Dumfries, Va. –– Maureen Caddigan in her fifth bid for the Prince William County Board of Supervisors set her top campaign priorities Sunday.
Education, public safety, transportation and economic development –– in that order –– are at the top of the list as the Republican who currently represents the newly renamed Potomac District held her campaign kick-off at Georgio’s Restaurant in Montclair to a standing-room only crowd.
Caddigan told her supporters that promises made during her campaigns are promises kept, and touted the ongoing $68 million project to widen U.S. 1 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.
Since Prince William County purchased the areas alongside the highway and razed many of the gas stations, fast food restaurants and other businesses for a wider U.S. 1, the area has garnered a reputation as a desolate construction site.
“I know it’s been an inconvenience for many of you, but [the widening] should be completed by next spring and it will be lovely,” said Caddigan. The project slowed when crews encountered difficulty relocating underground utility lines in the area.
Hoping to mirror the success of nearby Occoquan, a developer originally planned to build a village-like neighborhood on Brady’s Hill Road in Triangle near the Marine museum. That developer is now selling the land, Caddigan explained, and she added whoever buys the land must develop it to the county’s specifications of street lined shops and large, attractive buildings.
Caddigan also touted a new library that will be built in Montclair 25 years after its inception. It will be located behind the Lake Montclair shopping center and will include an historic barn once used to house slaves.
The new library will be built with funds included in the recently approved FY 2012 budget, which also included cost of living raises for Prince William Government employees –– a move Caddigan defended despite hard economic times.
“Some people say there are a lot of people who aren’t getting a pay raise. [County employees] haven’t had a pay raise in three years, and for our public safety employees; we don’t want them moving to Fairfax or some other area,” said Caddigan.
The raises are aimed at helping county employees offset the new retirement rules for the Virginia Retirement System set forth by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, where employees will now have to put five percent of their salary into the system to be eligible to participate in the retirement program.
“We thought of our employees and sometimes we are criticized about that, and I’m sorry that is the case,” added Caddigan.
Caddigan is currently running unopposed, and voters will have a chance to voice their opinions at the polls November 8.
