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Election 2011: Broad Run District
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Loudoun County Politics
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Date: October 05, 2011 12:50PM
Election 2011: Broad Run District
Monday, Oct. 3 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/election_2011_broad_run_district/
This year’s race for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Broad Run District seat pits experience against two newcomers with very strong ideas about the future of the redistricted Broad Run.
Democratic incumbent Andrea McGimsey is seeking a second term on the board against Republican newcomer Shawn Williams and independent Cliff Keirce, a county planning commissioner.
All three candidates tout their experience not only on the board and planning commission, but in the business field, directly relating their jobs to how to govern the county.
For the School Board race, candidate Kevin Kuesters, a Certified Public Accountant, is running unopposed.
McGimsey
McGimsey, a native of Northern Virginia, during her first bid for election in 2007 ran on a campaign of restoring ethics and respect to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors.
This campaign, she said she will focus on maximizing the county’s potential as the economy makes a turn upward. Metrorail’s extension to Loudoun County in 2016 and the county’s continued commitment to green growth, McGimsey said, will put the Board of Supervisors in a position to have a positive impact on the future.
“I’ve been working hard for the community for four years and I worked hard for the community long before that,” she said, touting her work toward transportation infrastructure and smart fiscal solutions.
“I know what it takes to deliver quality services to the community, quality schools, public safety … I think that I have a much stronger understanding of the infrastructure needed and what it takes to run those services,” McGimsey said.
Work toward solutions for Loudoun’s transportation problems is at the forefront of every decision she makes, the incumbent said.
“To me working on traffic issues is about productivity for our businesses … but it’s also about moms and dads being able to get home to their kids at night and being able to get to the ball game on time,” she said.
Past boards, McGimsey said, have made bad decisions and not put transportation at the forefront of their debates on whether to approve developments.
The county’s biggest failure during the past four years was agreeing to a development – Kincora – “where we were not getting an absolutely vital piece of infrastructure done and it was something that staff told us not to do and we did it anyway,” she said.
Kincora, she said, could go in without Gloucester and Pacific connecting to Russell Branch Parkway.
“I held out. I wanted it built up front. It was critical,” she said.
McGimsey is in full support of getting Metrorail extended into Loudoun County – the stakes are too high not to, she said.
“I can’t tell you how high the stakes are for Ashburn, because that community is behind the airport. For that community, we’ve got to have some options other than getting on Waxpool [Road],“she said.
McGimsey, known for her strong stance on environmental issues, touts her experience in getting Loudoun on the national radar in terms of integrated energy management.
“I’m proud of that,” she said. “That’s really going to give us a competitive advantage.”
The incumbent surprised some environmental groups recently when she voted no on the controversial Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, saying the county needed to wait for the federal mandates to take effect.
“I think I did the right thing as an environmentalist. You’ve got federal legislation coming down that is court-mandated. There were lawsuits and this is a court order,” she said. “It’s not premature to discuss the overall issue, but we don’t yet know what we’re going to be asked to do.”
She hopes to continue to work toward a more amicable relationship with the county’s School Board that can balance the needs of the county as a whole, but also properly prepare for the influx of students that will continue to come into Loudoun.
“I think our public education system is a core service that we should always focus on,” McGimsey said.
“This board tried hard with the joint committee. I’m not sure what more you can do besides having an official cooperative structure and I think we should continue that,” McGimsey said.
Members of both boards, she said, need to focus on communication and relaying their needs during budget seasons.
“I think it will help if we have School Board members who understand the fiscal realities of what we are dealing with and that we have to make choices that keep our AAA credit rating because that’s what helps us all,” she said.
Williams
Williams, an attorney and former U.S. Marine, touts his extensive experience in both legal and contracts positions for companies such as Raytheon, Siemens and American Systems Corporation. He currently is the federal counsel for Sprint.
“I think my experience itself really lends itself to draft policy and dispute resolution,” he said. “… What I do 10 hours a day is compromise and try to resolve resolution.”
He said he respects his opponents, but believes his view of what needs to happen at the county level is broader.
