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Brentsville District Board of Supervisors candidates debate

The candidates differentiated themselves early on the in the debate. However, on the issue of broadening Prince William County’s light commercial tax base, it was easy to see how much all three agreed.

Jeanine Lawson, Eric Young, and Scott Jacobs submitted to questioning Tuesday night at the first and only scheduled Brentsville District Candidates Debate organized by this news organization, in partnership with Bristow Beat, and hosted at Linton Hall School. 

Voters who live in the district will head to the polls Dec. 23 for a special election to choose a new county supervisor following former supervisor Wally Covington’s resignation from the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

Development 

Young, a Democrat and political newcomer, said he had not and will not accept any money from commercial or home developers. Many blame developers for overcrowded classrooms and clogged roadways.

“I don’t work for them,” said Young.

Jacobs, an independent, disagreed, and has accepted money from real estate developers.

“The developers are the real risk takers in the community. I don’t know why everybody frowns on that. Just because you take a contribution from someone in the development issue doesn’t mean that you’re their patsy,” said Jacobs.

The Republican Lawson said she accepted campaign donations from two developers. If elected, she said she would work to roll back developers’ influence in local government.

“The developers are not these evil people – they’re business people. They deserve a seat at the table in the dialogue of development, but they certainly don’t deserve to be the chair at the table of discussion, and that where they’ve been,” said Lawson.

Schools

Prince William County has the largest number of students per classroom in the Washington, D.C. region. Packing so many students into one room inhibits learning, said Young.

Lawson placed blame on developers for overcrowded schools.

“The overzealous development has created the crowding problem in our schools. We need more managed growth and to stop rubber-stamping all development that comes down the road,” she said.

Jacobs said paying teachers a higher salary is the most effective tool to not only decrease class sizes, but to attract and retain high-quality educators to the region.

‘Economic development is not working’

Where the candidates had their differences, all agreed the county needs to attract more large commercial businesses. The place for them, all agreed, is the Innovation Business Park in the Brentsville District.

“Economic development is important, but what we’ve been doing to attract new business in the targeted industries…it’s not working,” said Young. “We’re going after businesses that don’t want to be here because we don’t have a value proposition for them.”

Jacobs called for more involvement from the Board of Supervisors in the county’s office of economic development.

“We need to out there an incentive these large businesses… we need somebody that can get in there and get these business centers on the right side of the fence and deal make with these folks,” said Jacobs.

Prince William has been largely successful in luring retail businesses, including a new Cabelas store that is slated to open soon in Gainesville.

“Retail growth is not going to pay the mortgage bills. It’s not going to get you off 66. We’ve got make better efforts for high-paying job growth in the Innovation Business Park,” said Lawson.

The polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23. Click here to get more information to see if you are eligible to vote in this Special Election and where your polling place is located.

Campaign for Board of Supervisors a first for Scoggins

Donald Scoggins will toss his name into the hat seeking the Republican nomination to be the next Occoquan District Supervisor.

Scoggins will seek the seat to be vacated by current Supervisor Mike May, who announced he’s running to become the next Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney. Scoggins will face competition from fellow Republican John Gray who also wants the seat, and the results of a June 9 Primary Election could be the deciding factor which man will go on to run for the seat in November.

“I’m going to run as a Republican. I’ve been a Republican for over 50 years, and I’m not going to change now,” said Scoggins.

He’ll also face competition from Democrat and former Town of Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta whom he calls a “formidable” opponent.

“I know Earnie Porta,” said Scoggins. “I respect him as a candidate.”

A Vietnam veteran, former real estate broker, and soon to be retired federal employee, Scoggins has his eye on how Prince William County develops. The Occoquan District on the eastern side of the county is nearly fully developed, but whoever wins the seat will have a say on how the largely rural western side of the county grows.

“I want to make the rural crescent is maintained as much as possible, and I want to make sure we don’t overburden he taxpayers with over development,” said Scoggins. 

On transportation, Scoggins said the county needs to reevaluate its priorities and decide what road projects need to be funded. In the face of a looming transit funding crisis where the funding of some projects could be delayed, Scoggins some project may have to be removed from the books.

