Broad Run Supervisor Candidates Debate

The three candidates for Broad Run Supervisor attempted to distinguish themselves as the best person for the job during a forum sponsored by the Broadlands Homeowners Association last week.

Republican Shawn Williams, Independent Cliff Keirce and Democrat Andrea McGimsey, the current Potomac District supervisor, answered questions from the audience Oct. 6 as well as inquiries forwarded by email before the event.

The sharpest differences involved the redistricting process and the Kincora project, which occupies the southwest quadrant of routes 7 and 28.

McGimsey criticized Keirce for voting with other planning commissioners to recommend approval of Kincora to the board of supervisors. Her primary objection was a $20 million credit given toward capital facilities in lieu of a proffer to connect Gloucester Parkway to Nokes Boulevard by spanning the Broad Run tributary. She called Keirce’s vote a $20 million giveaway because developers could stop short of building the number of units required to trigger the Gloucester proffer. The board of supervisors approved the project.

Keirce said her suggestion that the $20 million was a giveaway “demonstrates her lack of knowledge of the land development process.” The county planning staff determined the amount of credit that could be given for building Gloucester, he said, based on the development’s impact on that road. Kincora proffered $31.9 million to construct the road in 2010 dollars – nearly $25,000 per market value home. “Mrs. McGimsey voted against it,” Keirce said.

McGimsey responded that, “I held out at staff’s request to get Gloucester built up front.”

The developer has been trying to get a low-interest state loan to fund the project in advance of development.

On redistricting, Keirce criticized the process that resulted in the Broad Run district for which the candidates are running, calling it “ridiculously gerrymandered.” He pointed to a largely ignored proposal by many of the eastern Loudoun homeowners associations that he preferred. The plan chosen, he said, was politically driven to favor Democrats, McGimsey in particular.

Williams said he was “a little perturbed about how redistricting was done, but it did provide an opportunity” for him to run.

Williams, who negotiates contracts for a living, presented himself as a mediator, someone who can find agreement between opposing parties. “I resolve disputes, work with people, try to collaborate.”

Keirce said McGimsey “she hasn’t been too successful working on the board.” He raised questions about McGimsey’s treatment of her aides – a blogger recently published anonymous concerns raised by at least two former aides.

She declined to respond to the assertions about her aides, instead describing herself as a leader open to new ideas, particularly from constituents. “My approach to local politics is involving the community,” she said.

Keirce said he’s worked with various people as a member of the Broadlands HOA and as a member of the county planning commission, often helping the panels find common ground.

Williams, a member of the Southern Walk HOA’s board of directors, has been dealing with that community’s fight with OpenBand Communications. The Southern Walk HOA was the first of three communities to file suit against OpenBand this year.

None of the candidates spoke in favor of the company, but they disagreed about whether to deny OpenBand’s pending franchise agreement.

Williams called OpenBand’s contracts with various HOA’s a “sweetheart deal” that he’s been working in recent years as a member of his HOA's board of directors to undo. However, he also said denying the franchise would not change the easements that developers hold on the properties that prevent other video providers from serving the community; and therefore, not resolve the problem.

Keirce and McGimsey agreed that the franchise should be denied.

Keirce: “I think the deal stinks. I think residents are being held hostage. They’ve violated every tenet of being a good corporate neighbor.”

McGimsey: “I will not vote for the franchise agreement.”

When asked why the county was not imposing penalties against OpenBand that some estimate at $500 per day – an issue Southern Walk representatives have raised in the past with supervisors – McGimsey said  she’d have to check with the county attorney about the issue. Keirce and Williams said legitimate fines should be assessed.

The candidates agreed on various topics.

All three said they support Metro to Loudoun and described it as an investment that would drive economic development. Each expressed cost concerns about the project and the county’s responsibility for those costs.

The candidates each pushed their versions of economic development strategies to assist startup businesses as well as draw large companies to the county. Ultimately the goal is to broaden the business tax base, particularly real estate taxes, to alleviate the burden on residential real estate taxes.

Williams said he would work to make doing business easier in Loudoun County.

“There’s no certainty in the process,” he said, adding that he believed people on county staff were discouraging businesses from locating here.

McGimsey pointed to her support from the business community, including Aol, NOVEC and Orbital, as examples of how she works well with the business community.

Keirce largely agreed with Williams. “We’re trying to get [businesses] to come to our county, but we’re making it very difficult for them.”

When McGimsey pointed to the “traffic funnel” study she initiated earlier this year as an example of how she’s been tackling transportation, he asked her why she didn’t do it earlier in term.

All three candidates noted the continued growth in school enrollment and the need for continued school construction, while questioning the school system’s spending and construction plans, whether pushing for larger schools or more varied designs to fit various topographies.

Williams called for a program review of the county budget, while Keirce said he believed savings were more likely to be found on the school side. McGimsey said the current board made tough budget choices to maintain a AAA bond rating during her term in office and that she voted in support of the budget each year.