Mike May says experience as trial lawyer, Occoquan Supervisor has prepared him for Commonwealth Attorney

With less than thirty days before the November 3rd Election, Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park have an important choice to make when it comes to who will lead the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney for the next four years.

I am asking for the chance to serve you in this important role. As you consider your choice over the next several weeks, we will be issuing weekly policy letters detailing my positions and plans for the office.

I hope that these will help you to better understand the issues and why it is so vitally important that we bring a “FreshPerspective” to the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney. Please feel free to share these letters with your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

As a Member of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors for the past eight years, I have helped manage, oversee, and set policy direction for the Prince William community; particularly in the area of public safety. We have made some great progress. We have added over 100 police officers during my time on the Board, including adding school resource officers to every middle and high school; we have worked with our federal law enforcement partners to ensure that illegal immigrants who commit crimes in our community are reported to ICE and removed from our streets; and, we recently funded a body worn camera program for all Prince William County police officers to better protect those officers and the community they serve.

Despite the fact that the Board of Supervisors has been a full-time commitment for me, I have also maintained a successful legal career during my time in public service. As a trial lawyer in private practice, I have tried cases before judges and juries throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have practiced in multiple areas, including criminal law, family law, employment law, and complex litigation. No matter the case or the subject matter as issue, however, I am always very well prepared and ready to do the best possible job for my clients. In fact, I have been named “Legal Elite” by Virginia Business Magazine three times (most recently for 2015) in recognition of my efforts and reputation among other lawyers in the Commonwealth.

And I am ready to bring these legal skills to bear in service to our community. In short, I care deeply about our community and I care deeply about my clients—and I want to combine these two passions in further service to you as your Commonwealth’s Attorney.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney serves as the top prosecutor for Prince William, Manassas, and Manassas Park. It is one of the most important positions in the government because the power to take one’s life or liberty is the most awesome power that government can wield. The ultimate check on that power thus appropriately rests with you—the citizens. Accordingly, the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney establishes the policies that reflect our community’s values, and ensures that his or her staff and assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys serve the citizens in a manner consistent with those values.

The job necessarily requires oversight, management and legal skills. The elected Commonwealth’s Attorney must ultimately ensure justice for our community. I realize I am taking on a tall task in challenging an incumbent who has held the position since 1968. To be sure, he has done some good work for our community in the past.

However, our community has changed dramatically in the past 47 years, and we need new leadership to tackle the challenges of today, as well as those challenges that await us in the future. With your support, we will protect our neighborhoods and keep our communities safe; we will modernize the office and make it more transparent; and, we will actively engage our community to enhance public safety and improve crime prevention.

I look forward to sharing more specifics as to this agenda in the coming weeks as you make your final decision. If, however, you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas in the meantime, as always, please feel free to contact me. 

Michael C. “Mike” May is running against Paul Ebert for Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.