STAFFORD — Thomas “Tom” Coen has announced that he is pursuing re-election to the Board of County Supervisors.
Coen, who once worked as a Stafford County high school civics teacher, was unanimously appointed to the Board of Supervisors in Jan. 2018 to replace George Washington District Supervisor turned Virginia State delegate Bob Thomas.
For the following ten months, Coen focused on local issues and learning the trappings of local government.
Prior to his appointment, he served on the Agricultural/Purchase of Development Committee, serving as Chair nearly every year for six years. He also served on the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee for the school system, often as Chair.
Coen ran for the Board in late-2018 as an independent against Republican challenger Gordon Silver. He beat Silver and was voted on. Coen explained that his constituents had told him they were tired of voting for candidates beholden to a certain political party.
He campaigned on controlling development and growth in the county, vowing to restrict new construction to areas of the county already developed while preserving open space.
His personal statement regarding his 2019 candidacy:
Last November voters honored me, electing me as their Supervisor representing the George Washington District. My time in office has allowed me to advocate for the issues we believe in, those significant for the George Washington District, and beyond. Over the past year, we have confronted many issues: growth, transportation, public safety, the budget and even education. We have made progress, but there is still more work to do. Residents have spoken up about their support and encouragement. Because of this support, and my commitment to the people of the George Washington District and Stafford, I am pursuing re-election to the Board of Supervisors in 2019. Together, we can protect the best of Stafford, while preparing for the future.
A major focus has been land use and development. Stafford faces the somewhat unique challenge of being prepared for development and growth, while preserving our rural character. I have led the fight to preserve the Land Use Tax Credit and Purchase of Development Program (PDR) from those who would eliminate and/or defund them. We are currently exploring other programs such as the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) which respect the rights of private property, place development in the areas intended while still protecting our rural elements. I am excited to continue my work in this area.
Transportation needs on our rural roads, such as Bethel Church Road, as well as main thoroughfares, such as Ferry Road, have been a focus of mine. The importance of our roads has come into even greater focus recently. We have seen progress on addressing the issue, but we can and must do more.
During my time in office it has been a practice to participate in multiple rides a long with our first responders. It is important to see and understand what they are facing. Equally important is preparing for the future. This is why I spearheaded the effort to return the Fire Training Class into our school system. This program gains us volunteers and future fire personnel. The program will be back in our schools next fall.
Through responsible budgeting we have established a plan to stop the hemorrhaging of employees from the county has been spending money undertaking the hiring and training of personnel only to see them leave within a few years to other communities. Then the process starts again. This is not sound policy, either fiscally or in establishing cohesive organizations. Together, we have implemented policies to address this hemorrhaging.
In closing, I am asking for your continued support on November 5th, 2019, electing me to a full term of service, so that I may continue working on behalf of all constituents in the George Washington district.
