Lets Make It Chairman Herrity!

Pat Herrity made it official today that, to the shock of nobody, he is running for Chairman of Fairfax County.  It will be an uphill battle, but what he will do is for the first time is finally be the true voice of dissent in the Connolly-run county where dissent was effectively squashed by the Chairman.  Opponents and citizens were bullied and intimidated by the Chairman and no Republican has been able to stand up to him the way Herrity has.  Neither Baise nor Fimian had the stature or the experience to properly articulate just how poorly this county has been run.

Herrity does.  I've heard him talk passionately and in full detail what is wrong with the county.  I hope the residents of Fairax will at least attempt to look past party label and take a true stare at the current budget crisis facing this county and understand that there is no difference between Gerry Connolly and Sharon Bulova.  Sharon Bulova is as complicit as the vice-chair and the budget committee chair.  She helped spend the county into its current state getting Connolly into Congress and her into the chairmanship.

I want every county resident to take a good look at one number when thinking about this race:

$500 MILLION DEBT

Below is the email outlining Herrity's platform the campaign sent out today:

Today Fairfax County is facing a significant financial crisis, but we are also experiencing a crisis of failed leadership.  That is why after speaking with my family and carefully considering this important decision I have decided to run for Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. 

The current leadership of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors consistently spent money like there was no recession looming, now Fairfax County is facing its most severe financial shortfall in modern history.  The half a billion dollar shortfall for next year, makes the current fiscal year's shortfall of $60 million seem like no big deal!  Sure, some of this could reasonably be expected due to the financial turmoil going on in this country, but our projected shortfall is 17% of the budget and the largest in the region.

Even in the face of a looming recession the current leadership's response has been limited to across the board personnel cuts. In the most important budget markup of her career my opponent failed to make any significant reductions in spending.    Just last month I proposed the Board look at specific service reductions in this fiscal year to avoid further across the board cuts.  Even as our citizens who faced household income losses were cutting back, my opponent and the current majority of the Board failed to act to cut back.

Despite years of unrestrained spending by my opponent, the Chair of the Budget Committee for the last 16 years, and a doubling of the real estate taxes over the last six years we still have significant problems:

·         Traffic congestion continues to get worse and eat away at our family time.  The erosion in quality of life is causing employers to leave the County. 

·         Across the board spending cuts have resulted in a 10% reduction in personnel spending for our police force impacting their ability to respond to a 12% increase in crime. 

·         In neighborhoods, we are feeling the impact of our aging communities and infrastructure, illegal boarding houses, and increasing crime. 

·         The teachers, which are so key to our high quality schools, are leaving for other school systems as they drop from the highest paid in the region to number 7. 

·         Just as economic times are causing an increase in the need for Human Services we are forcing a 10% across the board cut in Human Services personnel. 

The bottom line is that despite a doubling of real estate taxes and uncontrolled spending, the average citizen has seen no increase in the quality of government services.  More of the same will simply not do.

While much is good in Fairfax County, the economy has and will have a significant impact on our quality of life. I have an award winning, proven track record of fixing companies in trouble. I will bring my education and proven experience to bear on the tremendous problems facing our county today. Our future success is not preordained.  We need a new generation of leadership that is not rooted in the past, but instead is willing to bring citizens together with common sense solutions in order to emerge from this financial storm and regain our position as the best place to live and work in the nation.

Over the past couple of months I have been extremely humbled as many people - - from all over Fairfax County and from all political parties - - have asked me to run for Chairman and represent common sense leadership during this difficult period.

I can no longer sit back and watch as the leadership of the Board of Supervisors completely mishandles our finances and watch our quality of life deteriorate further. It is time for a new generation of common sense solutions.   I have the leadership, experience and the vision to address these problems and lead Fairfax County into the future.  As of today no date has been set for the Special Election but it will likely be in early February.  I hope you can attend my kickoff event on November 20^th - see details attached.

I have accomplished a great deal as a civic, community and business leader and since joining the Board of Supervisors representing the Springfield District.  These accomplishments and my common sense agenda are detailed at www.patherrity.org.

