Laura Rudy, a Stafford County resident and bank management professional, is running for re-election as Stafford County Treasurer. She has held the position since 2008.

Name: Laura Rudy Party: Republican Town: Stafford Running for: Stafford County Treasurer Website: rudy4treasurer.com, Facebook, Twitter Work: Stafford County Treasurer Education: Associate of Applied Science Degree in Business & Public Management – NVCC Virginia School of Bank Management – UVA Gar-Field Senior High School, Woodbridge, VA She also holds certifications as a Master Governmental Treasurer (MGT), an Advanced Certified Public Finance Investment Manager (ACPFIM) and a Finance Professional Certification in Public Administration. Community Involvement: Finance Council Member of the Saint William of York Catholic Church Founding Member of the Stafford Education Foundation Questions and Answers PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent?  Rudy: Experience, Leadership, Results PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues? Rudy: FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE: I have the knowledge and experience to maintain sound internal controls, manage cash flows and ensure the collection of all local and state revenues are accounted for efficiently and accurately. I am proud of the Treasurer's Office role in achieving the Triple-A bond rating for Stafford County, from three separate rating agencies. TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN INITIATIVES: Through continuous analysis of identifying opportunities to implement technology solution initiatives, enhance collection productivity, improve internal processes and deliver efficient cost-effective services to the citizens continues to be my objective and priority. SERVICE EXCELLENCE: The Treasurer's Office provides the highest level of customer service excellence to all citizens of Stafford County. I will continue to improve payment options and services that save our citizens time and money.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

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Thomas Coen, a former Stafford County high school teacher, is running for re-election as George Washington District Supervisor. He is focusing on controlling development and growth in the county, preserving rural space while encouraging modern businesses to open up shop.

Name: Thomas "Tom" Coen Party: Independent Town: Stafford Running for: George Washington District Supervisor Website: Facebook Work: Educator Education: BS in Government from Suffolk University Masters in Education from George Mason University Masters in Political Science from American Military University Community Involvement: Currently serving as George Washington District Supervisor. Served on the Planning Commission for four years, two years as Chair. Served on and chaired the Stafford County Public Schools Citizen Advisory Committee on the Capital Improvement Plan. Sings in the choir and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Questions and Answers PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent?  Coen: 1. Plan for growth while preserving our rural character and protecting property rights. 2. Supporting our Public Service employees -- first responders, education and government services -- to stop the hemorrhaging of employees to other counties. 3. Expand and diversify our economic development, particularly 21st-century businesses. PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues? Coen: 1. Develop and implement plans to encourage growth in the desired areas -- the Targeted Growth Areas -- and continue to fund voluntary programs for land preservation. 2. Continue to implement programs to retain employees and attract new employees. We have listened to our first responders and have developed a compensation plan. This needs to be implemented. 3. Since serving on the planning commission I have worked towards attracting new, cutting-edge industries to come to Stafford. We have made progress, especially in our district. We need to be creative and continue reaching out to 21st century businesses.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

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By Jeff Raines | Capital News Service

It’s the home stretch of the election season and money is pouring in, campaigners are knocking on doors and politics are heating up.

• The Democratic Party of Virginia announced a website Thursday cataloging the controversial deleted tweets of the Republican Prince William County Board of Supervisors candidate.
• The attempt to discredit John Gray by the DPVA is not uncommon even in a local election, according to political analysts.
• “October is the cruelest month in politics,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. And as elections draw nearer, political attacks will be on the rise, he said.

Gray’s deleted tweets surfaced in September as his political opponent, Democrat Ann Wheeler, and her team found a line-item on his campaign finance disclosure that paid $30 to a service called Tweetdeleter to scrub his account of tweets considered inflammatory and offensive, according to the Washington Post.

• The website, 50ShadesofJohnGray.com, features a gallery of the tweets in a series of monochromatic gray boxes, a nod to the erotic romantic drama “50 Shades of Gray.” Boxes are categorized by Gray’s tweets on race, guns, religion, Hillary Clinton, liberals, immigration, Donald Trump, Corey Stewart, and “more crazy tweets.”
• It launched with the intent of ensuring that voters in Prince William County “knew the full extent of John Gray’s bigotry,” according to an email from Grant Fox, DPVA press secretary.

