In the Mount Vernon District there is a main artery called Richmond Highway which caters to a majority of the population, businesses and government; the road can illustrate the supervisor’s role, pulled in many directions.
Dan Storck (D) is the incumbent Mount Vernon Supervisor with years of experience and accomplishments along the way, especially along Richmond Highway. Challengers are Christopher Morgan, an independent who wants to control taxes and spending, and Richard Hayden, a Republican and long-time resident of Mount Vernon who wants to look at school spending and what he says is the increasing crime rate.
Dan Storck (D) incumbent, Mount Vernon Supervisor
Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck was first elected in 2015 and has been elevating the Mount Vernon District with amenities and programs aimed at all facets of the population. Projects he's been behind include affordable housing, the reuse plans for the old Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon Rec Center renovations, the Workhouse Arts Center and many improvements on the Mount Vernon Bike Trail, just to name a few. Storck supports Embark Richmond Highway, a multi-faceted plan that involves a Bus Rapid Transit line going down a dedicated lane in the center of Richmond Highway, with modern buses called "The One."
Christopher Morgan, (I)
Christopher Morgan is an Army veteran who served with the 25th Infantry Division in Iraq and is currently the president of the Stratford Landing Citizens Association.
"I am concerned with the way things are trending and was so frustrated that I decided to step up and run for office," Morgan said.
Crime, panhandling and traffic are three of his concerns. There are nine county districts but one-third of all assaults in 2022 occurred in Mount Vernon, he said. He's talked to parents about the drugs in schools and what he heard was different than the information the school board released, he said. If elected "I will demand the school board offer transparency in all overdose-related incidents.”
The school operating budget has gone up but not school performance, he said.
Morgan says he also wants to address high taxes. Property taxes have gone up but he points to "overspending."
To improve transportation, he would like to make rail a better option, clean up the roadsides on Richmond Highway and the GW Parkway and improve the on and off ramps for I-95.
Two things Morgan says he does not support: The proposed homeless shelter on Beacon Hill Road is not a project he supports. And he does not support a Bus Rapid Transit in the middle of Richmond Highway. "Such a project is expected to cost a billion dollars and would deliver bus lanes to nowhere, and at the expense of car travel lanes," he said.
Richard Hayden (R)
Richard Hayden is the Republican challenger for the Mount Vernon District supervisor, and his platform includes improving the schools, reducing the cost of living and increasing public safety. In the past he's been involved with little league, the Boy Scouts and the Columbus Club, related to the Knights of Columbus.
Hayden wants to end the panhandling that goes on in Mount Vernon, increase affordable housing and further develop the commercial business in the area.
In the schools, he thinks the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic need to be stressed while taking the politics and ideology out of the classroom. Hiring additional police officers and cutting the tax rate so it offsets the rising assessments is another of his goals.
Heyden thinks the retention of the senior population in Mount Vernon is important so the area doesn’t lose their wisdom, willingness to volunteer and their experience.
On the other end of the population spectrum, he supports giving children “the best education we can possibly give them in this, one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the country,” he said in his response to the questions.
“I also am an advocate and co-sponsor of the Great American Walk of Fame with my colleague Paul Beran in Franconia District, which will increase tourism and benefit local businesses as it traverses up and down the revitalized Route 1 corridor,” he added.