My Background.  For those of you that do not know me, I was elected Springfield District Supervisor in November 2007. I live in the Centerville/Clifton area with my wife of 19 years, Nancy, and my teenage son Sean and daughter Valeria. Raised in Fairfax County, I am a 1978 graduate of West Springfield High School and received a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Virginia Tech in 1982. Having spent my entire life here and as the son of former Chairman of the Board Jack Herrity, I have a unique understanding of Fairfax County and its needs.

First as a business leader and now as a Supervisor I have actively led efforts to implement transportation solutions. As a result of my initiatives, I received some of the highest recognition in the business community - the President's Award and the Community Service Award from Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Chairman's Award from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Following a very successful career as a Chief Financial Officer for several fast growing companies, I have used my financial skills to promote an agenda of fiscal responsibility and transparency on the Board of Supervisors. I am also remaining active in the community and in youth sports. More details on my background can be found at www.patherrity.com .

The current leadership of the Board of Supervisors does not have the skill set, experience, or vision to deal with this daunting financial crisis. 

It is clear now more than ever we need a Chairman who understands fiscal responsibility and can read and comprehend a balance sheet, but also has the compassion to understand that our citizens need a good and efficient government that will meet its needs but prioritize spending and keep a watchful eye on the citizen's money. As a lifelong Fairfax County resident who has been a leader in numerous government, civic, and business associations I have a deep understanding of Fairfax County and will be a leader who provides the vision and bi-partisan common sense solutions to insure our future success. 

Addressing Our Fiscal Challenges.   Over the last twenty years we have been riding the success of a past generation that built a solid commercial tax base and success which fueled an unprecedented growth in real estate values.  Now we have a decline in the commercial tax base from its high of 27% to 17% shifting the tax burden to residents. In the past six years we have seen unprecedented out of control spending in Fairfax County which has resulted in the average property tax bill doubling. Despite these massive increases in taxes and spending the average citizen has seen no increase in the quality of government services. Now we face significant budget shortfalls. Even when we knew the shortfalls were coming the majority of the board failed to address spending except largely through across the board spending cuts. 

As a Chief Financial Officer I have the financial experience and skills to lead in this time of fiscal crisis and attack the budget shortfall with a scalpel and not a hatchet.  For example, in the last year as a Supervisor I have:

·         Proposed responsible reductions in spending and not just across the board spending cuts.

·         Led a renewed focus on economic development and the need to return to a 25% commercial tax base through increasing our business growth not by increasing taxes.

·         Proposed a fiscal transparency measure which would put the County's checkbook on line.

·         Established the first Citizen's Budget Review Committee (even before taking office) to get citizen input on the budget.

We need to get our spending under control and return to our priorities.

Making Transportation a County Priority. Ever worsening traffic congestion continues to eat away at our quality of life. With the exception of rail in the Dulles corridor, transportation has not been a county priority and the decision to move forward on that important project was done without competitive bidding.  While the Dulles corridor is absolutely critical to the economic success of the county, it is only one of the critical corridors in the county.  I have been leading the efforts for both short and long term solutions in the I-66 corridor. I have pushed to accelerate the schedule for the grade separated interchange at Fair Lakes and Fairfax County Parkways, and worked for solutions to improve the completion of the missing link to the Fairfax County Parkway. As a transportation activist, I received three of the top business awards for my work promoting common sense transportation solutions such as the Beltway HOT lanes, the Techway, Telework and other region solutions.

In contrast, since 2005 the majority on the current board has approved more bond money to buy homes with people already living in them and becoming the County's largest landlord, than we have spent on transportation and park projects combined.  The first priority of our capital money must be transportation and schools.  We should encourage more public private partnerships and creative funding sources in meeting our capital needs.

Fairfax has a fine history of creative solutions. In fact, during the '70s and early '80s, local and private sector funding outweighed the combined federal and state funding of roads. Developers were held accountable for transportation and school improvements when their projects resulted in additional density. It is time for Fairfax County to again take some of the responsibility for the transportation issues that affect us all. It is time for a leader who understands transportation.

