This fall, Stafford voters will head to the polls to elect their representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates. All 100 seats are on the ballot, including Stafford’s 23rd, 64th, and 65th districts. Potomac Local News continues to shine the Spotlight on our local elections, inviting all of the candidates from Districts 23, 64, and 65 to a virtual interview with the same five questions; their answers have been condensed into a series of articles.
The videos are available here. This is the final article in our five-part series.
Jim Tully (R, 23):
It’s interesting, when it comes to land use and permitting, the time it takes for someone to go from the concept of brick and mortar to selling their first piece of merchandise, or getting into the building. That timeline looks really long to me, and I think a whole lot longer than it really needs to be. I think if we were to loosen the Dillon Rule a little bit and give localities a little bit more power to speed that process up, it’d be better for the economy. How that looks through legislation, you’d have to look into it. There has to be that balance again between state and local municipalities, and how we do that.
Paul Milde (R, 64 – Incumbent):
I learned all about this when I got on the Board of Supervisors. We had great ideas. When you get elected, you’re going to go in there and change things, and you find out immediately from your staff that you’re not allowed to do that. And why can’t I do that? Because you’re not enabled by state law. What the Dillon Rule means is that unless there is a law on the books in the state that says you can do it—for instance, raise a tobacco tax, or put a gas tax, or anything like that—then you can’t do it. And if you want to be able to do something new, you have to ask your legislator to carry that legislation and see if it’ll pass. The other states, roughly half, I think, that don’t have a Dillon Rule, they can do it. They have a lot of latitude.
I got used to working under the Dillon Rule, and now I’m a legislator. I particularly think it makes sense. I wouldn’t want 95 counties and however many cities just out there doing whatever they think is a great idea. The Dillon Rule standardizes the laws in Virginia. Some of the ones that really came up a lot back in the early 2000s—our growth rate was just crazy. Too many people were moving to Stafford. Now nobody seems to be as bothered; they’re more worried about data centers. But back then, they were worried about people, and we weren’t allowed to deny a request to build if you had the zoning already. You couldn’t deny them based on what are called adequate public utilities. So you [had to let them build at the end of a road that was winding with no water or sewer. But I’ve lived under that as a supervisor and as a delegate, and I still think it’s probably the smart way to go.
Cole (D, 65 – Incumbent):
I absolutely believe that the Dillon Rule protects both the Commonwealth and the localities, but I am a strong proponent of making sure that local governments have fewer restrictions in areas that can help them out, whether it’s for housing, specific taxing purposes, infrastructure, or different things like that. I am all ears for working with our localities, working with various municipalities to see what we can do to help support them and give them stronger protections or greater opportunities. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what I can do to help Stafford County, the City of Fredericksburg, or Spotsylvania County with other options they may have or need, lessening the Dillon Rule specifically for them.
Steinway (R, 65):
I think we need to give more to the people and the localities. We don’t have to have big government controlling everything that we do. I think that’s not the right way to do it. I think the localities should not control, but they should oversee what the programs are doing. I think it’s always good to have a little bit of control.
We’re small business owners. [The government] wants to control everything. It’s so hard to get a license now for a business, and these are hard-working people who are trying to do something better for their families, to better themselves, to get that American dream that everybody works hard for. And there is so much oversight from the state that makes it nearly impossible for good people to try to do something in a good manner. I don’t think the controls should be that way. I really don’t.
In Stafford County, early voting will be held Monday through Friday at the Registrar’s Office at 124 Old Potomac Church Road, Ste. 205, from Friday, Sept. 19, through Friday, Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The only Saturday voting days will be Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The deadline to register for voting or request an absentee ballot is October 24.
