I can’t help but wonder if some pro-business Leesburg residents who voted for Republican Ken Reid last November are now experiencing buyer’s remorse, since Reid has emerged as an opponent of the extension of Dulles Metrorail into Loudoun County.
I’m not surprised that Reid is against the project. He made his name in Loudoun County as a populist advocate for cars and drivers. He has favored new and improved roads and bus rapid transit. Rail was never among his priorities.
Reid’s opponent, Democratic incumbent Kelly Burk, on the other hand, was a strong supporter of the Metrorail project, which may be the most important economic development project to come to Loudoun County since Dulles Airport opened 50 years ago.
The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce has strongly supported the project for many reasons, including the business it would generate and the jobs that would be created.
But it appears that Reid found a very clever strategy to dodge the Metrorail issue during his campaign for the Leesburg District seat on the Board of Supervisors last year.
On his campaign website, he said that, “the extension of Metro to Dulles Airport and Loudoun seems to be a certainty.” He went on to express concern about the cost to toll payers and taxpayers, as well as the project labor agreements that have been criticized by anti-union Republicans.
Although he expressed reservations about the project, there was no mention of the possibility that he might vote to kill the project because, as he said, the project seemed to be a done deal.
Now, with only four of the nine Republican supervisors signaling that they support the project, Reid’s vote – which would have been Burk’s, had she been elected – could prove to be decisive.
Reid now says, in a statement on his website, “It appeared to me last fall, while running for the Board, that Metro was a done deal, but the costs to taxpayers were a big problem. I have never liked the Dulles Rail project…” He goes on to say that, from 2002-2006, he “was engaged as a part-time consultant to propose bus rapid transit and carpooling as a cheaper alternative.”
So what appeared to be a done deal last year is now coming perilously close to coming undone.
But did it really seem to be a certainty last year?
On June 6, 2011 – five months before the election – Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on WMAL that he wanted the rail project to die.
“I hope they don’t do Phase Two,” he said bluntly.
He also predicted that the rail project would be a central issue in the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors elections that fall, adding, “I hope [the voters] elect an entire board who’s committed to pulling out of Phase Two to kill it.”
Cuccinelli’s words were widely reported in the media at the time. In fact, Leesburg Today reported that his comments were mentioned just a few days later at a forum sponsored by the Potomac Station HOA.
When an audience member asked Reid to state his position on the rail project, in light of Cuccinelli’s remarks, Reid reportedly responded by saying that he supported the board’s initiative to keep the Metro station at Dulles Airport above-ground.
Leesburg Today then quoted Reid as saying that the rail project “is going to happen. I just hope the cost over-runs will not be so severe.”
Nice dodge.
I remember my surprise at reading those words back in June. In my July 14, Inside Out column, I listed ten reasons why I believed Loudoun County would ultimately get Metrorail.
When I was compiling my list, I considered another one that didn’t quite make my Top Ten: “Because Ken Reid says it will happen.”
Reid’s opinion was important, I thought, because he seemed to be signaling that he would not oppose the project. Coming from a self-styled transportation expert who would not have been expected to support the project, his words carried some weight. But my skepticism at the time kept me from adding his comment to my list.
So, while Reid now says that the project appeared to be a certainty last summer, Cuccinelli’s comments had clearly opened up the possibility that the soon-to-be-elected Loudoun supervisors would be in a position to kill it.
Reid defeated Burk in the November by just 190 votes, with a winning margin of three percent. If 100 Reid voters had instead voted for Burk, she would have won.
Again, I can’t help but wonder if there are 100 pro-business Reid voters who would be chagrined to see their candidate cast the deciding vote to kill the project. Buyer’s remorse, indeed!
Jonathan Erickson
11:20 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
I will buy this from Reid's newsletter!