“Instead of doing everything that is planned, we have to look at what the numbers are, and we need to bring in staff and make educated decisions,” said Scoggins. “We can’t do everything, so maybe we have to lower our sights on what can get done given the current economic climate.”

Scoggins has been active in several non-profit organizations to include the Prince William Committee of 100, and has been a Prince William GOP Committee member for the past four years.

Scoggins has been married for 32 years. He has two adult sons, one who graduated from Virginia Tech and the other from University of Michigan.

John Gray will seek his party’s nomination to be the next Occoquan District Supervisor.

If elected, the Republican would replace Mike May who announced he would seek the job of Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.

Gray ran against Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, At-large in 2011 as an independent and lost. Since that election, Gray has remained an active participant in local politics.

He’ll likely face competition from within his own party as Don Scoggins said he will run for the Occoquan District Seat. Democrat and former Town of Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta will also run for the seat.

Gray works as a CPA. Naturally, the top issue facing the county residents is taxes, he said. While he won’t run on a platform of lowering them, he does propose placing a cap on the amount of property taxes collected.

When property assessments come in and they’re higher than what they’ve planned on them being, [the county] collects more revenue in the form of real estate taxes,” said Gray.

Higher teacher pay 

His fix: factor in the amount of over-collected taxes from last year into the coming year’s budget. That would result in a tax decrease for residents, said Gray.

Teacher pay is another top issue Gray said his campaign would focus on. Prince William teachers don’t make enough, he said.

“We’re getting what we’re paying for,” said Gray, noting Prince William County is falling behind when it comes to living wage increases to attract and retain qualified teachers in the county’s public schools.

The Board of Supervisors is the county’s taxing authority but does not have a say on how the county’s School Board spends their funds. If elected. However, Gray said he’ll keep a close watch on the construction of the county’s 13th high school.

“I’ll make sure we don’t spend our money on things like a school pool and a black box theater that doesn’t improve the quality of our childrens education,” said Gray.

He referred to the county’s 12th high school, now under construction off Route 234 near Hoadly Road. It will have an aquatics facility and black box theater, and with a price tag of nearly $100 million, it will be one of the costliest high schools ever to be built in Virginia.

Picking a fight with Peacor

Gray would also immediately pick a fight with Prince William County Executive Melissa Peacor, if elected.

“I don’t like the direction she’s leading the county. Every time she needs something funded, [the Board of County Supervisors] find some fund to do what she wants,” said Gray.

He cited the $12 million cost to bury power lines on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge to complement a the road widening effort funded by the state. The burial costs were not factored into the current budget approved by the Board of Supervisors in April.

The funds allocated for the power lines burial came from a reserve fund dedicated for transportation projects, and the recommendation to bury the lines came not from Peacor but from the Board of Supervisors, which asked for her professional recommendation on how to proceed, said county spokesman Jason Grant.

Its important to also note Peacor works at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors, added Grant.

Don Scoggins will challenge Gray for the seat, and the challenge could lead to a Primary Election on June 9.

The General Election will be held Nov. 3, 2015.

Gray has been married for 43 years and has lived in Lake Ridge for 28 years. He is a Marine Corp veteran, and has served  as president of the Lake Ridge Property Owners Association. 

Transportation key to Dudenhefer’s campaign 

Mark Dudenhefer seeks to reclaim his seat in the House of Delegates representing Stafford and Woodbridge.

It will be Dudenehfer’s third time running for the seat, one he held for one term after being elected in 2011. He later lost to Delegate Michael Futrell in 2013.

The Republican and former Chairman of the Stafford County said transportation will be a key issue during his campaign to reclaim the seat.

“I left office two years ago, and there were a lot of transportation projects that were fully funded and moving forward,” said Dudenhefer.

Since that time, however, some projects in Northern Virginia were placed under review by the Commonwealth Transportation Board in Richmond. The Board pulled some a portion of funding away from the some projects and moved into a special trust fund until a state-level review of projects was complete, following the election of Gov. Terry McAuliffe. 

