Taking a break from the state's annual session of the General Assembly, local State Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) and Del. Tom Rust (R-86), held a joint town hall-style meeting last weekend in Herndon to hear the concerns of their constituents prior to voting on the more than 3,000 bills up for debate in Richmond this year.
"I try and make it as convenient as possible for voters to talk to me," said Howell in a phone interview after the Jan. 13 event. "It's always very helpful to know what is on the minds of the voters."
The reliability of electronic voting machines, funding for subsidized childcare, interstate transportation agreements for the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and increased tracking of illegal immigrants were among the topics residents raised to Rust and Howell.
Approximately 40 people were in attendance for the 90-minute event. Herndon Mayor Steve DeBenedittis, Vice Mayor Dennis Husch and council members Harlon Reece and Charlie Waddell were the local elected officials at the meeting.
ONE OF THE TOPICS that generated the longest response from the officials focused on the amount of taxes generated in Northern Virginia and the amount returned in state funds for the region.
The Northern Virginia region of the state currently generates about 40 percent of the taxes with a little less than 25 percent of the total state population, Rust said.
At the moment there is an even amount of resources devoted to the area, Rust said, mostly in the form of infrastructural improvements. But once the construction of the Springfield Bypass and the reconstruction of the Wilson Bridge are completed, those numbers will once again fall below relative equality, he added.
Both Howell and Rust underlined the need for additional funding of local public schools, as the rate of funding per child fell below that of the rest of the state, they said.
The questions stemming around the appropriation of funds to the region further underscored the growing chasm of priorities between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state, spurred by the added development and population increase of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region.
THE ANNUAL MEETINGS with town residents and their state representatives is an important part of the political process for accurate representation of constituents' interests, said Reece.
"For the House of Delegates and the State Senate, this is how they understand what is important to their voters," Reece said. "There was a lot of great participation from those who attended."
The universal nature of the topics at the event was what most surprised Courtney Park, director of the Laurel Learning Center who came to speak in favor of funding for local childcare program subsidies.
"It has taught me of a lot of new things that I never really thought about before," Park said. "Things like transportation ... it helped you to realize how many things [elected officials] have to take into consideration."
While Waddell said he was very impressed by the breadth of knowledge shown by Rust and Howell, he joined with Reece in stating a disappointment that a relatively small number of people attended the event.
"As well publicized as it was in the local press and with all the issues that occur in Herndon, I was surprised at how many people made it out," Waddell said. "It would have been nice to see more folks take an interest in speaking with their elected officials."