Gray was contacted for a response to the website and the press release.

• In an email, he responded, “No comment. Repeat: No comment.”

Local elections are always fairly intense, according to political analyst Bob Holsworth.

• However, the intensity has ratcheted up this year because of state-level elections.
• “The parties are trying to find whatever advantage they can,” Holsworth said.
• Holsworth referred to the Board of Supervisors election in Prince William County as a “two-for-one” for the Democratic party — they hope to both beat Gray in the election and generate commentary on the Republican party, using Gray’s own tweets against him.

Farnsworth said tweets are effective vehicles for attacking political opponents.

• “What we have here is an innovative way to try to turn one’s combative remarks back on the sender,” he said.

Prince William County is important on state and local levels for both parties, following the Democratic takeover of the county in 2017, when three House districts flipped blue and left Democrats with six of the county’s eight House seats.

• “Virginia Democrats would love to win the chairman’s race and turn the page on Corey Stewart’s years at the helm of the county,” Farnsworth said.
• Stewart, a Republican, lost to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in the 2018 U.S. Senate race and was rejected by voters in the county he has long served as county board chairman. Stewart has since announced he intends to retire after finishing his current term in December.

Gray seeks the same position previously held by Stewart, who has been criticized for his inflammatory rhetoric.

• Gray voiced support for Stewart on multiple occasions through a series of tweets that are featured on the DPVA’s website in a section entitled “John Gray on Corey Stewart.”

The upcoming November elections will show whether the county has changed or if recent elections were a backlash against Trump and Stewart.

• “There have been candidates who are seemingly outside of the mainstream that have come along before and had support from that same base,” said Quentin Kidd, professor of political science at Christopher Newport University. “And so Democrats basically are thinking, the more attention they can draw to him and his, you know, sort of off the wall outside of the mainstream comments, the more likely they are to engage voters who otherwise might not be engaged.”
• Kidd said the tactic of creating a website against political opponents is not uncommon and done by both political parties.

Holsworth said, “in politics, anything that you have put out publicly, ultimately, is fair game for the opposition.”

• Farnsworth agreed and said political attacks like these websites should serve as a reminder: “Scrubbing one’s online past is not as easy as a candidate might hope.”

It happened inside the university’s Fairfax Campus today at 4:15 a.m.

George Mason University police tell us: The unidentified suspect, a dining services employee, brandished a gun and threatened a co-worker during a dispute at the university’s Fairfax Campus.

• The suspect left campus and was arrested upon his return.
• Police were called to search for the suspect but didn’t find him.
• They credited a “quick-thinking” bus driver for aiding in his arrest.
• The suspect is jailed in Fairfax County with charges pending.

On edge: The university’s police department says a text alert was sent to its subscribers notyfhing them of the incident but adds that some reported not receiving an alert notifying them of the incident.

• The university says it’s looking into it.

Updated at 8:30 p.m. with new info from George Mason University police | “At 6:23 a.m., Mason Police officers met the CUE bus on the Fairfax Campus and arrested the suspect without incident, recovering a .38 caliber revolver and ammunition from the suspect. Mason Police transported the suspect to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.”

• “The suspect was banned from campus and charged with brandishing a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon-firearm and probation violations. At 6:55 a.m., Mason Police gave the all clear message through Mason Alert.”

The name and age of the suspect were not released.

 

Prince William County is hoping to win a $225,000 grant that would be used for accessibility improvements at Marumsco Acre Lake.

• The county says improvements to playground surfaces, pathways, and parking spaces all need to make more handicapped-accessible. 

The grant application comes after the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (DPRT) commissioned a report in 2015 to assess federally-mandated accessibility compliance across all parks in Prince William County. 

• It identified numerous deficiencies at Marumsco Acre Lake Park, to which the report had been prioritized and added to the Parks Capital Maintenance Program.
• The report also notes that there is also no handicapped accessible route to a fishing pier at the park. 
• However, if one were added, the cost would exceed the $225,000 project limit for the grant.

