Candidates Debate County’s Rapid Growth

By Sandhya Somashekhar (Contact)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Democratic hopefuls in the Loudoun Board of Supervisors election today accused the board’s Republican majority of paving the way for the “over-development” of Loudoun County during a candidates’ forum that centered largely on attitudes toward the county’s rapid growth over the past decade.

The thousands of homes approved by the board over the past four years have brought congestion to the roadways and are sending the cost of education through the roof, the Democrats said at the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce-sponsored forum. They promised to slow the pace of residential development and improve the quality of life for the county’s 270,000 current residents.

“We need to get the growth down to a reasonable pace to get the focus back on our existing communities,” said Andrea McGimsey, who on Nov. 6 faces Ken Mikeman (I) and incumbent Bruce E. Tulloch (R) in the Potomac District race.

Several of the Republican incumbents defended their record, blaming the traffic on the previous board, which they said approved even more homes without building the infrastructure to support them. Supervisor Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles) noted that home construction has slowed dramatically since the current board took office in 2004.

Michael Firetti (R), who is running for the at-large chairman seat, accused the Democrats and his opponent, Scott K. York (I), of wanting to halt growth altogether, which he said would hurt the local economy.

“Loudoun County to me is a flower,” Firetti said. “When a flower stops growing, what is it doing? It’s dying.”

All 20 candidates for the nine-member board attended the two-hour breakfast forum, which took place at the Belmont Country Club. A panel of three chamber members questioned the candidates, dividing them into three groups, and each candidate was given two minutes to respond. The questions touched on immigration, education, health care, technology and other subjects of importance to the county’s business community.

When asked about education, Susan Klimek Buckley (D) accused her opponent, Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run), of shortchanging the schools this year by supporting a dramatically smaller budget than what the school board had requested.

“When somebody attempts to cut $70 million from the proposed school budget like my opponent did, it shows their clear intention to underfund our schools,” she said. “You can’t promote growth and over-development on one hand and then refuse to pay for it later.”

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Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum

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From left: Mike Firetti (R), Bruce Tulloch (R), Andrea McGimsey (D), Ken Mikeman (I), Mick Staton (R) and Susan Buckley (D). (Tracy A. Woodward)

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From left: Chairman Scott York (I), Mike Firetti (R) and Bruce Tulloch (R). (Tracy A. Woodward)

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors candidates forum was Thursday morning at Belmont Country Club in Ashburn. In this photo is Jim Clem (R). (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Chairman Scott York (I), left, and Mike Firetti (R) at the candidates forum. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors candidates forum was Thursday morning at Belmont Country Club. On the left is incumbent Mick Staton (R). Susan Buckley (D) is speaking. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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From left: Chairman Scott York (I), Mike Firetti (R) and Bruce Tulloch (R). (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Lori Waters (R) and Phyllis Randall (D) at the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors candidates forum. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors candidates forum was Thursday morning at Belmont Country Club in Ashburn. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors candidates forum was Thursday morning at Belmont Country Club in Ashburn. In this photo is Eugene Delgaudio (R). (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Democratic candidate Kelly Burk speaks at the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored candidates forum Thursday morning. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Staton responded that the school board’s requests for more money have been out of proportion with the number of new students the district has enrolled. He argued that more money in the classroom does not guarantee higher achievement. He added that the school district could save money by being more conservative about building new schools.

“If you want to have a better system and devote more money into [student achievement], maybe a better way is to start building schools when you need them — not before you need them,” he said.

Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling) responded emotionally to a question about transportation, denouncing a plan to bring Metro to Loudoun as a “concrete boondoggle” cooked up by “slow-growth obstructionists.” He said buses were a better alternative.

“Buses are mobile, buses are quick, buses are cheap,” he said. “You can move the population with buses.”

The outburst prompted a quick rebuttal from his Democratic opponent, Jeanne West.

“I do favor public transportation, Metrorail [and] commuter buses,” she said. “Without public transportation, we will never fix our transportation problem.”

Tagged: Chamber of Commerce

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