Lawson Seeking Brentsville District Seat in 2015

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Jeanine Lawson will try again in Brentsville in 2015.

The Republican who ran against sitting District Supervisor Wally Covington during a GOP Primary Election in 2011 announced this morning she once again will seek election to that seat in 2015.

Covington won the Primary Election by five points in 2011, but this time Covington’s political aspirations aren’t so clear as many have publically hinted, including Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, that Covington would like an appointed judgeship at the Prince William County Courthouse.

Lawson lives with her husband in the Brentsville District and has two children, one of them she notes as a sophomore at Patriot High School. She says she has remained active in the Republican Party both locally and at the state level by participating in several campaigns since her Primary loss 18 months ago.

In an email to supporters titled ‘I’m in,” Lawson is quick to point out her concerns for the proposed Bi-County Parkway that would link Interstate 95 in Dumfries with Dulles Airport by way of the Manassas National Battlefield Park.

“This proposed road alignment raises a lot of concerns and I believe our state and local government should spend our taxpayer funds on more meaningful transportation solutions,” Lawson penned in her email.

Here is more what she stated in the email:

So why am I running again? Because I remain very committed to our community.

We learned from the 2010 census that PWC grew 43% from 2000-2010 with Brentsville District alone growing at 102%. Well, as we know, with all these new residents come serious demands to our infrastructure and that has lagged behind. Therefore our students attend schools well over capacity, sitting in traffic has become a way of life, and normal levels of service provided by local government are under achieved. Also, two-third of our workers commute outside the county to their jobs, and taxpayers continue to watch their property tax bills climb. We can do better!

Some of my vision for Prince William County and more specifically the Brentsville District includes:

* School Capacity and Class Size Reduction: We simply cannot build public schools fast enough to keep up with the growth. Currently, there are tens of thousands of additional homes approved to be built countywide. And to make matters worse, our class sizes are at the highest state allowed numbers. I am committed to working with Mr. Gil Trenum, (and honored to have his endorsement) Brentsville representative to the PWC School Board and his colleagues to bring resolution to this problem. Our kids and teachers deserve better!

* Attracting Business Growth: Clearly, we need to shift our focus to attracting business job growth which will also result in a healthier tax base. Right now, less than 20% of the county’s property tax revenue is from commercial and/or industrial property. It is the BOCS who is responsible for voting to rezone business property to residential property. This trend needs to stop. We need to do a better job of marketing our County’s assets to the business community. Virginia is known to be a very business-friendly state. We must take advantage of that, our location to our nation’s capital, and the high quality of our skilled work force. This is a trio of rare assets to many localities across the nation. We can do better because of these!

*Conservative Fiscal Policy: PWC has the highest tax rate in Virginia when you include the real estate tax rate and other levies. I expect all levels of government to be wise stewards of the people’s money. Property owners have watched their tax bills climb and the County’s five year plan calls for tax increases for each of the next five years. We can do better!

*Meaningful Transportation Solutions: As I stated earlier, I am committed to continue the fight against the infamous Bi-County Parkway. Property rights are under attack from VDOT’s over-reaching power grab, the historic Manassas Battlefield will forever be changed, local road closures will wreak havoc on our secondary roads, the Rural Crescent character and policy will be compromised and hundreds of millions of tax dollars will be wasted to serve one special interest group. We can do better!

Lawson joins another early announcer Republican Terrance Boulden who will seek the job of Woodbridge District Supervisor in 2015. Lawson also made a bid to supporters for donations as, at last count in June, she had $2,115 cash on hand.