Frank Jones is seeking another term as Mayor of Manassas Park. It’s a seat he’s held for the past 12 years.
He’s running against Jeanette Rishell, who has served on the Manassas Park Governing Body.
We sent a questionnaire to Jones and Rishell. Jones’ responses are below:
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PL: What are the top three major issues facing Manassas residents?
Jones: The city must diversify its tax base. This is the single biggest issue facing our city, as all we do is based upon available tax revenue. Our schools, police, fire, and public works department depend on city resources to accomplish their respective missions.
PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?
Jones: Smart development. The city should engage the business community to develop available real estate in the city in such a way that increases and diversifies our tax base, while not increasing demand for city services. This is action the city is already undertaking. The city has a great opportunity to work with private industry to develop the land into both commercial property and age-restricted housing, neither of which increase demand on our school system, our single biggest city expense, while both increase tax revenue.
PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?
Jones: The Mayor is first and foremost the city and all its departments’ leadership in and out of Manassas Park. In addition to that, the Mayor is to be an advocate and ambassador for the city when working with other locales, state and federal officials.
PL: What expertise will you bring to the office?
Jones: I have over 25 years experience serving Manassas Park residents. In addition to my service in the U.S. Navy and as the current Mayor I have served in a variety of positions: Member and former Chairman of Manassas Park School Board Vice-Chairman of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Committee Member of Flory Center Small Business Council Commissioner on Northern Virginia Regional Commission Human Resources and Facilities Director for a Defense Agency with offices across the nation.
PL: Do you feel that the average citizen is well informed and understands the workings of city government? If not, how do you intend on improving communication with your constituency?
Jones: I think most citizens Local government affects our daily lives more than any other level of government. I think it crucial citizens take an active interest in what local government is doing. We have made the business of the Governing Body, as well as our school system, public works, and public safety as accessible as possible via the internet, cable TV, and social media. In addition to this, I have recently tried several telephone town halls, where citizens can get a brief city update from me, as well as ask questions and voice concerns. As we have seen a good response to these, I plan to hold more of these in the future.
PL: Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they affected you?
Jones: Yes, I have made mistakes. Each created a learning opportunity and an experience to improve personally moving forward.
PL: Our readers want leaders in local government. Why should they vote for you?
Jones: I have three things to offer Manassas Park: a record, a plan, and a vision for the city. During my tenure as Mayor, I led the city through the toughest economic period in the city’s history. On my watch, the city’s credit rating was upgraded from “BBB” to “A+” and city valuation has increased over $330 million in the last four years.
I led the efforts to rebuild our crumbling schools, community center, police and fire stations. Through our work, our city’s first responders have some of the best facilities, vehicles, equipment, and training of any other jurisdiction in Northern Virginia; our state of the art police station is the envy of other departments in Virginia. Through all of this, we have made our city the 7th safest in the Commonwealth. We not only have a safe city to raise our children, but we have great schools to educate them.
Now, I will tell you I didn’t do any of this by myself, but rather by bringing people together to achieve a common goal. Leadership is the ability to work across political divides, personalities, and differing viewpoints to get the job done–this is the kind of leadership I offer Manassas Park.