“I am going to take an all encompassing view. There’s more to this than just growth or no-growth,” Williams said. “… I see more on a macro level of what needs to happen at the county level with transportation, economic development and fiscal responsibility.”
If elected, the Republican, a self-described fiscal conservative, said he would make decisions from the dais that are best for his community, not his party.
“My sense is that most of the issues that come before the board, they’re not party issues, they’re community issues,” he said. “… I have a conscience and I think I have an ethical duty to be objective in the decision making process.”
To attract new businesses to Loudoun, Williams said he would like to take a hard look at the process potential developers go through to get approved for construction.
“Part of it is not having a good clean, clear process and the benchmarks when people come in to get a permit,” he said.
He said there needs to be more feet on the streets meeting with businesses to recruit them to Loudoun.
Williams is in full support of Dulles Rail to Loudoun, saying it’s vital to push the county forward economically.
“I think Dulles Rail absolutely needs to happen. It needs to come and primarily because it’s really going to get us to that next step in terms of economic development and infrastructure that we’re trying to get,” he said.
If elected, Williams said he would like to clean up any inefficiencies within the county’s departments.
“I’m not advocating that we go in there and cut, but … the sense is someone needs to look at how things are structured. Is there the possibility to find some additional inefficiencies?” he said.
Keirce
A Loudoun County Planning Commissioner, Keirce said he’s running for office because he believes his community is best represented “by someone who will put the issues and concerns of local residents ahead of those of either political party.”
“No party is going to tell me what to do. I can work with either side. There are some people so ideological that they can’t be even seen working with the other side,” Keirce said.
However, his stance on several issues are somewhat similar to his opponents.
Keirce believes the county makes decisions based on reaction, rather than simply enforcing the laws that are already on the books.
“As a board member, my first question is why isn’t the county enforcing these laws?” he said.
Loudoun County, he said, does not have a business-friendly environment, one that he says can be solved by streamlining the process for proprietors looking to build in the area.
“Why does everything need to be so combative? Why is this the way the county does business?” he asked.
The candidate said he would like to facilitate meetings between county staff and applicants to work out issues early in the process.
“Let’s streamline it and get the process moving more quickly,” he said.
He also wants to create an Economic Development Authority to recruit more businesses to Loudoun.
Dulles Rail, he said, is critical to Loudoun’s future economy.
The board, he said, should be pursuing more public-private partnerships and state and federal funding for the project.
Keirce said he wants the county to think outside the box to find new sources of transportation funding, such as digging into a proffer account that’s swelled with $50 million to $70 million for projects “that’s just sitting there.”
His views on how to mend the relationship between the county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board stand in stark contrast to his opponents.
Keirce believes the county should be taking a harder look at where the School Board is spending money.
“We need to dig down and see where the money is being spent,” he said. “… It’s a daunting task to go through and make those recommendations, but I’m willing to do it.”
One inefficiency he hopes to eliminate, he said, is to combine the county and the schools land acquisition departments.
Kuesters
Kuesters has lived in Ashburn for more than 20 years. He has a wife, Piper, and three children.
“I’m running for the School Board because, as a CPA, I look at the school system as the 800 pound gorilla weighing down the county budget. The FY 2012 LCPS operating budget is $767 million, the annual debt service for school construction is $118 million while $103 million is approved for new school construction. That’s $988 million to pay for Loudoun County schools for one year,” Kuesters said in a release announcing his candidacy in July.
Kuesters said his strengths coming into a new School Board is that he’s not a professional politician, “but I am a professional, so I know how to act respectfully.”
“I have very strong opinions, but if someone comes along with a good idea that I agree with, I will change my mind. I am willing to listen and change my mind,” he said.
“My experience in the federal government creating strategic plans and developing performance measurement will also be beneficial,” he added.
For more information on the candidates, visit McGimsey’s website at http://www.mcgimseyforsupervisor.com; Williams’ at http://www.williamsforsupervisor.com; Keirce’s at http://www.keirceforsupervisor.com; and Kuesters’ at http://www.kevinservesloudoun.com.