I do support Metro to the Airport, but if Metro puts one foot into Loudoun County, we pay a heavy price. I do not want our Loudoun taxpayers beholden to the Metro Board nor MWAA, which even Congressman Wolf called "dysfunctional." These boards are political appointees of the Maryland and Virginia governors and D.C. mayor. Loudoun will get the short end of the stick with these regional boards.
I do not want taxpayers to have to pay $30 million a year to Metro and have our Board decide whether to fund Metro or schools and roads.
Opt out Loudoun!
Dusty Smith
7:56 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
It's true Congressman Wolf has pushed for changes at MWAA as well as an audit of phase two of the Silver Line project. However, he also has supported the project since since the localities decided to move forward with rail rather than buses, which he supported, in 2002. Gov. McDonnell, Sec. of Transportation Sean Connaughton and U.S. Senate candidates from both parties have expressed support for the project beyond Dulles to Loudoun. Soon (sounds like July at the latest), two additional Virginia members will join the MWAA board. I just thought it was fair to point that out considering I see Wolf's name often mentioned by those urging Loudoun to opt out, but little about the changes being made at MWAA. We do appreciate comments. Thanks for posting.
Terry Elvers
12:20 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
I totally agree with Johnathan E. Opt out.
I supported Reid in the last election, and am glad I did. He is fiscally conservative and after the spending spree Loudoun County has been on - we need more like him! I think the costs of Metro FAR outweigh the benefits. If it goes to Dulles Airport - fine. I can see the rationalle. I do not see it for extending past Dulles. It is an expensive project that we do not need.
Well done Ken!
electricsoup
1:16 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
He's bad for Leesburg, and it's still stomach turning that he's in office. He came to my door and was so incredibly rude to me on a personal level to boot - it's just going to turn out poorly for our town.
Roberto Costantino
9:37 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
A personal attack based on one's anecdotal evidence is hardly constructive when the Metro Silver Line Phase II is at stake. Please at least consider the fact that Supervisor Ken Reid was elcted by the poeple; fair and square. He is an honorable man by any measure.
Jimmy
2:43 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
It is clear that the county is growing and that we need more transportation infrastructure. With that in mind we discover that Ken Reid is against Metro. Okay, so, what are HIS plans for upgrading the transportation infrastructure? He has none that I can determine. If Metro stops at Dulles then all the commuters who would have parked their cars at the Ashburn Station (or walked) would then go through the Route 7 and 28 corridor. This is going to be a traffic nightmare.
If the $30,000,000 per year price tag is accurate, it would cost the average Loudouner about $10 a year to have metro stations in Loudoun. I would much rather pay $10 a year to have the ability to ride Metro than pay the $12 a day it costs to travel on the Greenway.
Yes, Metro is expensive. But it will be more expensive in the future. Build it now, build it right.
Vicky Chrisner
9:58 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Jimmy - I am told that it is not either/or. It's not that you will pay $12 a day for the Greenway OR ride the metro... it's that you will pay $12 a day to ride the Greenway AND then pay to park and then pay to ride the metro, because Loudoun's metro stations will only be accessible by the Greenway. Did you know that? I really only recently learned that and it is making me look twice at this. Thoughts?
Bob Bruhns
3:27 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
I have read this. Is it officially documented anywhere - on the WMATA site, the MWAA site, or Loudoun.gov, etc?
Rob Jones
10:14 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Great Article, Jim Barnes!!!
Chad Baeseman
11:23 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Buyers remorse? Nope. I knew exactly who I was casting my vote for (& against)
Jonathan Erickson
7:11 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
Vicky is it true that the only way to get to the metro is the Greenway?
Dusty Smith
7:42 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
While the Greenway may be the easiest way for many residents to access the proposed Loudoun Metro stops, it won't be the only way to get to them. Some supervisors have asked what the costs for associated infrastructure to access Metro might be. That becomes a tricky question because some of it would be built regardless of Metro. There are also developer proffers to pay for some of those costs. Those are all questions supervisors are trying to nail down during their planned work sessions.
