York Makes Switch Official

After eight years of heading up the Loudoun Board of Supervisors as an Independent, which followed eight years serving as a Republican, County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) publicly announced Monday what many have known for about a week – he’s a Republican again.

“I think this is a great day today,” said County Treasurer H. Roger Zurn Jr., a Republican who once served as Sterling supervisor. “Probably the most exciting moment in a number of years is the fact that Scott York is coming back into the Republican Party.”

And the move back into the Loudoun County Republican Committee, York said, comes not because he has relented on the issues that he believes drove him away, but because he was widely invited by the current membership to continue his work.

“There were serious different about how we should grow,” York said, describing the primary issue that has driven Loudoun politics for the past two decades and divided LCRC members. “I know there is this history between certain members of this party and I. I’m not running from that.”

But York and other current LCRC members commented that the party has grown considerably, causing changes in its philosophy. Many party members joined York and offered their endorsement.

Zurn introduced York, not only at Monday’s press conference, but also to Loudoun politics. Zurn, as supervisors in the early 1990s appointed York as his planning commissioner. When Zurn decided not to run for that seat, York stepped up and won his first election in 1995.

In 1999, York challenged then-county chairman Dale Polen Myers for the GOP nomination for chairman and won. Myers then ran as an Independent in the general election. York won.

Four years later, after the LCRC decided to hold a convention rather than a primary, York became an Independent, shunning the convention. A primary operates like a general election, where party members go to local precincts to vote through the day. A convention calls all party members together for a single event to select nominees.

That year, 2003, York defeated candidates from both parties; however, a group of Republicans who did not share York’s slower growth philosophy won the majority. In 2007, York essentially campaigned with Democrats to oust the GOP majority.

But after this year’s budget debate, York said his focus has shifted to the economy and taxes. He strongly opposed the Democratic majority’s budget actions this year, including the adoption of a tax rate that will result in a slight increase for the average homeowner. York had pushed to reduce the tax rate another penny.

“This campaign and the next four years will be about taxes, business and jobs, education, and protecting our quality of life,” York said. “It will be about Loudoun’s future.”

Curiously, York used the term “Loudoun’s future” during his announcement. Voters for Loudoun’s Future, a PAC, helped elect York, the Democratic majority and Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) in 2007. Waters, as a Republican, joined York and bucked the rest of her party of several growth issues during their term. The PAC has not given donations to anyone this year.

On hand to offer their endorsement for York on Monday were a number of current and past GOP faces. York has often butted heads with his Sterling District successor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), but Delgaudio stood by York and supports him. Purcellville Mayor Robert J. Lazaro served as York’s aid for many years and extended his support.

“He’s done a great job in a difficult economy,” Lazaro said, adding that he believes York has been there for the town. “He’s the only member of the board of supervisors who’s ever called to ask if he could help – the only one.”

Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz Jr., Ashburn District candidate for supervisor Ralph Buona, former Dulles supervisor Drew Hiatt, sheriff’s candidate Verne Dickerson and Broad Run supervisor candidate Sean Williams also endorsed York for the Republican nomination.

York said he opposes the proposed Chesapeake Bay ordinance and that he wants “get a handle on the ever-growing school budget.” The Metro project bringing the Silver Line to Ashburn is needed, but he opposes the recent decision by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to maintain plans for a costly underground station at Dulles Airport.