DUMFRIES — Monae Nickerson received a letter in the mail shortly after the unexpected death of former Dumfries Town Councilman William Murphy.
It informed her that she was being considered as a replacement for Murphy, who died in his home from a heart attack in February 2017. Nickerson, who serves on the town’s architectural review board, ultimately wasn’t selected by the town council, but that letter got her thinking.
“It woke up a bug in me,” said Nickerson. “Maybe this town council thing is for me. Maybe this is a way to enact change in my community.”
Today, Nickerson is one of six candidates running for three open council seats on the Dumfries Town Council. Her platform: help set the stage for more economic development by incentivizing businesses in the form of tax breaks to hire locally. She also wants to keep the pressure on officials at the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that hold the purse strings to widen Route 1 in the town from four to six lanes and realign it.
“The town’s public works director is already working on getting more funding will move us up on the priority list,” said Nickerson. “So we’ve got to show up so our voices will be heard.”
Route 1 currently bisects the town. The effort to widen the thoroughfare, and have both the north and southbound portions of the road run in behind town hall, would reduce the amount of traffic on what today is the southbound portion of the road.
So far, the design portion of the project is funded, but money for construction could soon dry up after state legislators voted to use funds earmarked for Northern Virginia highway improvements and give them to Metro.
Her experience on the ARB gave Nickerson insight into the inner workings of town government, she said. She also has watched in the wings while the current town council has conducted business, where she noted infighting among town council members, something for which Dumfries is known.
She said a more diverse council filled with members who are willing to listen to each other’s points of view would lead to more accomplishments for the town.
She praised the retiring Mayor Jerry Foreman for his persistence to work on town issues and to forgo taking a salary, which comes out to about $5,000 annually. However, she doesn’t plan to follow suit.
“I imagine the amount of time I will devote to working on projects for the town will far outweigh the salary,” said Nickerson.
Nickerson is married has two children — one is a freshman at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, and the other who is six years old. She works as a human resources agent at Booze Allen Hamilton, according to records on file at the Prince William County Office of Elections.
