Opinion

Well, the campaign season for the General Assembly Election in November is upon us. This will be increasingly evident as we endure a parade of negative attacks and falsehoods that will emerge in the weeks and months ahead. I wish it wasn’t so. People—voters—deserve the truth, not false and misleading rhetoric. That is why I am personally responding to the article penned by Jane Touchet, chairman of the Democratic Women of Lake Ridge, attacking me in support of my challenger, Sara Townsend.

Ms. Touchet, a partisan Democrat who doesn’t reside in the district that I serve, says “Mr. Lingamfelter has proven again and again that he is no friend of public education”. Really? Let’s review the facts.

Residents of the 31st House District of VA (which includes parts of Dumfries, Dale City, Woodbridge, and Triangle in Prince William County, and Catlett, Calverton, and Casanova in southern Fauquier County) have an opportunity this year to elect an educator to the House of Delegates.  Since only eight of our current delegates have a teaching background, the election of Sara Townsend would provide the much-needed addition of someone who has teaching experience and an interest in education policy.

Sara Townsend, a resident of Fauquier County, is a former teacher who is currently pursuing a PhD in Education Policy at George Mason University.  One of her strong motivations to challenge Delegate Scott Lingamfelter for this seat is her desire to speak up for students, teachers, and parents in the decision-making body of Virginia.  She recognizes the importance of prioritizing education and the proper balance of students and teachers in the classroom if children are expected to do their best and learn. 

Back in the late 1980’s, I was a young father of two children, living in the Mapledale community in Dale City where I grew up.  I worked as a Branch Manager at a bank in Washington, DC.  As a one-car family with one parent commuting to work and the other needing to travel locally, transportation could have been an issue for us.  But we were fortunate.  I was able to walk a very short distance to the bus stop and take an OmniRide bus to and from the city each day.  It allowed my wife Jean and I to live without the added expense of a second car.

On July 9^th, I attended a PRTC board meeting, during which their current budget shortfall and possible options for service reductions were discussed.  As a long-time user of PRTC services, I believe that it is critical to our community that local leaders come together to solve this issue without further reductions to OmniRide and OmniLink services.  Allowing PRTC services to be reduced will hurt Prince William families, particularly those similar to mine as a younger man. 

One thing that I have learned in my professional career as a strong leader is that transparency and inclusion builds strong results within a community of committed team players, committees or organizations.  I was so taken aback after reading that there was a closed door session to discuss prospective salary increases by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Well, that is lack of transparency and inclusion.

As an elected public official, the steward of community welfare, it is imperative that the community can trust and believe that the official’s leadership and integrity is solid.  We need to know that our elected officials are focused on keeping their ears to the pulse of what the community needs, not what the official feels they are entitled to.  The act of conducting a closed door session to discuss a salary increase for the Board of Supervisors was plainly and simply an act of entitlement.   But, herein lies the question….is transparency, truth, and forthrightness disregarded when we make public decisions in a privately exclusive way?

This past week, the senior member of Virginia’s congressional delegation introduced legislation to remove the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to hold Virginia accountable for failing to clean up the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.  People should be deeply disturbed. The Potomac provides drinking water to five million people.

The Potomac River was once a bountiful asset and source of employment.  In 1604, Captain John Smith wrote of fish so plentiful he could spear them with his sword, oysters that “lay as thick as stones” and schools of fish so plentiful that his men attempted to catch them with frying pans. 

The United States Navy just expanded their maternity leave because they are “continually looking for ways to recruit and retain the best people.”  Prince William county Schools (PWCS) should follow their lead.

Nationally, over 75% of public school teachers are women.  Not only will an attractive maternity leave policy show women the respect they deserve it will allow PWCS to draw a better candidate pool for open positions within the school system.    The policy will, in part, help pay for itself by increasing teacher retention that reduces costs by having to hire fewer teachers every year.

Recently, I had the honor of joining the Race Coalition of Fredericksburg at a beautiful commemoration of Juneteenth – a day of liberation. I reflect on how the day comes in a week that has been marked by a horrific event in Charleston – the ruthless murder of nine innocent people by a racist young man filled with hate and armed with a gun.

This tragedy shakes us to our core, but we have witnessed racially motivated violence before. That sense of fear and horror brings us back to the same question: When will this violence and terror finally end?

The Virginia’s State Corporation Commission latest annual report says that predatory car title lending is thriving in Virginia .  With nearly three dozen car title lenders between Alexandria and Quantico on U.S. 1, this is troubling news, except to the lenders out to make big profits.    You can read the full report on my online newsletter –The Dixie Pig – at scottsurovell.blogspot.com. 

Car title lending began in our state in 2010 after Virginia limited interest rates on payday loans and predatory lenders argued that a new option was needed.  Virginia law authorizes lenders to lend money at rates up to 30% per month which equates to around a 297% annual percentage rate (APR).  A consumer can  borrow up to 50% of their vehicle’s equity and the loan term is limited.   

As I’ve knocked on doors and talked on the phone with fellow residents this spring, I’ve learned just how much the people of Prince William County truly care about our community. They recognize our strengths and our weaknesses. They celebrate our successes, but they also clearly feel the impacts of the challenges we face together.

Whether it’s over-crowded classrooms in our schools, stifling traffic on our roads or slow economic development and job growth in our County, these are the issues that hit closest to home for Prince William families. They are also the issues that we have the greatest opportunity to address right here at the local level.