1. How do you plan to address Loudoun’s housing affordability crisis?

Affordable housing is a great idea. My desire would be that everyone can afford a home, especially our teachers and first responders. However, there are no easy answers to this problem since market forces—especially the price of land—dictate the price of housing in Loudoun County.

I don’t believe government should try to suppress land prices in order encourage affordable housing. However, the County can always do more to encourage housing affordability. For example, encouraging builders to bring in mix of housing types in a range of sizes and price points will help facilitate the availability of affordable housing for Loudoun’s residents. Continued support for Loudoun County’s Affordable Dwelling Unit (ADU) program is also important.

2. Currently, roughly half of Loudoun County’s Capital Investment Plan is dedicated to transportation improvements. Do you support this level of priority for transportation investment? Please explain why, or why not.

Yes. In my opinion, our citizen’s commute time is the biggest deterrent to quality of life. Safer and shorter commutes are imperative. It equals more time at home, with your children and family, working on your home, your lawn, reading a book or going out and doing what you want for the evening--instead of fighting traffic. A significant portion of our capital should be dedicated to improving our roads, moving traffic and improving our quality of life in Loudoun.

 
3. Should Loudoun continue to encourage the future growth of our data center industry or do you feel certain restrictions are necessary?

I think data centers are a great addition to Loudoun. This has been a very successful County partnership and should continue. Data Centers provide a great tax base and require very little in infrastructure needs. As a general rule, I believe data centers should be kept out of the rural and transition policy area and not located near residential development—unless the citizens who neighbor such a location would agree with such a development. If we discourage data center growth, not only will we miss out on great revenue opportunities for the county but in all likelyhood, houses will be built where the data centers would be, which will result in higher infrastructure costs.

4. On June 20th the Board of Supervisors adopted the 2019 Comprehensive Plan. What are your thoughts on the adopted plan and how will you seek to improve upon it?

As a lawyer, I find it shocking that State law requires we review the comprehensive plan every 5 years, and it has been around 15 years since our last plan review. As supervisor, I would make sure we review the plan at least every 5 years in order to ensure our planning keeps up with our demands and changing needs.

Overall, I believe that the process was a good one in that it included involvement of a lot of individuals and interests groups. However, I do not think the Board Members were given ample opportunity to put their imprint on the plan. In my opinion, the process was heavily staff driven when the draft came before the Board.

I was most disappointed in the original draft that heavily increased density in the TPA. As a lawyer, I am trained that words have meaning. “Transition” in this context implies a gradual change from Suburban and Urban to Rural. The original 2040 proposal packed in too much density creating a TPA that had no differentiation from the Suburban area. It appears that the final draft took a more balanced approach with lower density that more accurately reflects “transition” policy area. I believe this plan and policies should be reviewed and updated regularly to better adjust to the changing needs of the county.

5. How will you seek to address the scarcity of available Class A office space in Loudoun County?

I believe the commercial vacancy rate for Loudoun County is around 9.3% up from 9.1% in the 1st quarter of CY 2018. The availability rate is closer to 15.5%. According to most commercial landlords and developers I have talked to, a vacancy rate of between 6 and 9 percent is healthy and promotes growth and adequate availability. Therefore, it appears to me that we do not have a scarcity of available Class A office space in Loudoun County. However, if it became evident that scarcity was an issue, I would make sure there was adequate land zoned for office; make sure the permit process was efficient and timely; examine tax breaks; and encourage economic development focused on marketing office space.

6. Please tell us why you are the best candidate for this office.

I would represent the most occupationally diverse district in Loudoun—a large farming and rural contingency and a large professional suburban constituency.

I have lived in Loudoun 25 years—my entire adult life. I grew up a local farmer and am active in promoting youth involvement in farming on the Loudoun 4-H Fair and Associates Board. I have worked as a federal lobbyist for 10 years, have a degree in finance and I am a small business partner in a medium sized law firm in Leesburg.

My opponents either have only farming experience and no professional experience or only professional experience and no farming experience. Neither of my opponents have the legal and financial training that is invaluable as a supervisor; and neither have the diverse background, education and experience I enjoy.

In short, as a farmer, former lobbyist, small business owner and lawyer with a degree in finance, I am uniquely qualified to represent Catoctin and the diverse families and backgrounds it is made of.
 

Source: BizVotes Candidates Questionnaire