Slow-Growth Candidates Gain Seats on Board

By Sandhya Somashekhar (Contact)

Originally published at 9:37 p.m., November 6, 2007
Updated at 1:56 a.m., November 7, 2007

• ELECTION RESULTS: Click here for updated election returns

Eight candidates sharply critical of Loudoun County’s record-setting growth won seats yesterday on the nine-member Board of Supervisors, in the first election since Loudoun became the nation’s fastest-growing county.

Four Democratic challengers defeated pro-growth Republican incumbents. In addition, slow-growth incumbents won their races, including Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large), Sarah R. “Sally” Kurtz (D-Catoctin), Jim G. Burton (I-Blue Ridge) and Lori L. Waters (R-Broad Run).

Democrats celebrated at a boisterous, smoke-filled party at an Irish pub in Sterling, where they watched returns trickle in to the sounds of a country music band. In a bitterly fought campaign, they had said unrestrained growth contributed to road congestion, school crowding and high taxes.

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Democratic Election Party

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Susan Klimek Buckley (D), who is running for Sugarland Run Supervisor, watches a television for election night results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Democratic supporters stare at a television for election night results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Democratic supporters stare at a television for election night results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Democratic supporter Peggy Luther of Sterling stares at a television for election night results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Tom Simmons of Waterford talks with Andrea McGimsey (D), who won the race for Potomac Supervisor, at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Michael George (D), center, who lost his bid for sheriff to incumbent Steve Simpson, chats with supporters as he waits for election results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Del. David Poisson (D) waits for election night results with his wife, Laura, at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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Andrea McGimsey (D), left, who won the race for Potomac Supervisor, stands with her fiance, Douglas Greenwood, and Susan Klimek Buckley (D), who won the race for Sugarland Run Supervisor, as the candidates wait for election night results at a post-election party at O'Faolains Irish Restaurant and Pub in Sterling. (Ricky Carioti)

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“What voters wanted was to get the focus back on existing communities, not on new communities,” said Andrea McGimsey (D), who defeated incumbent Bruce E. Tulloch (R) in the Potomac District.

Pro-growth incumbent Steve J. Snow (R) lost to Stevens R. Miller (D) in the Dulles District. In the Sugarland Run District, Susan Klimek Buckley (D) defeated incumbent D.M. “Mick” Staton Jr. (R). And C. Kelly Burk bested Republican incumbent Jim E. Clem in the Leesburg District.

“If the results are what they’re turning out to be, it will be a resounding victory for smart growth in Loudoun County and a reflection of citizen anger over the way growth has been handled in the county,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the anti-sprawl Coalition for Smarter Growth.

One successful pro-growth candidate was Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling), who received 53 percent of the vote. Delgaudio, an anti-gay activist who made headlines this summer by pushing for local enforcement of federal immigration laws, won a third term.

In an unusually tight and lively sheriff’s race, three-term incumbent Steve O. Simpson (I) defeated former Fairfax County detective Michael E. George (D) and former Loudoun deputy Greg J. Ahlemann (R) .

“I think it’s over,” said Simpson, surrounded by supporters at the county administration building shortly after midnight. “There are still some precincts that have not reported — this has been very slow — but I think I have won.”

The victory provided a measure of vindication for Simpson, who ran as an independent after losing the Republican nomination to Ahlemann. With Ahlemann in third place, many voters appeared to reject his contention that Simpson was an ineffective leader who was soft on illegal immigration.

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Election Day

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Loudoun County Republican sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann campaigns outside Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Republican sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann talks with voters outside Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Maggie Howland and her neighbor, Caroline Wheatley, 3 1/2 years old, watch as Maggie's ballot is fed into an AccuVote machine at Precinct 107, Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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South Riding resident Maggie Howland marks her ballot with the help of her neighbors, Jack Wheatley, 1 1/2 years old, and Caroline Wheatley, 3 1/2 years old, at Precinct 107, Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson campaigns on Election Day. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson waits for voters outside Round Hill Center with supporter Mary Leonard. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson talks with voter Roberta Heugh outside Round Hill Center on Election Day. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Edwin IV, 6, and Breanna, 8, wait for dad, Edwin Harmon II, as he votes Tuesday at Precinct 106, Eagle Ridge Middle School. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Voters turn out to cast a vote at Precinct 106, located at Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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In a statement, Paul Protic, chairman of the Loudoun Republican Party, said he thought local candidates faced an anti-GOP mood that was prevalent across the state.

