OFFICE SOUGHT: Sully District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
PARTY AFFILIATION: Republican
PREVIOUS OFFICES HELD: None
INCUMBANTS: Elected in 1991, First Sully District Supervisor elected
OCCUPATION: Sully District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT: Fairfax County Government
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT: N/A
EDUCATION: BA in Government & Politics, 1983, from George Mason University
COMMUNITY TIES: 18 Year Resident in London Commons Community; 25 Year Resident Fairfax County; Board of Directors/London Commons; Youth Club Coach
ENDORSEMENTS PROUD OF: Northern Virginia Association of Realtors; Fairfax Education Association
Response to Connection Questionnaire
1. What is your top public-service accomplishment?
Incumbents: Describe the top accomplishment of your last term. Why shouldn’t voters blame you for current problems in your district?
Convincing the rest of the Board to approve the purchase of 2000
acres of parkland along Braddock and Pleasant Valley Roads. While I
think it is generally unfair to hold one person totally responsible for
larger problems that are influenced by many factors and individuals, I
am certainly willing to accept my share for things we don't accomplish.
2. What are the top five problems facing your constituents and what approaches will you use to solve them? Describe one challenge (or more) in your district that is different than other parts of the county.
Transportation in general, education, high taxes, too-rapid
development and cut-through traffic. Each issue requires a different
approach. For instance, cut-through traffic issues are being addressed
with neighborhoods through traffic calming measures, while larger
transportation issues require long term planning and funding strategies
and regional and state cooperation. One issue different here than in
other parts of the County is dealing with noise issues from Dulles
Airport.
3. What qualities, qualifications and characteristics will you bring to this office?
I bring twelve years of experience as a member of the Board of
Supervisors and over twenty-five years of community involvement. I bring
the personal characteristics of patience, balance, a sense of fairness
and a desire to treat everyone equally and with respect, and the ability
to listen to all sides and work with all parties on an issue.
4. How will voters best distinguish between you and your opponent(s)?
In a heavily Republican district I am a Republican while my
opponent is a Democrat. Also I have been involved in the community for
more than twenty-five years. My opponent has no record of community
involvement before this year when she began to join all of the civic
groups in preparation for challenging me.
5. What specific solutions will you propose for the transportation dilemma? Please address funding, prioritization, air quality, bus service and other non-rail public transportation solutions, expansion of rail service, and any other possible approach.
We need to spend the bonds that were authorized by the voters in
1990 and 1992 yet still languish. Taking nearly 14 years to spend bond
money is unacceptable and creates tremendous cynicism in the public. We
need to replace more of the current Metro bus routes, specifically the
12 and 20 routes in Centreville and Chantilly, with Connector service
which is significantly cheaper. And we need to establish clear
priorities that address our transportation needs. Asking for one million
dollars for a recreational trail out of the limited money the Governor
made available for quick hit projects is unacceptable and shows a lack
of seriousness.
6. Fairfax County now dedicates more than 50 percent of its budget to the public school system. How will you measure the effectiveness of this expenditure? What do you see as the biggest challenges? Is this sort of expenditure sustainable given that fewer than 25 percent of households have children in the schools?
Historically Fairfax County has always spent around half the
General Fund budget on schools. Over the last couple years we have
gotten that up to about 53% and I support that. Demographic changes,
growth in the special needs population, and new testing requirements
present continued challenges in the next few years.
7. Many parts of Northern Virginia are approaching buildout, and the current economic climate favors residential over commercial construction. Do local governments have the tools they need to control and guide growth? How will state and local governments cope with the additional demand for services that comes with additional residential construction? What are the important features of "smart growth," and can more emphasis on smart growth help offset some of the effects of suburban development?
Local governments need more authority to better require
development to match the available infrastructure. Presently the County
has no authority over the timing of new development. However, we
certainly have significant control, through the Comprehensive Plan, over
the type of development. I believe the Board has not used that power
wisely. In the Dulles corridor as well as in central Springfield the
Board greatly increased the allowable densities without adding any
additional road capacity. I also think we undercutting the future tax
base by allowing too much conversion of commercial property to
residential.
8. What are your top environmental priorities? Please address air quality, water quality, open space, etc.
One of my proudest accomplishments is successfully convincing my
colleagues to purchase 2000 acres of new parkland and open space in the
environmentally sensitive Occoquan watershed. I have led efforts to
strengthen our situation and erosion control measures for new
development, and I supported the recent amendments to the Chesapeake Bay
ordinance.
9. Are residents safe enough? How do public safety officials balance new demands of "homeland security" with other safety and quality of life issues?
We continue to be one of the safest jurisdictions of our size in
the country despite one of the lowest ratios of officers to population.
We do it because of the quality of our officers and the best training
and equipment possible. Obviously the events of 9-11 have changed the
world and we are struggling to deal with it like everyone else. Our
proximity to the nation's capital have given us more exposure to and
experience dealing with terrorism threats but that is significantly
heightened now and like everywhere increased security does require
tradeoffs in convenience and personal freedoms.
10. Do you have any concerns about civil liberties and public access to information in the wake of the Patriot Act and other responses to Sept. 11?
Balance is always the key. At the moment we may have gone too
far towards the security perspective but we must be careful not to go
too far back the other way. Some inconvenience is unavoidable to ensure
the greater safety.
11. Working poor families in Northern Virginia face a daunting cost of living, with little in the way of affordable housing, health care, child care and transportation. Are low-wage workers important to the local economy? What do you propose to address the needs of these families?
We have in place a pretty extensive system of support and
assistance for low income families. Clearly job training and other
programs that encourage self-sufficiency, and education opportunities to
promote advancement up the economic ladder off the most hope.
12. Should counties have the taxing authority of cities?
Cities have additional taxing authority because they have
additional responsibility - their own roads. While it would be nice to
have the added taxing power without the additional responsibility it
might be unrealistic to think we are going to get it.
13. What proposals do you have for mitigating the effects of soaring property values and related taxes? Do you endorse the 5 percent cap on property tax increases? If you support a cap on property tax increases, please name at least one service provided by county government that you currently use that you would be prepared to live without.
I do not support the proposed 5% tax cap. It is not in fact a
cap on individual assessments but a revenue cap. It would constrain
county spending, which is not in and of itself a bad, thing, without
ensuring homeowners the protection they seek. I do believe we could have
reduced spending further over the last several years to offer greater
relief for homeowners and did not vote for the budgets because they did
not do so.
14. Fairfax County has more than 10,000 full-time employees. How should the Board of Supervisors guide such a large bureaucracy? How do you measure the effectiveness of such a work force? We’ve heard stories of departments that resist change and are unresponsive to both citizens and elected officials. How would you address these concerns? Please give specific examples.
I have long believed that the Board of Supervisors should be a
full time position with commensurate compensation. It is ridiculous to
think that ten part time individuals can offer appropriate oversight of
such a large organization. Of course the County Executive is the chief
executive officer and answers directly to the Board is accountable
for the effectiveness of the workforce.
15. What campaign finance reform do you support? How should the county avoid conflict of interest, or even the appearance of conflict, given the Board’s role in approving development and zoning changes and contributions by development interests?
I believe full and complete disclosure is the best assurance for
the voters and citizens of the County.