In a rematch of the 2005 race, Democrat Bruce Roemmelt will face incumbent Del. Bob Marshall (R) this November in a race for the House of Delegates' 13th District seat. Two years after their first meeting at the polls, Roemmelt said he is prepared to face Marshall with a strong campaign.
"The way for me to win is to let as many people as possible know that my approach, unlike Mr. Marshall's, is focused on working with the people of the 13th District to help them solve the everyday problems they face," Roemmelt said.
Roemmelt also said he believes the work he has done for the Democratic Party since the 2005 election will help him in his campaign.
"We built many relationships that we did not have in 2005 and plan to leverage them this year," he said.
A Vietnam veteran, Roemmelt spent 21 years in the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue. He said his experience with the fire department showed him the importance of supporting not only public-safety officers, but also teachers, through providing them with the resources they need and offering competitive salaries.
"We have to compete for the best talent with the rest of the metropolitan Washington area," he said. "Competition in the job market is such that we need to adjust."
In addition to education, Roemmelt said he wants to focus on other quality-of-life issues for residents of the 13th District, such as access to recreational facilities and park space and relieving traffic gridlock.
One of the biggest issues facing the district is transportation and growth, both of which Roemmelt said have been ruled by the development community.
"Our quality of life is being hurt by uncontrolled and poorly managed growth that has led to gridlocked traffic, overcrowded schools and overworked police and fire fighters," he said.
While Marshall recently voted against the transportation plan put forward by the House of Delegates, Roemmelt said he would have supported it, even though he did think it was "perfect."
"We need to do something to deal with gridlock now and this is a starting point," he said. "The alternative … is doing nothing and that is not acceptable."
Roemmelt said he believed the transportation bill took steps to expand impact fees that local governments can require of developers.
"That can help control growth and get the resources needed to build roads and schools," he said. "I think our primary focus, for now, needs to be to make the recently passed transportation package work."
— Erika Jacobson