Rick Smith says sitting Prince William Board of Supervisors Chair too close with developers

Opinion 

Since moving to Dale City in 1978, residential growth in our community has been a constant.

When I arrived, our population was less than 140,000 residents. Today, we’re over 440,000 people and counting.

Some believe that we’ve grown too quickly, while others disagree. But the pertinent question isn’t simply how many people reside within our County – it is whether or not growth has been managed appropriately with respect to the infrastructure needed to support our growing population.

Among the responsibilities belonging to the Board of County Supervisors, managing growth is perhaps the most important. Managed appropriately, residential growth can be beneficial. Left uncontrolled and it can have disastrous consequences on our quality of life.

During a recent debate, my opponent for Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Corey Stewart and I were both asked if we believed that accepting campaign contributions from developers created a conflict of interest and if either of us had accepted such contributions. I shared that I had received one small contribution from a close friend who is a retired police officer and now a real estate agent.

I also shared that I do believe that it creates a conflict of interest. Stewart initially dodged the question, but he eventually shared that he “unashamedly” accepted contributions from developers.

When he first ran for Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2006 against Sharon Pandak, Corey Stewart pledged to control residential growth. He predicted that uncontrolled growth would lead to overcrowding in our schools, congestion on our roads and insufficient public safety infrastructure to support our growing population.

He ran on a platform that asked voters to vote for him and “make a developer mad.” He even called on his opponent to return a campaign contribution from the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, saying that it created a conflict of interest. And, dare I say it, Corey was right.

Since then, Stewart has accepted over $1 million in campaign from real estate developers for his campaigns for Chairman and an unsuccessful bid for Lt. Governor. He even received, and kept, contributions from the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association in 2011 and 2014, the same organization whose donation he demanded Sharon Pandak return.

And from the dais, he’s approved rezonings and new housing developments on behalf of his contributors, even in instances where county planning staff and/or the Planning Commission have recommended denial. He’s consistently proven the fact of the very conflict of interest he predicted in 2006.

And the impact on our quality of life has been just as predictable. Our county government is responsible for providing, through our investment, the infrastructure needed sustain our community at a level that provides an acceptable quality of life and makes us an attractive destination for new businesses.

But because Stewart has allowed residential development without the commensurate investment in our schools, public safety and other critical areas, our quality of life has diminished. Our schools now boast having the largest student to teacher ratios in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. We invest significant less per student than surrounding jurisdictions and pay our teachers inadequately. We have fewer sworn police officers protecting us per capita today than we did four years ago.

And despite diverting $1.3 billion in local tax dollars to transportation projects that should have been paid for by Richmond but have been required by uncontrolled residential growth, commute times for Prince William County residents are actually longer today than they were in the year 2000. And make no mistake; these deficiencies have had an adverse effect on our ability to attract businesses that offer high-paying jobs.

The average salary for jobs in Prince William County is now $46,000. In Fairfax, it’s $82,000. Worse, we’ve not only fallen behind Stafford and Fauquier Counties, but wages in our county are increasing at a slower rate. In other words, we’re losing ground.

The strains on our infrastructure, our schools, public safety and roads, were and continue to be predictable. And self-inflicted. Had Corey Stewart lived up to his promise of controlling residential growth and ensuring that it paid for itself instead of adding to the deficits we currently have, out quality of life in Prince William County would be far better.

Instead, he willing chose to put the interests of his contributors ahead of ours. Stewart believes that it’s his job to “cut deals” with developers. But the important question is who does he represent at the negotiating table.

As your Chairman, I’m committed to representing the people of Prince William County first. I’ll certainly work with developers. But I won’t support any new development and rezoning application that adds to our infrastructure deficit.

I’ll listen to planning staff and the Planning Commission, giving their input on the impact of development the importance it deserves. Most importantly, I’ll listen to you. This is our community. And each and every one of us deserves an equal say in how we move forward.