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Political Issues at PWAR

Endorsed Candidates

Here is the list of RPAC endorsed candidates for our jurisdiction. Please consider voting for these candidates on November 6th. They represent public policy makers who understand the importance of a vibrant real estate market and healthy local economy. Please remember that we evaluated candidates based on their positions on real estate only. If you encounter anyone who is concerned with our choices, please feel free to have them contact Denise Roosendaal, email Denise or (703) 368-8177.

Absentee Ballot Information
Register to Vote/General Information

Senator Charles Colgan – District 29 www.colganforsenate.orga


Delegate Scott Lingamfelter – District 31 www.va31st.com

Candidate Bruce Roemmelt – Distric 13 www.electroemmelt.org

Delegate Jackson Miller – District 50 www.delegatemiller.com

Republican candidate Jackson Miller is running for reelection to the 50th House District. Miller, who is a sworn Prince William County police officer, enjoys dabbling in the stock market and spending time with his wife, Suzanne, and their two young sons. The seven-year City of Manassas resident believes that transportation, illegal immigration and quality education are the key issues at the heart of PWC. “I would like to see Virginia participate in the federal 287(g) Program,” said Miller on the topic of illegals, “which would allow local enforcement to participate in the deportation process.”
Miller is working toward a realignment of funding to help alleviate the county’s transportation concerns and is dedicated to bringing local class sizes to less than 20 students per classroom.
Miller sees Realtors® as drivers of local economic activity. “Realtors® are the economy here,” Miller stated, “when there’s a downturn in real estate there’s a downturn in the rest of the economy in the area – it’s true of every community.” Miller knows that many agents are discouraged by current housing market conditions, so much so that many are getting out of real estate altogether. He encourages Realtors® to keep at it though and believes that their efforts to bring the housing market back up can really make a positive difference in the community. One way to help, said Miller, is to get involved in politics. “If they don’t get involved,” said Miller, “their issues will not be met.” “The people who are the most active generally get the best results.”
~Jennifer Heyns

Candidate Paul Nichols – District 51 www.paulnicholsfordelegate.com

Democratic candidate for the 51st District, Paul Nichols, said that he moved to Prince William County nearly 30 years ago because of the school system’s reputation. Aside from politics and his law practice, Nichols enjoys playing golf and basketball and attending Redskins and Wizards games. Nichols believes that PWC is in a “crisis situation with gridlock” and is determined to set realistic short and long-term transportation goals like bringing Metro to PWC by 2017. In easing traffic, Nichols believes he can keep property values from sliding and make the community more attractive to potential homebuyers. “We’ve got a great place to live; we can’t let traffic spoil it,” he declared. Another primary concern of Nichols is education. “We are loosing ground here,” Nichols said of the school system, “we need to improve, not fall back.” Nichols would increase teacher compensation and build more appropriate-sized facilities to decrease class sizes and keep students out of trailers. “Illegal immigration also needs to be addressed,” Nichols stated, “There is a citizen outcry about this affecting quality of life here.” The first step, explained Nichols, is to deport illegal immigrants who commit a crime. He is also an advocate of the eVerify System, whereby employers can verify the social security numbers of potential employees online. Nichols would like the utilization of this system to be mandatory to eliminate the hiring of illegal immigrants. He noted that politics start at the local level and can only benefit by the input and involvement of intelligent small business owners. “Realtors® are no more and no less than small business people,” Nichols added, “which are the heart of the local economy.”
~Jennifer Heyns

Candidate Chris Brown – District 52 www.brownfordelegate.com

Democratic candidate Chris Brown, who is running for Virginia House of Delegates 52nd District, was adopted into a loving local family as an infant and has lived in Prince William County since. He and his wife of 27 years, Lisa, have three children and spend their time maintaining family bonds and their 18th century home. Brown, a CPA, is most concerned with the quality of life in his district and sees transportation, health and human services as topics needing the most attention. “We just can’t move around comfortably,” he said of the area’s traffic. Brown would like to see more quality jobs brought into the county to encourage traffic to come to PWC instead of through it. “Virginia ranks near the bottom of the 50 states for reimbursement of medical care,” he stated. To alleviate this, Brown would like to see government subsidize and encourage small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees.
Brown urges everyone to get involved in politics, but especially Realtors® because of the expertise that they possess of the local community. “Real estate agents are on the front line of promoting our county,” Brown explained, “These ambassadors need to be proactive in a way that benefits the community; they know about every aspect be it business, education or demographics.” “I encourage all Realtors® to get to know their local and state legislators and start a dialogue to bring attention to the issues they see everyday.” Brown admits Realtors® have a tough job especially with competing with other D.C. metropolitan areas. He believes that if PWC can convince more big businesses to locate here, Realtors® will have an easier time supplying sellers with the buyers they seek.
~Jennifer Heyns

