Loudoun County Chairman Scott York, an independent, is dominating the fundraising battle against first-time Republican candidate Michael Firetti and is trying to use the monetary muscle in the race.
With more than to $48,000 in York’s campaign bank account and Firetti’s campaign more than $47,000 in debt, York appears to have a huge advantage for the marquee race to lead the fast-growing county.
Recommended Stories
“With the Firetti campaign in financial disaster and the apparent lack of ability to manage his own campaign finances, why would we trust him with a $1.4 billion county budget?” York asked.
But despite the apparent financial trouble, Firetti told The Examiner he is prepared to contribute a sizable amount of his own money to his campaign. Firetti loaned his campaign $150,000 earlier this year, then gave himself most of the money back.
While York said the lack of financial support is indicative of the Firetti campaign’s utter lack of momentum, Firetti said his next report will show that he is winning supporters’ money late in the race.
“I believe people were just waiting to see what my positions were and what my campaign is about. People saying, ‘Gosh, we didn’t know you had this in you. You’re the guy we need,’ ” Firetti said.
Firetti has questioned York’s fitness for the top spot on the nine-member Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.
He claims York has not been a strong enough player on economic development. Firetti has pledged to personally recruit Fortune 500 companies to move to Loudoun County if elected.
Meanwhile, York is focusing more energy on getting five of the six incumbent Republican supervisors voted off the board, saying that a slate of new lawmakers would promote better government and allow him to have more power to govern and set the agenda.
