By URIAH KISER
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William’s Corey Stewart now wants to be Virginia’s Corey Stewart.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman threw his hat into the ring to become the 40th Lt. Governor of the commonwealth and will seek the office during the 2013 Gubernatorial Election.
Against a backdrop of construction at Woodbridge’s Potomac Town Center, Stewart gathered supporters who applauded as the Republican read aloud his accomplishments.
“Prince William was one of the few localities that was truly hard hit in by the decline in home values and foreclosures. At one point, 80 percent of the sales in Prince William County were bank sales, they were disclosure sales… we knew we had to take the steps necessary to prepare for the economic growth we knew would come,” said Stewart.
The foreclosure crisis strapped Prince William with the highest rate of foreclosed homes in the nation, and Stewart said he worked with other officials to improve efficiency in local government.
He also touted the county’s AAA bond rating during his speech, and said more mixed-use commercial and residential development like Potomac Town Center is needed to bring jobs to the county and keep commuters working close to home.
Statewide, Stewart said the commonwealth continues to be business friendly but needs to do more with public infrastructure.
“The one thing it has not done right, the one thing it needs to do right if economic growth and prosperity will continue, is to build adequate public infrastructure and that especially means roads,” said Stewart.
Touting methods used in Prince William to build $300 million in road projects through voter-approved bonds, Stewart said state monies need to be prioritized to transportation infrastructure without raising taxes.
In 2007, Stewart led a widely debated charge against illegal immigrants in Prince William County that gained national attention. The original resolution passed allowed police to check the legal presence of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The policy was later amended and persons arrested now have their legal presence checked in jail.
In addition to his top donors, the Republican Party of Virginia and Potomac Nationals Baseball, many of Stewart’s top donors to his campaign are property developers. Stewart landed in hot water last fall when he took a sizeable donation from a developer just weeks before voting to – along with the rest of the Board of County Supervisors – to approve the development in western Prince William.
Since Virginia governors are limited to serving just one consecutive four-year term, current Lt. Governor Bill Bolling is automatically next in line to be the Republican nominee to replace Gov. Robert F. McDonnell. But Attorney General and Prince William resident Ken Cuccinelli has expressed interest in the governor’s mansion.
