The Desk: Clarifying Statements from Royse, Principi

Marilyn Duval probably wanted to ask her question to Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi herself, but something happened to her phone connection and we never heard her voice during Principi’s telephone town hall conference Wednesday night.

So, Principi asked it for her:

“Why does Route 1 look so run down and bad, it looks like we’re in a ghetto, and what improvements are you trying to make to improve that situation?”

Principi, a Democrat, this fall will try to keep his seat on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Following the conference, Principi’s Republican opponent, Chris Royse, slightly distorted Principi’s answer and posted it on his Facebook page.

First, Principi’s answer to Marilyn Duval:

“That is an excellent question and, quite frankly, it is the heart and soul of my four years in office, and clearly I’m not doing a good enough job if Marilyn thinks it still looks rundown.”

Now, what appeared on Royse’s Facebook site:

“During my opponent’s “telephone town hall” meeting last night, when questioned about the deteriorating state of the Rte. 1 Corridor, he stated “I’m not doing a good enough job in the District.” I agree. It is time for new leadership in Woodbridge; it is time to elect Chris Royse as Woodbridge Supervisor.”

It’s no secret U.S. 1 is filled with old strip centers, with many of them lacking anchor stores. There are a lot of places along the corridor, known as brown spots, to redevelop. Perhaps letting some of them go in lieu of new green spaces wouldn’t be such a bad idea either.

Anyone running for the job of supervisor in Woodbridge also knows that corridor is a traffic sore spot with both residents who commute and travelers who are passing through.

Principi during his last four years in office has seen the County Board approve the widening of U.S. 1 between Mary’s Way and the Occoquan River, as well as the designation of an area near the Woodbridge Virginia Railway Express station as a mixed-use, urban redevelopment area.

Royse has long called Principi’s vision for a redeveloped Woodbridge just that, a vision, and says involvement of more business owners is needed to make Woodbridge newer and better, and is trying to lure at least one government entity to the district.

Voters will go to the polls Nov. 8 to decide which candidate they want to represent their neighborhoods.