The speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates has officially roused the anger of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The Board on Monday passed a resolution calling on Speaker William Howell to appear before the supervisors to explain his comments in The Examiner on why the state shouldn’t subsidize the county’s child care.
The move is the latest in an ongoing quarrel between the county board and assembly members over lost federal funds used for a day care subsidy — a loss that threatens to drop 1,700 children from the program. The state legislature shot down last-minute budget amendments that would have helped keep children on the subsidy.
In a quote published this month, Howell said Fairfax was “one of the two or three richest counties in the country.” He said the county’s request for child care funds “does seem a little incongruous to us.”
“That is an unacceptable public policy,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly. “It’s unacceptable to our county.”
The speaker, contacted by phone, said he stands by his comments. Said Howell: “Perhaps I put it too gently for them.”