Stafford interchange

Dudenehfer said the planned construction of a $184 million interchange at Courthouse Road and Interstate 95 in Stafford County will do wonders to move the region forward. A total of $5 million was pulled from the project and placed into the trust fund, and fewer funds means that work to build commuter parking lot slated to be built as part of the project won’t happen unless officials at the county level can find new sources of funding.

The interchange is one of 30 projects under review.  The project lies just outside the 2nd House District that encompasses a portion of northern and western Stafford County, and a portion of Woodbridge in Prince William County. Dudenhefer says transportation is a regional issue that is larger than the concerns of any one politicians’ district.

“I fought very hard to get the new HOT lanes extended from Dumfries to Garrisonville,” said Dudenehfer.

He lobbied Transurban, builder of the new EZ-Pass Express Lanes on I-95, to build two lanes – one more than was originally planned  – when extending the current HOV lanes from Dumfries to Garrisonville Road. The new lanes are scheduled to open this month.

During this time in office, Dudenehfer supported a study of extending Metro to Woodbridge. He also sided with then Gov. Bob McDonnell on a landmark transportation bill that was to raise some $880 million for new transportation funding.

While those estimates have fallen short due to, in part, declining fuel prices, Dudenhefer said someone needs to hold Richmond accountable for how much money is spent, and on what projects are funded. If elected, he’ll look into what has stalled construction of a new bridge at Route 123 and Route 1 in Wooodbridge that was supposed to provide better access to the developing Belmont Bay neighborhood.

Stafford, Prince William vote differently

While he’s made no official announcement, Futrell will seek a seat in the Virginia Senate, according to an official with the Virginia House Democrats. Futrell lives in the 29th District, the seat of retiring State Senator Charles Colgan who has served in Richmond since 1976. Two other Democrats, Atif Qarni and Jeremy McPike, have both announced they will compete for the seat.

The chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee said it has has new candidate to run against Dudenhefer who will officially announce in January. 

In 2013, Futrell won the election with over 1% of the total vote. He relied heavily on Democratic voters in Prince William to carry him into office.

The split between voters in Prince William and Stafford counties couldn’t have been more apparent. In Prince William, Dudenhefer scored just 34% of the vote while in his home County of Stafford he won 64% of the vote.

The Republican admits he’ll need more votes in Prince William County this time around to win.

“I failed to get out in Prince William last time,” he said. “I’m going to get out and be on the door steps and talk about the issues that are important to residents.”

“Stafford’s issues are a bit different that Prince William’s, and I don’t think the two sets of issues conflict with each other, and you can deal with them mutually,” added Dudenehfer.

Prince William Democrats identify new candidate to replace Futrell

After one term in the House of Delegates, Michael Futrell will run to replace the retiring Charles Colgan, who is currently Virginia’s longest-serving Senator in Richmond.

A new Democratic candidate that been selected to replace Futrell will make his official announcement in January, said Prince William County Democratic Committee Chairman Harry Wiggins. The unnamed candidate lives in Woodbridge, has been active in the committee, and will soon retire from his job at the Pentagon in Arlington.

Republican Mark Dudenhefer, whom Futrell unseated to win the 2nd District seat, is has told fellow Republicans he will seek to retake the seat but has made no formal announcement. Dudenhefer said that Futrell called him last night and told him he would not seek reelection in the 2nd District.

“What you learn quickly when you start doing this is people try to dictate what your schedule of things is before you even have a chance to think about them. This is not about me, this is about the people and we’re trying to do the people’s work,” Futrell told Potomac Local on Tuesday night.

He did not say when he planned to make an official announcement that he would seek the Senate seat.

“I’ll send you an email when I decide to do it,” he said.

Futrell will enter an increasing crowded field among fellow Democrats who want Colgan’s old seat. Atif Qurni and Jeremy McPike have both sought office before, and will compete for the nomination of their party for the Senate seat.

Colgan, a Democrat, is the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate and served in the office since 1976.