Monday, Oct. 3 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/election_2011_broad_run_district/
This year’s race for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Broad Run District seat pits experience against two newcomers with very strong ideas about the future of the redistricted Broad Run.
Democratic incumbent Andrea McGimsey is seeking a second term on the board against Republican newcomer Shawn Williams and independent Cliff Keirce, a county planning commissioner.
All three candidates tout their experience not only on the board and planning commission, but in the business field, directly relating their jobs to how to govern the county.
For the School Board race, candidate Kevin Kuesters, a Certified Public Accountant, is running unopposed.
McGimsey
McGimsey, a native of Northern Virginia, during her first bid for election in 2007 ran on a campaign of restoring ethics and respect to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors.
This campaign, she said she will focus on maximizing the county’s potential as the economy makes a turn upward. Metrorail’s extension to Loudoun County in 2016 and the county’s continued commitment to green growth, McGimsey said, will put the Board of Supervisors in a position to have a positive impact on the future.
“I’ve been working hard for the community for four years and I worked hard for the community long before that,” she said, touting her work toward transportation infrastructure and smart fiscal solutions.
“I know what it takes to deliver quality services to the community, quality schools, public safety … I think that I have a much stronger understanding of the infrastructure needed and what it takes to run those services,” McGimsey said.
Work toward solutions for Loudoun’s transportation problems is at the forefront of every decision she makes, the incumbent said.
“To me working on traffic issues is about productivity for our businesses … but it’s also about moms and dads being able to get home to their kids at night and being able to get to the ball game on time,” she said.
Past boards, McGimsey said, have made bad decisions and not put transportation at the forefront of their debates on whether to approve developments.
The county’s biggest failure during the past four years was agreeing to a development – Kincora – “where we were not getting an absolutely vital piece of infrastructure done and it was something that staff told us not to do and we did it anyway,” she said.
Kincora, she said, could go in without Gloucester and Pacific connecting to Russell Branch Parkway.
“I held out. I wanted it built up front. It was critical,” she said.
McGimsey is in full support of getting Metrorail extended into Loudoun County – the stakes are too high not to, she said.
“I can’t tell you how high the stakes are for Ashburn, because that community is behind the airport. For that community, we’ve got to have some options other than getting on Waxpool [Road],“she said.
McGimsey, known for her strong stance on environmental issues, touts her experience in getting Loudoun on the national radar in terms of integrated energy management.
“I’m proud of that,” she said. “That’s really going to give us a competitive advantage.”
The incumbent surprised some environmental groups recently when she voted no on the controversial Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, saying the county needed to wait for the federal mandates to take effect.
“I think I did the right thing as an environmentalist. You’ve got federal legislation coming down that is court-mandated. There were lawsuits and this is a court order,” she said. “It’s not premature to discuss the overall issue, but we don’t yet know what we’re going to be asked to do.”
She hopes to continue to work toward a more amicable relationship with the county’s School Board that can balance the needs of the county as a whole, but also properly prepare for the influx of students that will continue to come into Loudoun.
“I think our public education system is a core service that we should always focus on,” McGimsey said.
“This board tried hard with the joint committee. I’m not sure what more you can do besides having an official cooperative structure and I think we should continue that,” McGimsey said.
Members of both boards, she said, need to focus on communication and relaying their needs during budget seasons.
“I think it will help if we have School Board members who understand the fiscal realities of what we are dealing with and that we have to make choices that keep our AAA credit rating because that’s what helps us all,” she said.
Williams
Williams, an attorney and former U.S. Marine, touts his extensive experience in both legal and contracts positions for companies such as Raytheon, Siemens and American Systems Corporation. He currently is the federal counsel for Sprint.
“I think my experience itself really lends itself to draft policy and dispute resolution,” he said. “… What I do 10 hours a day is compromise and try to resolve resolution.”
He said he respects his opponents, but believes his view of what needs to happen at the county level is broader.