The deadline for filing an application was October 4.

• The timing of the project depends on when/if the grant is awarded.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides annual grants for which accessibility improvement projects qualify.

Indecent Exposure – On October 7 at 5:58 p.m., officers were called to the 14700 block of River Walk Way in Woodbridge (near Wegmans) to investigate an indecent exposure.

• A 30-year-old woman told police that after parking in the garage in the area, she saw a man standing near a dark gray vehicle.
• During the encounter, the man exposed himself to the victim.
• No physical contact was made between the two parties and no injuries were reported.
• The victim returned to her residence and contacted police.
• The man left the garage prior to police arriving.

Suspect Description: Black male, unknown age, 6’5”, 300lbs with short black curly hair Last seen wearing a black polo, black pants, and black loafers

Indecent Exposure – On October 3 at 8 a.m., officers were called to investigate an indecent exposure reported to have occurred in the area of Gemini Way and Minnieville Road in Dale City earlier that morning.

• A 76-year-old woman was walking in the above area when she saw a man exposing himself and making an obscene gesture towards her.
  The victim went to a nearby business where the victim’s family and police were contacted.
• While officers were obtaining information on this encounter, the victim disclosed that she observed the same man the day prior.
• During that encounter, the victim reported that the suspect had also exposed himself to her.
• No physical contact was made either incident and no injuries were reported.

Suspect Description: Black male, teenaged, approx. 4’0” with a heavy build No clothing description reported during the latest incident

Prince William police provided the information in this post. 

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a string of burglaries that occurred at several businesses in Stafford County at the end of August.

• On August 30, 2019, at 11:03 a.m., a deputy was called to the scene where a past occurred breaking and entering had occurred, at Fortune House, at 282 Deacon Road.
• There were signs of forced entry at the business.

The Stafford Sheriff’s Office subsequently received several similar reports of breaking and entering incidents at businesses in the area.

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Editor’s note: We periodically publish opinion posts (letters to the editor) on local issues of interest to our subscribers and readers. 

By Mark Scheufler
Prince William County resident

Capacity Improvements for Route 28 between Fairfax County and Manassas have been narrowed down to two general alternatives:

1. Extension of Godwin Dr. along the Flat Branch to Route 28

2. Widening Route 28 through Yorkshire from four to six lanes.

The problem is both alternatives are prohibitively expensive and do not provide a good return on investment (ROI) for Prince William County residents.

The four-mile Godwin Dr. Extension Alternative will have a significant impact on at least 70 residential properties and create permanent noise impacts for many more.

• Most of the affected properties are below the Prince William County median home price, thus removing some of the affordable housing stock in the county.
• In addition, the loss of properties will impact the tax revenue generated by the county.
• Also, the proposed alignment will be built through an “Environmental Resource” area.
• Building next to a riverbed will result in higher levels of stormwater runoff and impacts to adjacent parkland and Bull Run watershed. Finally, this alignment will induce more traffic into the Route 28 corridor that currently uses Sudley Rd (234 Business) to access I-66.

The other option under consideration is to expand Route 28 from four to six lanes.

• This option will eliminate most of the businesses along Route 28.
• This is similar to what was done along Route 1 in Triangle 10 years ago.
• This will result in a loss of commercial tax revenue for the county that may never be recovered.
• In addition, this route will have significant utility relocation costs.

A better alternative is to build a new three-lane Route 28 southbound alignment — 400 feet to the west of existing Route 28 from an expanded eight-lane Bull Run Bridge to Manassas Drive.

• When done, Route 28 would have two northbound lanes and five southbound lanes.
• With the Route 28 Fairfax County widening project coming online in late 2022, the most severe congestion in Prince William County along Route 28 will be in the southbound direction during the evening rush hour.
• This improvement will create five lanes of southbound traffic, plus Old Centreville Road, to help dissipate traffic as it funnels down to Manassas Drive and Liberia Avenue.
• Having a one-way roadway makes it easier to synchronize traffic lights between Compton Road and Manassas Drive.
• The main benefit of this alignment is it adds the needed near term capacity improvements while also providing options for county planners, county residents, property owners, and developers to envision and revitalize the Route 28 corridor through the Yorkshire Small Area Plan.