David A. LaRock
10:04 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
This article is a cheap hit piece. Get out the door and dig up some news please.
Ken is THE most enlightened person for miles on the subject of Metro. That comes from having an open mind and studying it hard. Unlike say, Shawn Williams who is for it at any cost, apparently Ken was open to the concept of Metro... but found like many others discover, that the devil is in the details.
You may have a time machine Mr. Barnes that allows you to see the future but most of us just need to learn as we go. If you think running through a boring chronology of Reid's Metro views is interesting you are wrong. You might instead consider getting your self out the door and help revive the art of journalism...if you can.
This is a big story and the cover up is glaring at you. Why don't you go after the idea that we have so many Metro loving supes when the costs are still out. Dig into their campaign contributions or something. Or ask about why the first public outreaches on this 20 year old mega project are being held only days be fore an irreversible vote. Got any instincts at all sir?
Is that you I hear Mr. Barnes? ZZZZZZZZZ
David LaRock
www.LoudounOptOut.com
Leah M. Kosin
11:28 am on Monday, May 14, 2012
Please keep in mind that this is a column, an opinionated piece, which Mr. Barnes chose to write on his own.
Rob Whitfield
2:46 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Mr, Barnes has demonstrated in Patch articles that he cares nothing about facts and only about his socialist big government agenda. Ken Reid has asked for information that Burk failed to demand to protect taxpayers from a very costly infeasible project.
Local newspapers and the Patch did not report the abysmal presentation from Washington Metro Area Transit Authority officials last month to Loudoun County Supervisors. WMATA Board Chairman and Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and her staff did not answer basic questions about projected rail ridership, revenues, costs and potential subsidies needed for the Silver Line. Though project economics and basic ridership data from the 2004 EIS is very outdated, WMATA claimed that updated studies of potential ridership would not be completed until September 2012. No reason for the delay was given.
The Dulles Rail mess is mainly due to Govenor Kaine making a sweetheart deal with his campaign contributors from Tysons Corner and Dulles Corridor - landowners, contractors, lawyers etc and with his DNC buddy Mame Reiley, Chairman of MWAA in 2005/2006. It has little to do with solving the growing transportation problems outside the Capital Beltway. The primary rail beneficiaries will be those who live inside the Beltway and work in Tysons or Dulles Corridor.
Bus transit offers a far less costly and more flexible solution for Louduon County than does Dulles Rail. The County lacks population and employment density for rail.
Roberto Costantino
9:25 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
Supervisor Ken Reid is a man of courage who calls them as he sees them like an umpire and the Metro Silver Line Phase II is out of the strike zone ("Ball"). In fact, even people who support the Metro Silver Line Phase II project rightly object to its costs (capital expenses plus Metro service expenses forever). The simple fact is that the project is nothing but a glorified parking place for the Airport Metro. There is only a short spur west of Dulles Airport that will provide little utility for the great bulk of commuters from Loudoun County. The service promises to be slow, inconvenient and expensive too. It is a bad deal; too expensive. The cost benefit analysis does not make sense. If you desire Metro, at least wait for a better good faith offer that is not the equivalent of a blank check to MWAA & WMATA . Opt Out !!!!
Roberto Costantino
9:29 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
The dirty little secret is that the Metro Silver Line Phase II is "a real estate deal, not a transportation project."
joe brewer
5:53 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
40% of the 589 million or 235.6 has been given out to no-bid contracts. Looking foward I am to the DOT audit report that details those contracts.
Roberto Costantino
9:42 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
The Metro Silver Line Phase II will lead to an increase of taxes, urban development, sprawl, polution, traffic congestion, property crime, violent crime, transient neighbors, trash and over crowded schools for starters. I don't understand why more of my green friends do not stand up against it? Also, I don't understand why more of my friends on the Republican Board of Supervisors who were elected on a platform of limited government & reduced taxation do not stand up against it. Opt Out !!!