“I am going to take an all encompassing view. There’s more to this than just growth or no-growth,” Williams said. “… I see more on a macro level of what needs to happen at the county level with transportation, economic development and fiscal responsibility.”
If elected, the Republican, a self-described fiscal conservative, said he would make decisions from the dais that are best for his community, not his party.
“My sense is that most of the issues that come before the board, they’re not party issues, they’re community issues,” he said. “… I have a conscience and I think I have an ethical duty to be objective in the decision making process.”
To attract new businesses to Loudoun, Williams said he would like to take a hard look at the process potential developers go through to get approved for construction.
“Part of it is not having a good clean, clear process and the benchmarks when people come in to get a permit,” he said.
He said there needs to be more feet on the streets meeting with businesses to recruit them to Loudoun.
Williams is in full support of Dulles Rail to Loudoun, saying it’s vital to push the county forward economically.
“I think Dulles Rail absolutely needs to happen. It needs to come and primarily because it’s really going to get us to that next step in terms of economic development and infrastructure that we’re trying to get,” he said.
If elected, Williams said he would like to clean up any inefficiencies within the county’s departments.
“I’m not advocating that we go in there and cut, but … the sense is someone needs to look at how things are structured. Is there the possibility to find some additional inefficiencies?” he said.
Keirce
A Loudoun County Planning Commissioner, Keirce said he’s running for office because he believes his community is best represented “by someone who will put the issues and concerns of local residents ahead of those of either political party.”
“No party is going to tell me what to do. I can work with either side. There are some people so ideological that they can’t be even seen working with the other side,” Keirce said.
However, his stance on several issues are somewhat similar to his opponents.
Keirce believes the county makes decisions based on reaction, rather than simply enforcing the laws that are already on the books.
“As a board member, my first question is why isn’t the county enforcing these laws?” he said.
Loudoun County, he said, does not have a business-friendly environment, one that he says can be solved by streamlining the process for proprietors looking to build in the area.
“Why does everything need to be so combative? Why is this the way the county does business?” he asked.
The candidate said he would like to facilitate meetings between county staff and applicants to work out issues early in the process.
“Let’s streamline it and get the process moving more quickly,” he said.
He also wants to create an Economic Development Authority to recruit more businesses to Loudoun.
Dulles Rail, he said, is critical to Loudoun’s future economy.
The board, he said, should be pursuing more public-private partnerships and state and federal funding for the project.
Keirce said he wants the county to think outside the box to find new sources of transportation funding, such as digging into a proffer account that’s swelled with $50 million to $70 million for projects “that’s just sitting there.”
His views on how to mend the relationship between the county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board stand in stark contrast to his opponents.
Keirce believes the county should be taking a harder look at where the School Board is spending money.
“We need to dig down and see where the money is being spent,” he said. “… It’s a daunting task to go through and make those recommendations, but I’m willing to do it.”
One inefficiency he hopes to eliminate, he said, is to combine the county and the schools land acquisition departments.
Kuesters
Kuesters has lived in Ashburn for more than 20 years. He has a wife, Piper, and three children.
“I’m running for the School Board because, as a CPA, I look at the school system as the 800 pound gorilla weighing down the county budget. The FY 2012 LCPS operating budget is $767 million, the annual debt service for school construction is $118 million while $103 million is approved for new school construction. That’s $988 million to pay for Loudoun County schools for one year,” Kuesters said in a release announcing his candidacy in July.
Kuesters said his strengths coming into a new School Board is that he’s not a professional politician, “but I am a professional, so I know how to act respectfully.”
“I have very strong opinions, but if someone comes along with a good idea that I agree with, I will change my mind. I am willing to listen and change my mind,” he said.
“My experience in the federal government creating strategic plans and developing performance measurement will also be beneficial,” he added.
For more information on the candidates, visit McGimsey’s website at http://www.mcgimseyforsupervisor.com; Williams’ at http://www.williamsforsupervisor.com; Keirce’s at http://www.keirceforsupervisor.com; and Kuesters’ at http://www.kevinservesloudoun.com.