The future of the Herndon Official Workers Center, a taxpayer-funded center where day laborers can wait for work, hung in the balance Tuesday night as Herndon voters went to the polls to elect a Town Council.
All seven seats were open. Incumbents Carol Bruce, Steven Mitchell and J. Harlon Reece and challenger Jorge Rochac all support the center.
Incumbent Dennis Husch and challengers Connie Hutchinson, David Kirby, William Tirrell, and Charlie Waddell oppose it.
According to a Fairfax County official, turnout was low, with only 1,500 of roughly 10,000 registered voters visiting the polls by 3 p.m. The official said total turnout was not likely to be above 25 percent.
No results were available as of press time.
The center has come to symbolize the divisive and often heated debate over immigration in Herndon. The council’s decision to open the center last summer drew national attention and was criticized by some who said it encourages illegal immigration.
The Workers Center is run by Bill Threlkeld, director of the nonprofit community coalition Project Hope and Harmony.
He said more workers and employers have been visiting the site since the beginning of spring.
The center has been open since mid-December.
“Certainly a big factor is the weather,” Threlkeld told The Examiner, saying the number of workers at the center has increased from an average of 97 per day in December to an average of 116 in April.
George Taplin, of the Herndon chapter of the Minutemen, a group opposed to illegal immigration, dismissed those numbers as inflated.
He said the council’s decision to open the center does not reflect the will of the people of Herndon.
“The absolute arrogance of the mayor and Town Council is appalling,” he said.
