For an off-year Democratic primary election for a county board seat, the battle between challenger Charlie Hall and incumbent Linda Smyth has grown unusually intense.
In recent months, Hall has issued scathing attacks on the sitting board — charging that supervisors have approved too much development without adequate planning, “brushed off citizen concerns” and operated in secret. Virginia political blogs have come down strongly on the side of Hall, a former Washington Post reporter.
Smyth has said she’s closely scrutinized each building project and denied charges that she approved too much development in the district, which holds the economic center of Tysons Corner. She touts her environmental record and has recently gained the endorsement of the Virginia Sierra Club.
But the Smyth-Hall race is only one of two primaries to be held Tuesday. In the Springfield District, Republican Supervisor Elaine McConnell announced her intention not to seek a seventh four-year term in the seat. Software consultant Stan Reid is squaring off against Pat Herrity, son of former longtime Fairfax County Chairman John “Jack” Herrity, for the GOP nomination.
Growth and traffic, while major, aren’t the only issues, Herrity said as the election entered its final week. He wants to lower tax bills driven up by the inflation of real estate prices and not just the tax rate. He would also consider new ways to enforce laws against illegal immigrants.
“Immigration and multi-family dwellings are a huge issue in the west Springfield area,” he said.
Reid points to his refusal to accept development donations as what sets him apart. Both he and Herrity have promised to get builders to pay more to offset the impact of the projects they proposed on county services.
“What happens now is that development goes in, and then the developer leaves and the rest of us are stuck with the tax bill for all the infrastructure improvements. And I think that’s wrong,” he said.