“Clearly, Loudoun Republicans are disappointed with our performance in this year’s election, which appears in many ways to be an extension of challenges our party is facing on the regional, state and even national levels,” he said. “We continue to believe that Loudoun County is GOP territory and that our base is strong and resilient.”

The Democrats also hoped to take advantage of an electorate that has leaned Democratic in recent years, supporting James Webb over George Allen in last year’s U.S. Senate race and choosing Timothy M. Kaine over Jerry W. Kilgore in the gubernatorial election in 2005.

The Republicans tried to fend off criticism about growth, saying the majority of homes built over the past four years had been approved by previous boards. They also said they had voted to restrict building somewhat in the county’s rural outer reaches and had voted against a plan to allow as many as 33,800 homes south of Dulles International Airport.

To appeal to an electorate that they said has remained mostly conservative, the Republicans underscored their efforts to keep taxes low and to work with developers to bring millions of dollars’ worth of road improvements and amenities without spending any tax money.

They also promoted their recent efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. This summer, the board’s Republicans followed Prince William County’s lead and passed a resolution aimed at driving out illegal immigrants, who they said were committing crimes and bringing blight to neighborhoods.

No Loudoun supervisor symbolized that crackdown more than Delgaudio, who was the main sponsor of his county’s resolution. At Park View High School in the Sterling Park neighborhood, many voters said they had selected Delgaudio or his Democratic opponent, Jeanne R. West, based on their opinions about the crackdown.

Kim Stanley, 42, an accountant, said she voted for West because, by focusing predominantly on illegal immigration, Delgaudio is “just not doing what he can to improve the quality of life in our community. I think the Democrats have a more humane way of dealing with the issue.”

But Faye Sedlacek, 64, a Fairfax County high school teacher, said she voted for Delgaudio because of his opposition to illegal immigration. “No one else is doing anything about it,” she said.

Later this year, the board will consider adopting several anti-illegal-immigrant policies that would increase enforcement of rules against residential overcrowding. Among possible new regulations is one that would require businesses with county contracts to certify that they do not employ illegal immigrants. Another would require nonprofit groups that get county money to disclose whether if some of their clients are undocumented.

Illegal immigration was a central issue in the unusually heated Loudoun sheriff’s race. Early in the race, Ahlemann, a former deputy, attacked Simpson for declining to participate in a special training program with federal immigration authorities. Simpson later changed his mind on the issue. Ahlemann said his early commitment to curbing illegal immigration, which he said had caused crime to rise in the Sterling Park area, was part of why he prevailed over Simpson at the Republican convention in June.

Simpson, who presented statistics showing that most types of crime in Sterling Park had gone down, decided to continue his reelection bid as an independent. The two also faced George, who favored cooperating with federal authorities but said immigration authority rests with the federal government.

In the Loudoun School Board races, incumbent Thomas E. Reed defeated challenger Herbert L. Bryan for the at-large seat. Other incumbents who won contested races were Robert F. DuPree Jr. (Dulles), Priscilla B. Godfrey (Blue Ridge) and Joseph M. Guzman (Sugarland Run). In the Catoctin District, however, challenger Jennifer Keller Bergel defeated incumbent Mark J. Nuzzaco.

Write-in candidate Thomas A. “Tag” Greason lost in his challenge of incumbent Robert J. Ohneiser in the Broad Run District. Despite being disqualified from the ballot for improperly filing paperwork, Greason won endorsements from the Loudoun Republican party and the county’s teachers association.

Voters approved seven of eight bond measures that will provide almost $100 million for fire stations, sheriff substations and a library, and to buy land for schools. A proposed bond issue that would have provided $31.4 million for a Broadlands Recreational Center was the only issue to fail.

Staff writers Arianne Aryanpur, Bill Brubaker, Michael Chandler and Jonathan Mummolo contributed to this report.

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