapped with the one-day session in July. Caputo said he went on vacation but was in constant contact with the Democratic leadership.

The delegate was prepared to take an emergency flight back to Richmond if his vote was going to make the difference in a transportation funding package. When it became clear that the Democratic funding passage was going to fail by several votes, he saw no reason to come home from his trip.

"My vote would not have made a difference because the bill went down 39 to 59. It would have been useless for me to come home. If it would have meant something, I would have been there," said Caputo.

CAPUTO ALSO has a passion for education issues.
In the 1980s, he served as an appointed member to the Fairfax County School Board and also became the very first president of the Parent Teacher and Student Association (PTSA) at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Prior to winning his first election in 2006, Caputo also served on the board of trustees at Northern Virginia Community College.

"When it comes to education as an issue, few members of the General Assembly do more than Chuck Caputo," said Greg Schuckman. A former chair of the Northern Virginia Community College board, Schuckman is also the southern regional chair for the national Association of Community College Trustees.

"I consider Chuck my mentor on the Northern Virginia Community College board. … Whenever I have a question about the right thing to do for a community college, either on the local level or the national level, I call Chuck," said Schuckman.

Caputo was one of the architects of Virginia’s community college transfer grant program. The program guarantees students who fulfill certain course requirements, earn an associates degree and achieve a certain grade-point average at a Virginia community college will be admitted to the four-year state university of their choice.

Since most of the students‘ credits will transfer, undergraduates using the program have the potential to save a lot of money on tuition by taking their first two years of classes in the more affordable community college system without being penalized by the four-year university or college they end up attending.

Caputo has also made several attempts to change the commonwealth’s funding formula for primary and secondary public education. Since the formula judges a locality’s wealth based on residential property values, Fairfax and Loudoun counties tend to be at a disadvantage when competing with other localities in the commonwealth.

According to Caputo, the formula is inherently unfair, particularly since Fairfax schools serve the largest number of non-native English speakers and special education students, which require more resources and funding.

Even though his attempts to get the formula changed have failed, local education advocates appreciate his efforts.

"He is very aware of our issues with education funding at the state level," said Fairfax school board chair Kathy Smith (Sully).

WHEN IT COMES to helping people with disabilities, Caputo has also been on the front lines, both professionally and personally.

The incumbent successfully sponsored bills that struck the term "mental retardation" from Virginia’s state code. He also voted in favor of legislation that would have required insurance companies to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism in children and young adults.

"I would really hate to not have him speaking for us and helping the state make decisions," said Gina Latcheran, a resident who lives in Caputo’s district.

Latcheran and her 22 year-old son Eric, who has Down Syndrome, volunteered for Caputo’s first campaign after meeting the candidate on their doorstep four years ago. At the time, Caputo was ringing residents doorbells, trying to convince his future constituents to vote for him.

"It was one of those situations that was just meant to be I think," said Latcheran of her encounter with Caputo.

A single mom who works three jobs, Latcheran said Caputo has reached out to Eric, involving him in campaign activities and introducing him to other state politicians who visit the area. The delegate has become close to the family and attended Eric’s graduation and birthday parties.

"He always thinks of us. I wish I had more time to campaign for him," she said.

Caputo relishes connecting with his constituents.

"This is what I enjoy most about campaigning, going door-to-door. … I pick up ideas from people while I am door knocking," said the delegate while walking around a Chantilly neighborhood on the evening of Aug. 31.

Former legislative aide Lu Ann McNabb said Caputo attracts not only Democratic but also Republican supporters in his district because he is very likable and easy to approach.

"Chuck is not partisan. He is extremely compassionate and he wants to help everybody," said McNabb.

In particular, Caputo has been responsive to the wishes and suggestions of family and friends who lost loved ones in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, said McNabb.

Two victims, Westfield graduates Reema Samaha and Erin Peterson, had volunteered on Caputo’s 2006 campaign. The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, was also from the Centreville area.

In response to Virginia Tech, the Samaha family has been pushing the Virginia General Assembly to close the so-called "gun show loop hole," which allows some people to sell firearms at a gun show without performing criminal background checks on the purchasers.

Though Cho did not acquire his guns from a gun show, the Samahas have argued that he would have been able to, even if the current laws prohibiting some people with mental illness from buying a firearm were in place. A person with mental illness who has been denied a gun by a gun shop because they could not clear the background check could then go to a gun show and buy a weapon from someone who is not required to perform a background check, said the family.

Caputo, who is a recreational hunter and gun owner, introduced legislation last year that would have obligated all sellers at guns shows to perform background checks.

After that bill failed, he introduced a scaled-down version of the same legislation in 2009 that would simply have given the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to require all sellers at gun shows in Fairfax to perform criminal background checks.

The second piece of legislation, which also failed, would have only really had an impact on a large gun show that takes place every month at the Dulles Expo Center in Caputo’s district.

"You will see me introduce legislation again to close the gun show loop hole," said Caputo.