Last week, two Democratic primary candidates for the Potomac district – Andrea Bailey and Dumfries Town Councilman Derrick Wood – met for a debate.
The debate was an opportunity for voters to meet the candidate and learn their stances prior to the upcoming primary, which is on June 9.
Commercial tax base
Bailey and Wood first spoke about what needs to happen in order to expand the commercial tax base.
Bailey stated that promoting small businesses was an important piece of growing the commercial tax base.
“We live in the third most affluent environment in Virginia – and I think that’s a wonderful thing… I think that one of the things we need to really focus on is how we manage the budget, as it reflects the tax rate. There is 83% of the tax rate that comes into the county, and it’s coming from residential taxes…we really need to focus on bringing in more commercial businesses into this environment, as well as supporting and shoring up the small businesses in this community,” said Bailey.
Wood recalled a time when Fairfax was in a similar situation with a lower commercial to residential tax rate – stating that diversification is the way to go.
“When you look at the economy – to me – that’s as important as overcrowding in the schools…we need to find a way to diversify and to really growth…at one time Fairfax was in the same exact situation [as Prince William]. They had a low commercial tax base, and they began to diversify. One of the things I’ve done as a Town Councilman, consistently every year I’ve been in, I’ve been voting to reduce the BPOL (Business/Professional/Occupational Licensure) [tax] and I’ve voted to reduce property taxes,” said Wood.
Extending Metro into the county
Expanding the Metro line into Prince William County has been a widely contested issue over the years, and while both candidates stated that it would be a long term solution – both expressed their support for Metro rail.
“When I think about transportation, I think our system here currently in the county is just a commuter system…transportation needs to allow for a lot of commercial development to come in. And my plan is to look at ways to study [this]. We need to do a whole comprehensive study on what’s feasible…if we do nothing, imagine what our transportation’s going to look like 5-years from now,” Wood said.
Bailey put a focus on the PRTC (Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission) bus line, when addressing transportation.
“I support bringing the Metro from Springfield to Richmond. And I say that because I think that the opportunity is well overdue. But as you know, we have to work with those at the state level and federal level to make that happen…[Metro] would ease the burden of those of us who travel from this area to the [Washington] D.C. area. But I know that’s a long-term goal…and I think for the short term goal, we need to look at the bus systems,” said Bailey.
Overcrowding in schools
When it comes to overcrowding in schools, Bailey stated there needs to be collaboration between the board and the school board to handle the issue.
“I think that there needs to be an understanding of what the needs are in the school system, and the way that we do that is collaboration between the school board and the county board of supervisors…I think that there’s an opportunity for us to pull back a minute – look how the economic situation is within our county and to look at what the needs are,” Bailey commented.
Wood said that by bringing in more income is the way to make more room for classrooms in the county.
“Neighborhood schools is the most important issue here…I would support us looking at comprehensive ways to bring in some additional revenue – through smart growth and development. I don’t think it’s a revenue type issue – we need to get more income – we need to bring in more and balance out,” said Wood.
The homelessness issue
One of the final topics discussed in the debate was the growing number of homeless individuals in the county.
In Wood’s opinion, he feels that partnering with churches and finding the homeless population resources will alleviate the issues.
“Homelessness is often one of those silent problems in our communities, that too many times we take a blind eye to…I think it’s a partnership with the churches. And the problem is bigger than the homelessness. As you begin to talk them, and you begin to see – they need resources. Resources to jobs, some of them are convicted felons. They need their restored,” Wood said.
Bailey pointed out the large veteran’s community in the homeless population.
“There are 7 to 10 [tent cities] in our community…we need to provide programs within the county system and enhance the programs that we have – but provide more programs…we need more shelters within the county. To really look at the issue, and provide those kinds of provisions…30% of the people who live in the tent cities are veterans – the majority of them are female,” said Bailey.
On June 9, the winning candidate will begin work on their general election campaign against incumbent Supervisor Maureen Caddigan.
