Jeff Frederick: why we should elect Corey Stewart

I missed Jeff's letter in the Potomac News, they've been running lots of letters every day. But he e-mailed it to his supporters, so I'm reproducing it here.

Jeff is absolutely right that the person who spent 15 years telling the board what it couldn't do to stop development, and then went to work for the developers (including lobbying to stop passage of the takings bill which would protect us from having government take our land and give it to their developer friends), is certainly not the person to put in charge of the board if you want to stop the developers from running roughshod over our county.

Anyway, Here's the letter: I'm not putting it in a little block, because it's easier to read in full:


From Jeff Frederick (bold highlighting is mine, not his):

I'm often told by members of our Board of Supervisors that they can't vote no to new development because their lawyer told them they can't. Putting aside the fact that these elected officials don't work for their attorneys, but rather, for the people that elected them, the lawyer these Supervisors speak of is none other than Sharon Pandak. I find it humorous that the local Democratic party believes their nominee for Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is the best person to slow and better manage growth in Prince William when it is Ms. Pandak who is among those most responsible for the out-of-control growth we've experienced here.

What's more is Ms. Pandak's little secret: when she left her job as County Attorney, she entered private practice as a land-use attorney. Translated: a lawyer who gets paid big bucks from builders and developers to get their projects approved by the Board of Supervisors (using her contacts made during her tenure with the County). In both public and private life, Ms. Pandak has made a career out of making sure builders and developers have their way in Prince William by building, building, and... yes, more building.

Contrast all this to Supervisor Corey Stewart. Since he was elected, combating growth and fighting against an explosion in the property taxes our hardworking families pay have been his top priorities. Time and time again, Mr. Stewart has stood firm against the builder/developer special-interest lobby and opposed project after project. He has also used his vote on the Board -- every year he's been in office -- to oppose the double-digit increases in property taxes. His record is clear.

Ms. Pandak's record is also clear, even now. One only needs to look at whom she is accepting her political contributions from to know where she stands on the issues. Thousands of dollars, by the day, are flying into her campaign bank account from the very big developers and builders that pay her salary. Don't be fooled by her convenient election-season flip-flops. Check the facts.

The way I see it, the two biggest challenges facing Prince William County are growth/development, and skyrocketing property taxes. In the race for Chairman, only one candidate has a proven record in confronting both of those problems: Corey Stewart. I hope you'll join me in supporting him on November 7th.

Jeff FrederickMember, House of Delegates52nd District