Court must approve election date

A special election will be held March 17 to decide who will replace Councilwoman Kristin Forrester.

The long-serving Dumfries Town Councilwoman stepped down from the governing body last night. She will take a new Federal Government job overseas.

The council will appoint someone to fill the Council vacancy. The appointee will hold the position until a special election is held to select the permanent council person.

The March 17 date was chosen because it is 56 days prior to Virginia’s June 9 Primary Election. Candidates who wish to replace Forrester must now go into the community and obtain at least 125 signatures, that will later be verified by the Prince William County Voter Registrar, to have their name included on the ballot.

Some council members, including Forrester, wanted to allow whomever is appointed to serve until May 2016.

“It will give my replacement time to work with the council, give time to give input for to the council rather than just sitting up here for a couple weeks,” said Forrester.

But Mayor Jerry Foreman and Councilman Cliff Brewer said an election is needed sooner than later.

“By us appointing someone, we’re taking it out of the citizens’ hands. We need to put this back in the citizens hands and let them decide who they want on this council,” said Brewer.

“If we wait until May 2016, the person will fill this seat will fill it for 18 months. If we ask our citizens and say ‘hey give us you resumes, we want to know who is interested in this position’ and then turn around and select someone for 18 months, that person is serving for half a term and I think the citizens should be the ones selecting that, not the council members,” said Foreman.

The court must approve the March 17 special election day. The Town Council is expected to appoint an interim Council member in January.

‘Ethics reform needed to restore public trust in Richmond’

Jeremy McPike fell short by just 288 votes in his bid to unseat the long-serving Scott Lingamfelter from the Virginia House of Delegates. There were a total of 22,833 votes cast in the 2013 contest.

McPike said he built a “strong coalition” of voters during that campaign who recognized him as the person who could help bring ethics reform to Richmond, as well as help move Prince William County forward in areas such as transportation and education.

Not giving up the fight, McPike will officially announce his candidacy to fill the 29th District Virginia Senate seat vacated by Charles Colgan, the Senate’s longest-serving member since 1976, and its President Pro Tempore. The district includes all of Manassas and Manassas Park and a portion of Prince William County.

“The ethics reform that we seen go before our governor don’t go far enough. Zero gifts to politicians need to be the standard to restore public trust in Richmond,” said McPike.

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell were convicted in September on 11 of 13 counts and nine of 13 counts, respectively, of taking $177,000 in loans and gifts from then Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams. On Monday, a federal judge acquitted Maureen McDonnell on one count of obstruction of justice but refused to toss out charges against the former governor. Both now face years in prison.

McPike also wants to reform how political districts are drawn and bring an end to gerrymandering. He says both political parties use big data, just as large corporations use to find their customers, to draw political districts – “cramming” a large number of Republicans into one district and Democrats into another.

“Voters should be creeped out because [political parties] know who voted for what, down to the decimal point, and then use that information to determine how they will vote again,” said McPike.

The Democrat says he wants to continue in Colgan’s footsteps. The retiring Senator is credited with bringing million of dollars in funding for local transportation projects.

“I commute one hour each way every day,” said McPike. “We need to continue to fund road improvements on Route 28, I-95, and Route 1, but do it in a way so that it does not cut into education.”

To increase revenues in state coffers, McPike said he is in favor of repealing a state tax credit used to entice filmmakers to make movies in the state.

“The data show there is no payback for the tax credit,” he said.

McPike will compete against fellow Democrat Atif Qarni for the seat. Qarni unsuccessfully ran to unseat Delegate Bob Marshall, losing by 498 of the 17,429 cast in the 2013 contest.

McPike is from Dale City where he currently lives with his wife of 14 years, Sharon, and their three girls, ages 13, 9, and 6, all who attend public school. By day, McPike works as the Director of General Services for Alexandria and manages city real estate, facilities, vehicle fleet, animal shelter, and farmers market.

