Craig says it much better than I do, and I totally agree. Sharon Pandak deserves our votes in Prince William County because she is honest and has integrity. Corey Stewart is the wrong Corey to serve on the board, because that honor should go to Corey Riley (running for Gainesville District Supervisor against incumbent John Stirrup).
Corey Stewart is ruthlessly using any and every tactic to stay in office, but not actually doing anything meaningful. The anti-immigration rhetoric is unfunded, and destined to fail because he really does not want to do anything about the issue - he just wants to sound like he is to stir voters into supporting him at the polls.
Likewise he has done nothing to abate rapid and ill-considered growth in the county since he was elected. He simply abuses that very real issue to mislead voters into supporting him while he takes money from developers to campaign some more. For him, this is about his ego. We have to live here though, and we need someone who has integrity. That chairman is Sharon Pandak. She's a lawyer, she's technical, she's frank, she's honest. You may not like the grim reality she shares, but she gives it to us straight. No misleading double talk, no campaign tactics out of the Karl Rove playbook.
Likewise John Stirrup has done very little of use while he's been in office as Gainesville District Supervisor, like Stewart he has pushed these hot-button issues that he really cannot control from the office of supervisor, and the issue he can do something about (growth without a plan) has only received token vocal resistance from Supervisor Stirrup. Meanwhile growth continues unchecked and the rural crescent is threatened. It is time we got an honest, fresh, enthusiastic champion in Gainesville District, and Corey Riley is the man to do it.
Sadly very few voters know there is an election this year, and very few of those who do know we have a contested race for Gainesville District Supervisor. You owe it to yourselves to do the research and be an educated voter. If you have not voted before - get registered by Tuesday, October 9th in order to vote in this November's election.
She envisions our county as being a series of individual communities with a "citizenry that has a sense of overall community in the county." She believes that we, as Virginia's second largest county, have the clout and prestige to engage other communities to work with us in resolving our problems. In other words, Sharon Pandak doesn't think of Prince William County as an ugly stepsister to Fairfax County, but as a vibrant, powerful community unto itself.
I believe Sharon Pandak is exactly the person we need as Chair of the County Board of Supervisors.
We need her as Chairman, and we need some fellow visionaries on the board to help her move that through.
One of the things that has become thoroughly obvious as I respond to some canvassing efforts and not others it that from where I live (Bull Run Mountain, in the extreme North-West tip of Prince William County) and work (near Dulles Airport) it is extremely difficult to get to most Democratic community activities in Dale City, Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, and Occoquan. That drive is longer, and requires mor patience than the drive into Washingon DC. Heck, even the trip into Manassas is a long one (though not as bad as the one all the way to DC).
From this I feel a huge need to connect our own county with some form of transportation, though I am not sure what will work financially. I know I am less concerned about Metro to Dulles than I am about light rail of some sort, or even bus rapid transit to Dale City through Manassas from Gainesville/Haymarket.
Believe it or not, there are still some sane people in this county. Hopefully, we'll all go to the polls on Nov. 6th.
We need to get people out to vote. GOTV efforts have to be four times what they are during a presidential race in order to give our close race candidates (Pandak, Rishell, Roemmelt, Schultz, Oleszek, Simmons, and even Day) a chance to excel.
Get every one you know out to vote... especially the crowd who normally votes only one every four years for presidential elections. They need detailed lists of all their choices long before they go to the polls - you don't have to even tell them which choice to make - just give all candidates information and our candidates are so good that they'll make the right choices. We just need people to bother to vote in this off year, local and state only election.