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The new normal - What to expect from an all Republican Board of Supervisors
Posted by: Loudoun County Politics Update ()
Date: November 20, 2011 08:15PM

The new normal
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/the_new_normal898/


Starting in 2012, Loudoun’s Board of Supervisors may be engulfed in a sea of red, but some fear the tide will bring with it extreme legislation and cuts to vital social programs.

However, others believe residents will see a continuity among government leaders that hasn’t been accomplished since 1993 – the last time Republicans dominated the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

Either way, 2012 will be an interesting year for Loudoun County politics with seven new supervisors taking their seats at the dais.

A common denominator

Treasurer Roger Zurn, one of Loudoun’s longest serving elected officials, including a stint on the Board of Supervisors, points to the period between 1993 and 1995 when the dais was dominated by all Republicans as a signal as to how the next four years will unfold.

Supervisors, despite their party line, are not always going to agree on everything, said Zurn, who has served as treasurer for 21 years, but there will be a commonality between them – the economy.

“I think that will be a pretty good indicator of what this may be. In that case, you had nine strong personalities that represented their areas. The only common denominator was a strong adherence to looking at everything fiscal,” he said.

The majority of the Republican candidates for the board made the economy their main platform this year, promising to work for lower taxes and to boost Loudoun’s economic base.

Zurn, who supported the Republican candidates during the election, believes politics will play less of a role in the decisions supervisors make in the next four years.

“It will lessen the amount of politics that comes into play, meaning that when you have an issue someone is not immediately going to take a negative outlook just because they want to make the Republicans or Democrats look bad,” he said.

Dale Myers, a Republican who served as the board’s chairman from 1996 to 2000, believes residents will see a more business-friendly Loudoun emerge in the next four years as a result of a Republican-dominated government.

“I think it’s a positive sign,” Myers said. “It will definitely send the right signal to have a board that’s both economic and business friendly.”

However, Myers admits the new board will have a rough road ahead of it, with Loudoun slowly emerging from an economic downtown and the demand for resident services, such as schools, roads and fire and police, expected to skyrocket with the area’s booming population.

Each supervisor, she said, with time will find an area near and dear to their hearts and will fight to keep funding level for the program while at the same time trying to keep taxes low.

“That’s part of the animal of being a politician,” Myers said. “They don’t always have the same priority.”

A better perspective

For some political pundits, a divided government is always better than a dominated one – no matter what the party.

A divided government brings diverse opinions on issues, according to Toni-Michelle Travis, a George Mason University political science professor.

“Personally I think divided government helps to give better perspective,” Travis said.

A Republican-dominated board, she said, could end with extreme legislation. In Loudoun’s case, the professor believes, it could be on immigration or school-related issues.

A party-dominated government, in general, Travis said, usually leads to power hungry individuals who don’t fear the repercussions of disgruntled voters.

She points to 25 years ago when Democrats dominated the Virginia General Assembly as a perfect example of how that could happen in Loudoun.

“Twenty five years ago I watched the state house, and Democrats acted like they inherited those seats. They just assumed they should be reelected,” she said.

When the tide turned, and Virginia’s government was split with a Republican governor, lawmakers once again began debating the merits of legislation and became more accountable for their actions, Travis added.

“You need a moderating force somewhere,” she said.

The professor believes it will take time for Loudoun residents to see that a party-dominated board is not always a positive government.

Loudoun Republicans, she said, rode the wave of national and state campaign slogans, promising lower taxes and cuts in spending.

“Virginia has one of the lowest tax rates of the 50 states. To use that as a campaign slogan, it resonates with the voters, obviously. But when voters realize what’s going to be cut, they start saying ‘no not my program’,” Travis said.

Loudoun County Democratic Chairman Mike Turner believes an all red board doesn’t necessarily represent what the residents of the county want since voter turnout on Nov. 8 was so low.

“I think the turnout for the election was about 28 percent, which means three out of four registered voters didn’t think enough of the future of Loudoun County to show up and vote, which was disturbing,” Turner said.

Like Travis, Turner fears residents will see extreme pieces of legislation coming from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in the next four years.

“I think Loudoun County will pay the price for that over the next four years,” Turner said.

New faces

Four of the nine seats on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors being filled in 2012 will see individuals new to elected office.

Those individuals include Ralph Buona (Ashburn), Suzanne Volpe (Algonkian) Shawn Williams (Broad Run) and Matt Letourneau (Dulles). However, many, while they’ve never held elected office, are seasoned in other vital areas, such as economics, political analysis and litigation.

Still, Zurn believes, party lines aside, this group is going to be hit with a dose of reality during their first year in office.

“I think some of them don’t have an idea of the breath of what they’re undertaking, so it’ll be interesting to see the eyes pop open,” Zurn said.

The new supervisors will undergo their first orientation on Nov. 19, followed by additional sessions prior to being sworn in on Jan. 2.

Still, the treasurer and other political veterans predict the newcomers will be overwhelmed their first year in office with night and committee meetings, the 2013 budget and balancing their full-time jobs and home lives.

Myers said during her tenure she had to make tough decisions on whether to attend her children’s school functions or government-related meetings.

“There’s things you step back on later and wonder ‘Did I pick the right priority?’” she said.

But in the end, Myers best advice to the newcomers is family comes first.

“The county’s been here since the 1700s and it will still be here after you’re gone,” she said. “Your family and the time you have with them is the most precious.”

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Re: The new normal - What to expect from an all Republican Board of Supervisors
Posted by: m a r v ()
Date: December 08, 2011 08:53AM

This is now day 4 that Kilty is too ashamed to post his leaving the house time and getting to work time. LOL. I bet he doesn't have time to post before he leaves as he is too worried traffic might build up too much in the few minutes it takes him to post. LOL. k-)

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