May: ‘We need to enhance crime prevention, rather than passively waiting for crimes to occur’

Michael C. “Mike” May is making his second run for Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.

In 2015, he was the Republican nominee for the seat but lost to Paul Ebert, who held the job since 1968. May stepped down from his elected position on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors to run for the office.

Ebert will retire at the end of the year. May now faces Republican “Firehouse Primary” opponent Timothy Olmstead for the elected seat.

Voters will head to special precincts on Saturday, May 4, 2019, to vote in the special Primary Election. The winner will become the Republican nominee for the seat, and go on to run in the General Election on Nov. 5.

Democrats Tracey Lennox and Amy Ashworth are also seeking the job. They will face off in a statewide Primary Election on June 11.

Find your polling place for the May 4, 2019, Republican Firehouse Primary

Find your polling place for the Nov. 5, 2019, General Election 

Name: Michael C. May

Party: Republican

Town: Prince William County

Running for: Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney

Website: votemikemay.com

Work: Attorney

Education: BA, College of William and Mary (Government/Spanish double major) JD, George Mason University School of Law

Community Involvement:

• Occoquan District Supervisor, Prince William Board of County Supervisors (2007-2016)

• Appointee to the Prince William County Board of Zoning Appeals

• Treasurer, Prince William County Area Free Clinic • Community Legal Liaison, NOVA Vets

• Vice-Chairman, Prince William Board of County Supervisors (2010 and 2014)

• Youth soccer and flag football coach • Planning Commissioner, At-Large (2004-2006)

• Prince William County Social Services Board (2003-2004)

• Former Board Member, Prince William Conservation Alliance

• Former Board Member, Prince William Boys and Girls Club

• Member, Lake Ridge Lions Club

• Member, Knights of Columbus

• Former Member, Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce

• Former Member, Boards of PRTC and VRE (past Chairman of PRTC)

Questions and answers

PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent? 

May: We must address the challenges of our growing and dynamic community. As the next Commonwealth’s Attorney, I will: keep our neighborhoods safe, modernize the office, and actively engage our diverse population to enhance public safety and crime prevention.

PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?

May: As your next Commonwealth’s Attorney, I will ensure we have the best and brightest lawyers serving as our prosecutors, and I will work with them to bring those who commit crimes in our community to justice.

We will modernize the office. We will employ new technologies to keep citizens informed, and we will modernize the hiring and compensation systems so that the office budget does not grow out of control. We will also ensure appropriate transparency during criminal prosecutions so that cases are not overturned for violations of Due Process.

Finally, we will implement a proactive community outreach plan to engage with our dynamic and diverse population. We need to enhance crime prevention, rather than passively waiting for crimes to occur and addressing them after the fact.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

May: The position of Commonwealth’s Attorney (prosecutor) 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 the citizens through the popular vote. 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.

PL: What expertise will you bring to the office?

May: I am currently the managing partner of May Law, LLP, a northern Virginia law firm focused on criminal, civil and family law matters. I have been a successful Virginia trial lawyer for the past 15 years. I have handled jury and bench trials, been involved in complex litigation (both criminal and civil), and have been recognized as “legal elite” by Virginia Business five times.

In addition to my experience as an attorney, I also had the honor of serving our community as a Member of the Board of County Supervisors for nine years. During that time, I was intimately involved in management, oversight, and setting policy direction for the Prince William community; particularly in the area of public safety.

This combination of policy, management, and legal experience is the ideal background for this important office.

PL: Do you feel that the average citizen is well-informed and understands the workings of local government?

May: Unfortunately, the average citizen is not always well-informed on local government issues. It is the responsibility of elected leaders in all areas of government to proactively reach out to the community to keep it informed of important issues.

If I am elected, we will have frequent public safety-related town hall meetings; we will partner with our schools, civic groups, and faith organizations to develop a more well-informed public; and, we will implement a proactive outreach plan targeted particularly to those communities who may not understand and even fear our criminal justice system.

If people do not trust or have confidence in the system, it will not function and it is the responsibility of elected leaders to build that trust. This will take hard work and dedication beyond just a 9-5 workday, but I am up for the challenge and ready to tackle it on day one.

PL: Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they affected you?

May: I am sure that I have made mistakes, in both my private life and public life. Mistakes are a part of being a human being. All you can do is own up to them and try to learn from them. This makes you a better person and a better-elected official. I cannot point to one defining mistake that has changed the very manner in which I would comport myself as a public official. However, you can be sure that every experience, whether a success or failure, has helped to shape who I am as a person and my service to our community.

PL: Our readers want leaders in local government. Why should they vote for you?

May: I was honored to serve our community from 2007 to 2016 on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. During that time, I sought to build upon the trust and confidence that our community placed in me. When I decided to run for Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2015 rather than run for re-election, some questioned that decision.

Some said, “but if you lose, you will not have a position in elected office.”

For me, it was never about politics; rather, it was a calling to try to serve the community in a new way. Unfortunately, that election did not turn out the way that I had hoped. But I have not given up on service to our community and I have not given up on leadership.

The issues that motivated me to run four years ago are the same issues that motivate me to run today. Leadership is about putting our community first.

If given the opportunity to serve as the next Commonwealth’s Attorney, I will always remember that the office does not belong to me; rather, it belongs to the citizens of Prince William, Manassas, and Manassas Park. This election is about our future, and I am ready to lead the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney as we modernize and bring it in the 21st Century.