Keeping Americas Best Teachers in Fairfax County. Our teachers in Fairfax County used to be the highest paid teachers in the region.  Unfortunately our philosophy these days is to place a higher priority on administrative staff and buildings than on our teachers and classrooms.  Our teachers now rank 7^th in the D.C. region in pay behind Arlington, Prince William, and Loudoun Counties.  As a result many of our best and brightest teachers are choosing to work in other jurisdictions because of the better pay.   It is time to return our focus to those that teach our children.

Protecting Our Neighborhoods. Fairfax County was built to be a safe, suburban area that offered a superior quality of life to its residents and those who work here; but in recent years it appears the County leadership has lost sight of that goal. I am pushing forward measures to protect our suburban neighborhoods by creating an environment that minimizes illegal activity and maximizes safety. I fought to dedicate funds to protect children from internet sexual predators and to fully fund the strike teams to crack down on illegal boarding houses and zoning problems in our neighborhoods. As our neighborhoods age we need to proactively address the issues before they become problems.

I encourage you to visit www.patherrity.org to see my vision for Fairfax County in other areas.

Campaign Kickoff. I will kick off my campaign on November 20^th at 7:30 at the American Legion Hall in Springfield. Congressman Tom Davis and Frank Wolf will attend.  Many other current and former elected officials and candidates are expected to attend. I hope you can come and  support this critical election. Please RSVP to events@patherrity.org or call (703)451-5515.

I need your help now. We are facing serious challenges in Fairfax County.  Our next Board Chairman must have the leadership, experience and vision to address these challenges.  As a lifelong resident of the district, with many years of award winning service to the civic and business community, and the common sense solutions presented during my term as Supervisor I have a demonstrated record of common sense solutions.  I am ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead but I need your help.

It is important that I have a good turnout at my Campaign Kickoff on November 20th at the American Legion Hall in Springfield.  Please let me know I can count on your support by returning the enclosed RSVP Form back to me right away.  This event will also help me raise the money I need to run this campaign so I hope you will consider making a contribution at one of the Host levels of $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, $500, $250 or $100.  Tickets to this event are $15 per person or $30 per family. Please consider contributing even if you cannot attend.  This race is too important.

Comments

[Will Charlie Hall Primary Pat Herrity]

As admitted in this well run blog earlier, Charlie Hall was the republican candidate in last year's Providence primary. So why doesn't Charlie Hall run for chair against Pat Herrity?

The public record shows that Charlie Hall met with Tom Davis to strategize on how to beat a democratic incumbant.

Certainly his campaign co-managers, like Deborah Reyher, who contacted a republican congressman's chief of staff for assistance in the primary, will want Hall to run.

If Hall was good enough for the over 1,000 republicans who voted in the providence primary, Hall should be good enough for them in a republican primary for chair.

[Danielle]

What did Pat Herrity and Sharon Bulova do for a living before being County Supervisors?

I think Herrity is an accountant, but I cannot tell you what Bulova did. No idea.

[Anne]

Mr. Herrity is an Accountant who earned his degree from Virginia Tech. He's a CPA and an experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He's got a pretty darned impressive business resume and one I like very much as the County faces tough budget times.

All I could find through searching is that Mrs. Bulova has a two-year degree from NVCC in a business discipline. She doesn't have a website that I could find other than her County one, so I had to look in an old WaPo archive from the last election cycle.

Both candidates have impressive resumes as far as community service, but Mr. Herrity, IMHO, has much better credentials as far as his education and his actual, real world, work experience. In tough budget times, he's definitely my pick to lead the County. I think he's the perfect candidate for the job.

[Deborah Reyher]

Nice to see that folks can ignore the strident troll every once in a while.

In case anyone cares what was (or was not) "admitted" on this blog back in September, the link is here: http://masonconservative.typepad.com/the_mason_conservative/2008/09/the-most-conservative-candidate-ever.html#comment-132182946

And in case anyone cares to see what Charlie Hall said -- in his own words -- the link is here: http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8709 - look toward the end of the comments where Charlie speaks at quite some length on the charge that he is a secret Republican. I'd post his full (and very long) comment here, but this is, of course, a "conservative" (and not a Dem) blog. I don't want to muddy up your waters with all his Democratic musings.

I keep wondering why a certain trollish someone just CAN'T seem to let this go? Hmmmm.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!