Jeanine Lawson, candidate for Brentsville Supervisor, on why she should succeed current Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington

by Jeanine Lawson to PWCBG

22 March 2014

My vision for Prince William County and more specifically the Brentsville District includes the following:

I remain committed to the principles of balanced and responsible growth in Prince William County.  This issue was a major component of my campaign for Brentsville Supervisor in 2011.    We learned from the 2010 census that the Brentsville District grew in population by a staggering 102%, however our infrastructure needs have lagged behind.  As a result, residents endure the daily challenges of congested roads, crowded schools, and insufficient parks and recreation.  All of these impact our community’s quality of life.   In recent years I have become a leader in working for equitable solutions to improve our growing community’s needs.  Both residential and commercial development impacts the community.  For the last 2 decades, residential development has far outpaced commercial development.  We still have thousands of [residential] units approved and in line to be built.  I believe it’s prudent to let our infrastructure needs catch up instead of continuing down the path of over-development.  I’ve worked with other concerned citizens in the community standing up to the pressures of over-development and will continue to do so.

* School Capacity and Class Size Reduction: We simply cannot build public schools fast enough to keep up with the growth.  Currently, there are tens of thousands of additional homes approved to be built countywide.  And to make matters worse, our class sizes are at the highest state-allowed numbers.  I am committed to working with  Mr. Gil Trenum, (and honored to have his endorsement), Brentsville’s representative to the PWC School Board, and his colleagues to bring resolution to this problem.  Our kids and teachers deserve better!

* Attracting Business Growth: Commercial development needs attention and I will work aggressively to bring professional jobs to PWC.    Virginia is a very business-friendly state; we must take advantage of that.  Right now we have a significant amount of unused commercial property.    We need to aggressively bring more professional jobs to western PWC and fill these offices.  This will help our local economy, help balance our tax base, and reduces the work commute for some of our residents.

Right now, less than 20% of the county’s property tax revenue is from commercial and/or industrial property.  It is the BOCS who is responsible for voting to rezone business property to residential property, and frequently does so.  This trend needs to stop.  We need to do a better job of marketing our County’s assets to the business community.  We must take advantage of that, our proximity to our nation’s capital, and the high quality of our skilled work force.  This is a trio of rare assets, compared to many localities across the nation.  We can do better because of these!

* Conservative Fiscal Policy: PWC has the highest tax rate in Virginia when you include the real estate tax rate and other levies.  I expect all levels of government to be wise stewards of the people’s money.  Property owners have watched their tax bills climb and the County’s five year plan calls for tax increases for each of the next five years.  We can do better!

* Meaningful Transportation  Solutions:  Sitting in Northern Virginia traffic has sadly become a way of life.  One great way to fix this is to shorten workers’ commutes.  This is all the more reason to prioritize business growth and keep more PWC residents in the county during the work week.  Obviously, another great way to reduce traffic is to build meaningful roads that truly alleviate congestion.

I am committed to continuing the fight against the infamous Bi-County Parkway (BCP).  Property rights are under attack from VDOT’s over-reaching power grab, the historic Manassas Battlefield will forever be changed, local road closures will wreak havoc on our secondary roads, the Rural Crescent character and policy will be compromised, and hundreds of millions in tax dollars will be wasted to serve one special interest group. The proposed BCP does nothing more than take citizens’ land to build a road that does not connect to Dulles.  I’m proud of the work I’ve done with state and local elected officials and hundreds of local residents opposing the BCP.    We need meaningful transportation solutions and road projects that do not serve just special interest groups.  We can do better!

* Preserving the Rural Crescent:  Ultimately, a balanced growth policy protects the taxpayers, students, property owners, commuters. I am proud to support Prince William County’s rural community and remain committed to my pledge of protecting the Rural Crescent (RC).   One way we can achieve balanced growth is by keeping the RC policy in place, which prevents our rural community from falling prey to over-development.  I also support the need for more parks and recreational open space.  Our community needs it.   I am currently working with local neighborhood citizens on various development projects that would affect not just open spaces and recreation, but also home values.   We can do better!

People know they can count on me as a trusted advocate for the community.  I am committed to a balanced approach to growth and equitable solutions that will improve our quality of life.

——– Original Message ——–
Subject:     Brentsville Supervisor Race
Date:     Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:30:55 -0400
From:     Ralph Stephenson <stephenrk1@verizon.net>
To:     Lawson, Jeanine <huntjosie@msn.com>, Jeanine Lawson <jeaninelawson@msn.com>

Apr 2011-Jun 2014 Lawson for Prince William County Board of Supervisors campaigns raise $84,947,  including $8,324 (10%) from developers

Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), Virginia’s authoritative source on the role of money in state politics.

Lawson for Supervisor Total Campaign Contributions and Expenses 2011-2014

Lawson for Supervisor Campaign Contributions 2011-2014 by Industry Sector