For Douglas Bushee it's all about response. He wants to see the county work more efficiently, he said, responding quickly to constituent concerns and addressing problems locally rather than blaming others. That's why Bushee, a Reston resident who represents North Point on the board of the Reston Association, is running for Hunter Mill District Supervisor as a Republican, trying to unseat incumbent Catherine Hudgins (D).
"Response time is a productivity killer," he said.
He cited the example of a new Reston restaurant that folded because it took the county several months to process its application for a liquor license. That kind of response time, he said, is damaging to the county's economy.
"We've got to make this county attractive to business," he said. "Find out from the business community: What are your impediments."
Bushee said he is well-positioned to attract new businesses to Fairfax County. For six years, after he graduated from Georgetown University, he worked for Xerox in Tysons Corner. After that, he and a business partner opened a Xerox agency which sold the company's products and services. Now he is a consultant with the company, running training workshops. He is married with a young son, Curtis.
"Why are businesses leaving?" asked Bushee, who grew up in Vienna. "If we don't know why businesses are leaving, it's reasonable common sense solutions that say we have got to understand the overall problem."
Right now, he added, the county is addressing problems as they occur, what he called "tackling the alligator that's closest to the boat."
ONE OF THE ways Bushee plans to make government more responsive is by linking growth to transportation improvements. The county, he said, has got to do a better job of "planning and mitigating the impact" of new construction. That's why Bushee said he is a believer in the county's proffer system unless it becomes a way to "extort money out of developers for assets that don't mitigate the impact of development."
Local governments should focus on manageable transportation improvements, he said, rather than shooting for expensive projects like rail to Dulles. While it would certainly be nice to extend rail through Reston and out to Dulles Airport, Bushee said the county should consider building rail to Tysons Corner or Wiehle Avenue and using a cheaper alternative, such as bus rapid transit to get to the airport. Bushee's view is likely to prove unpopular with those county residents who packed public hearings last summer calling for rail. But Bushee said he's only being realistic.
"The money is not there," he said. "Ain't gonna happen. You've got to look at the facts."
Part of the problem is that Fairfax County would have to rely on significant amounts of federal and state money to complete the project, he said. "Look, let's address some of these local issues ourselves."
According to Bushee, the county could reduce congestion by synchronizing traffic lights, improving intersections around the county and designating certain lanes as HOT lanes, a system in which single drivers can pay to drive in HOV lanes.
"The county's got to take more leadership." Instead, "you see everybody blaming everyone else."
BUSHEE ALSO mentioned budget concerns as one of his biggest priorities. As real estate taxes shoot through the roof, he said, "we've got to make some tough decisions." While county spending certainly needs to grow, he added, it shouldn't grow by more than the combined increase in population and inflation.
But when asked where he would cut, Bushee said: "As far as specific line items, I haven't gone through that. Everything would be on the table."
Attracting businesses to the county could help bring down the real estate tax rate, he said. And efficient county services, he added, would work better to attract businesses than the county's Economic Development Authority which receives over $6 million a year to market the county around the world.
"[County officials] are advertising in airports but let's look at what happened: they're not addressing transportation concerns," he said. "They're cutting zoning inspectors so now it takes another month or two longer to get your building permit. What it comes down to is addressing your problem."
BUSHEE'S IDEA could resonate with voters, said Vera Hannigan, the Republican Party's Hunter Mill district chair.
"In my opinion you get a good candidate and you can win an election irrespective of your party affiliation. It depends on who your candidate is and the issues of the time," she said. If the incumbent is associated with issues that voters don't like, she added, "you've got a good issue." And traffic congestion and tax increases are problems that voters are getting fed up with, she said.
"Any incumbent who is there and has not made the fight ... is vulnerable to these charges."
Hudgins, the incumbent Democratic supervisor, said she would run on her record.
"I have a commitment and I have demonstrated my commitment working with the community," she said. Hudgins will kick off her reelection campaign next month.
"I have enjoyed the support of strong Democrats as well as people who might consider themselves Democrats. It will be measured by the kind of issues addressed and how the community feels about those issues."