Candidate Sharon Pandak – Candidate for Chairman of County Supervisors www.sharonpandak.com

Residing more than 20 years in Prince William County Sharon Pandak believes she is the right choice for the role of Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Pandak, who lives in Lake Ridge with her husband, Bob Ross and is a partner in a local law practice, finds personal fulfillment in travelling, gardening and acting as well as serving the community through various organizations like the PW Symphony, PW Historic Preservation Society, Didlake Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.
Pandak sees local residents are currently experiencing frustration with taxes, traffic, rampant development and education.
“I am committed to preserving Prince William County’s quality of life by better linking land use, transportation and the environment,” she explained. “I want to reduce overcrowding in our schools and increase teachers’ compensation.”
Not only do transportation problems contribute to the quality of life; Pandak also feels they decrease property values, a hindrance to the real estate market. Aside from working on transportation issues, Pandak would like to alleviate some real estate concerns by “insuring that development pays for the costs which it creates on public infrastructure... In addition, we need to work toward affordable housing alternatives for not only police, fire fighters and teachers but so that young families, tradesmen and other important members of our community can live near where they work.” Pandak encourages Realtors® to take advantage of her open door policy and to also involve themselves in local politics through county boards, commissions and committees “because many of the decisions, which affect our everyday life, are made at the county level.”
~Jennifer Heyns

Candidate Lucy Beauchamp - Candidate for Clerk of Court lucy4clerk.com

A 30-year resident of Prince William County, Lucy Beauchamp (Independent), is currently seeking election as the next Clerk of the Circuit Court. Beauchamp raised her two daughters in PWC and has served on the school board for the past 15 years, 12 of which was served at the level of Chairperson. Beauchamp sees the Clerk’s position as one that should be non-partisan and according to her web site she believes that “there is no room for politics at the courthouse”. Her primary concern for the position she is seeking is customer service and sites the implementation of flex hours, deployment of the latest technology and involvement with the community and schools as the three goals she has set for herself if elected. Aside from her long-standing role on the county’s school board, Beauchamp has also served the community through her work with organizations such as the United Way, SciencePort – Northern Virginia’s Science Center, PWC Public Schools Education Foundation, local Chambers of Commerce, PWC-Manassas Jail Expansion Committee and the Manassas Area Soccer Association.

Endorsed Candidates from other local associations

FAAR
State Races:
28th Senate District – Richard Stuart
17th Senate District – Edd Houck
28th House District – Speaker Bill Howell
54th House District – Bobby Orrock

Caroline County:
John Green (Madison District)
Floyd Thomas (Mattaponi District)
Bobby Popowicz (Port Royal District)
Maxie Rozell (Reed Church)

Spotsylvania County:
Benjamin Pitts (Battlefield District)
Layton Fairchild (Berkeley District)
Gary Skinner (Lee Hill District)
Hap Connors (Chancellor District)
Bryce Reeves (Livingston District)

Stafford County:
Jack Cavalier (Griffis-Widewater District)
Cord Sterling (Rock Hill District)
Tom Coen (George Washington District)

NVAR
The list of NVAR-Endorsed Candidates

Illegal Immigration

The Prince William Association of REALTORS® has not taken an official position on the Illegal Immigration Debate. However, we are monitoring the debate, watching the dialogue, and being sensitive to how it might impact the real estate market. Please send any comments you might have to denise@pwar.com or president@pwar.com

October 22, 2007
Washington Post 10-22

October 20, 2007
Washington Post 10-20
Potomac News 10-20

October 18, 2007
Potomac News 10-18

October 14, 2007
Washington Post 10-14

October 11, 2007
Washington Post 10-11
Washington Post 10-9

Proffers

PWAR has traditionally been opposed to proffers due to its negative impact on housing. The Proffer increase that the Prince William County Board of Supervisors was considering included an increase from approximately $38,000 to over $51,000 – the largest proffer in the state. The County Supervisors voted to delay consideration until next June in order to gather more information on the mechanics of such an increase (and their interaction with impact fees). PWAR will continue monitoring this situation and evaluating the proposals along with other organizations in the county who are sensitive to proposed increasing in housing costs.
Here are some articles discussing the issue:

October 21, 2007
Washington Post 10-21

October 19, 2007
Potomac News 10-19