The Route 28 corridor is an excellent place for upzoning the land with affordable higher-density mixed-use development and adding bus transit and bike/pedestrian infrastructure.

• Growth is coming to Prince William County, planning the growth in activity centers such as the Route 28 corridor is needed for the county to prosper.

• Without proper planning and vision, the development will continue to occur on the outer edges of the county near or in the rural area.

• If Prince William County is going to fund this project through a bond referendum, it needs to benefit current and future Prince William County residents and businesses.

An armed man robbed a worker in a McDonald’s drive-through.

• Prince William police officers were called to a McDonald’s at 10730 Balls Ford Road near Manassas.
• A store employee told police that while paying for his order in the drive-through, the Big Mac Mugger got out of his vehicle and approached the window.

During the encounter, the mugger brandished a gun, reached through the window and took the money from the open register.

• He returned to the vehicle and fled the scene.
• The employee called police.
• No one was injured.
• The investigation continues.

Suspect Description:

• A black male, 18-25 years of age, medium build, with black dreadlocks, a goatee and mustache, and tattoos on both arms and his left hand. Driving a beige-colored Mitsubishi Mirage.
• Last seen wearing a black beanie-style cap, a black t-shirt with a yellow/red image and dark jeans.

Don Scoggins, a retired Woodbridge resident with many years of experience in government and business, is running to be Chairman for the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

Republican Corey Stewart currently holds the seat and is not seeking reelection.

Name: Donald Ellison Scoggins

Party: Independent

Town: Woodbridge

Running for: Chairman, Prince William County Board of Supervisors

Website: scoggins4chairman.com, Facebook

Work: Retired

Education: Hampton University, B. Arch.
University of Pittsburgh, Masters Urban and Regional Planning

Community Involvement: Don is a member of numerous groups created to examine and educate the citizens about local concerns. These include: Prince William Committee of 100, Mid-County Civic Association, Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association, Woodbridge Potomac Communities Civic Association and Dale City Civic Association.

Don also has broad and engaging record of community leadership and service with variety of other organizations and non-profit. Prince William National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), former executive committee member; Prince William County Human Rights Commission, commissioner; American Legion Post 114 (Manassas), immediate past commander; Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1503, member; First Home Alliance, board chairperson; Frederick Douglass Housing Corporation, co-founder; and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (life member).

Questions and Answers

PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent? 

Scoggins: Economic development; Improve inter-county transportation network; and Education system serving all students.

PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?

Scoggins: 1. Create more robust economic development process.
2. Experiment with various transportation modules.
3. Task the school system with totally reviewing its curriculum.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

Scoggins: The county chairman shall be the chairman of the board and preside at the meetings thereof. The chairman shall represent the county at official functions and ceremonial events; and shall have all rights, privileges, and duties of other members of the board and such others, not in conflict with this article, as the board may prescribe. In addition, the chairman shall have the power to call special meetings of the board in accordance with the procedures and restrictions of Code of Virginia § 15.2-1418, mutatis mutandis; set the agenda for board meetings; however, any such agenda may be modified by an affirmative vote of the board; appoint county representatives to regional boards, authorities and commissions authorized in advance by the board.

PL: What expertise will you bring to the office?

Scoggins: With years of employment experiences involving government and the private sector, I am accustomed to working under pressure and will bring innovative, non-ideological thinking to this office.

PL: Do you feel that the average citizen is well-informed and understands the workings of local government?

Scoggins: In my opinion, the average citizen is not very informed about local government. I propose creating monthly newsletters and convening semi-annual public meetings and establish and publish weekly open office hours.

PL: Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they affected you?

Scoggins: With interests in a broad range of activities, I’ve learned after many years juggling various volunteer assignments to prioritize my time and focus on important matters and not become too over committed.

PL: Our readers want leaders in local government. Why should they vote for you?

Scoggins: I feel very qualified to occupy a leadership role within Prince William County, given my well prepared education and having a very diverse professional career involving military experience, local and federal government employment, 25 years of private business ownership, and many years of committed community service.