He also serves at the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department Station 10 on Dale Boulevard in Dale City, where he’ll make his official campaign kick-off announcement at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Name: Virginia Macfarlan

Age: Declined

Hometown: Declined

Office seeking: Ouantico Town Council

Occupation: Declined

Education: Declined

Community involvement: Declined

Campaign website: 

Virginia Macfarlan declined to respond to our candidate questionnaire.

“I am not going to complete the questionnaire. “Most of it really does not apply to a town with only 500 residents and approximately 150 registered voters,” Macfarlan stated in an email to Potomac Local News.

Editor’s note: Residents of Prince William County’s towns of Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan, and Quantico will head to the polls May 6. PotomacLocal.com emailed a questionnaire to all candidates seeking office in this year’s elections in . The responses we received will be posted to this website.

See more Project:Election 2014 Town Elections profiles

Name: Tyler C. Brown

Age: 28

Hometown: Alexandria, Va.

Office seeking: Occoquan Town Council

Occupation: Infiniti Master Technician

Education: Studied International Marketing at Northern Virginia Community College

Community involvement: Attending Town Hall meetings, advocating on behalf of neighbors.

Campaign website:  facebook.com/tylerbrownforthetown

Why should young people be excited to vote for you?

I am going to bring fresh ideas to the town of Occoquan while still preserving small town charm. I will bring creative solutions to the table to solve problems. Also I would like to see the completion of the new park, as well as a boardwalk to reinvigorate our down town area. Also as a councilman I will advocate for more events in the town which can bring extra revenue to the town. Also I’m 28 years old so I’m one of them.

In your opinion, what are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent? What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?

Occoquan is at a crossroad we need to revitalize the commercial district in our town, or else in the near future we will live in a town home community. As councilman I will support legislature which will help the small businesses in town, as well as see the completion of the new park to the high Occoquan standards. Also I will purpose building a boardwalk along the Occoquan river which I believe will help the business in Occoquan as well as giving us all a nice place to enjoy.

The cut-through traffic has become a real nuisance for local residents. Commuters attempting to save a couple of minutes on their way to points west from Route. 123 come through our town causing excessive traffic in the morning and evening. While this can be beneficial for the business, it is also a safety hazard. Crazed drivers on their way home from work run stop signs, speed, and have no regard for pedestrian safety. I will work to make sure the traffic around Occoquan flows faster so people who drive through town can enjoy it.

Unfinished construction. As councilman I will work diligently to make sure that Occoquan is free from blight. I feel like this is one of the biggest detriments to Occoquan’s success.

What are the biggest issues and needs facing the youth of your district? What will you do to address those needs?

We need to bring fresh ideas to bring small businesses and restaurants to town. This will bring more foot traffic, which will mean longer hours for shops and restaurants, which means more jobs for young people. Also these shops and restaurants will attract a younger crowd which typically spends more money. I will work with local business and future businesses as well as the rest of the council to make this happen.

From your prospective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking? What expertise will you bring to the position?

A town councilman helps lead the town in the right direction, makes decisions which they believe will take the town in a direction which their constituents desire. I will bring fresh ideas to the council, and can bring a new perspective from a younger person who is knowledgeable about business and technology. I have a goal oriented personality when I decide I am going to pursue something I get it accomplished.

Do you feel that the average citizen is well-informed and understands the workings of town government? If not, how do you intend on improving communication with your constituency?

Earnie Porta has done a great job with his e-mail list at keeping people informed with events in the town. In my talks with town residents most of them do not understand the workings of town government, it can all be very secretive at times. People often feel alienated during town hall meetings as though their say means nothing to the council. As councilman, I would push for more community input during council meeting, and not pretend to know everything.

Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they effected you?

Yes, answering questions about mistakes. Every failure is a learning

Is there something that you are currently working to improve and develop within yourself to become a better leader?

I am actually in the very beginnings of starting my first business. I am working with people in a few different countries so working on communication is key.

Editor’s note: Editor’s note: Residents of Prince William County’s towns of Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan, and Quantico will head to the polls May 6. PotomacLocal.com emailed a questionnaire to all candidates seeking office in this year’s elections in . The responses we received will be posted to this website.

See more Project:Election 2014 Town Elections profiles