This is my 53rdInside Out column for Leesburg Patch, which means that this column is now one year old. And what a year it has been! The biggest story in local politics was the Republican near-sweep last November, when Republicans won all nine seats on the Board of Supervisors, all the constitutional offices, and all but two General Assembly races in Loudoun County. In my very first column, I wrote about board chairman Scott York’s decision to run for re-election as a Republican, which I characterized as a curve-ball. It was the first of several strategic moves by York that set the stage for …

If it weren’t such a serious matter, I would have been tempted to laugh when members of the “Blame Everything on Obama” crowd criticized the president for overhyping the approach of Hurricane Irene this past week. Now, as the death toll mounts and the catastrophic effects of the storm in such unlikely places as Vermont and New York are becoming clear, I wouldn’t be surprised if those same voices turn around and criticize him for not doing enough to warn the public. Such is the dilemma faced not only by the president, but by officials at all levels of government before weather events such as …

In last week’s Inside Out column, I wrote about the opening of the last link of Battlefield Parkway, between Edwards Ferry and Ft. Evans Roads, which I called the most significant local road project in recent memory. In effect, the parkway serves as an outer bypass around the east side of Leesburg, from Rt. 15 north of Ida Lee Park to Evergreen Mill Road at the southern edge of town. Two days after the opening of the final link, on a Tuesday afternoon, I decided to take a leisurely drive along the full length of the parkway just because – for the first time – I could. Granted, you may not …

I never thought I would say this about a government budget document, but the Town of Leesburg’s adopted budget for FY 2012 actually makes for some interesting reading. Here are some of the things I learned while scrolling through it: Leesburg’s population now exceeds 40,000. As of the 2010 Census, it had reached 42,616. And, of course, this doesn’t include thousands more people with Leesburg addresses who live outside the town limit.  By way of comparison, the City of Winchester is home to about 26,000 people. Leesburg’s population increased by 50% from 2000 to 2010 – from 28,311 to 42,616. I…

Now that the Town of Leesburg’s budget for Fiscal Year 2012 is online, it is worth taking another look at some of the tough decisions the Town Council and staff made this year to deliver a responsible, balanced budget. The central theme of the budget is long-term budget sustainability.  As Town Manager John Wells pointed out in his transmittal letter, the council had identified sustainability as a strategic goal. “The importance of long-term budget sustainability was evident in light of the effects of the severe recession on our residents and its ripple impacts on the federal, state, and …

In a recent column, I noted that the Democratic Party appeared to be having trouble coming up with candidates for some local races, and wondered if they would even field a full slate. Since then, they have made only a small amount of progress.  Denise Moore Pierce has announced that she is running for Supervisor in the Algonkian District against Republican Suzanne Volpe. However, as I write this, the Democrats do not yet have an announced challenger for Sheriff, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue, or the Blue Ridge District seat on the Board of Supervisors. Furthermore, and perhaps most …

Controversy over the location of a proposed Metrorail station at Dulles Airport has raised the possibility that the extension of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport and into Loudoun County might be scrapped altogether. Over the past few weeks, the discussion among local, regional and federal officials has broadened in focus, from the location of the rail station to the need to reduce the overall cost of the project. Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York, among others, has raised the possibility that Loudoun County might withdraw its support from the project if costs to …

If the recent kerfuffle over the Loudoun County School Board’s decision to spend $4 million to purchase interactive white boards illustrates anything, it is the inherent conflict that is built into the relationship between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board. In short, the Board of Supervisors has the authority to raise revenue, mostly through property taxes, and to decide how much of that money should go toward funding the school system. The School Board, for the most part, decides how to spend whatever money it receives. Because of this relationship, the School Board essentially …

Kudos are in order for Milton Herd, Peter Burnett, Alan Hansen, Dieter Meyer and the other “Voices for an Amazing Place,” who recently returned to the Leesburg Town Council with the outline of a plan to transform a section of King Street in downtown Leesburg. “Voices” is a term that actually sells them short, because they are far more than that.  They are savvy, skilled professionals who donated considerable time and energy for the betterment of their hometown.  As Herd said in the introduction of his presentation to the Council, they are doing this because they love Leesburg, and they want …

The silly season is upon us. It is that season that arrives every four years in Loudoun County, when all nine seats on the Board of Supervisors are up for grabs, along with at least four of the five constitutional offices – Sheriff, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue and Commonwealth’s Attorney.  The fifth, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, serves an eight-year term and is thus spared from any election madness this year. Also up for grabs are seats in the Virginia General Assembly – the state senators and delegates – a good number of whom will represent portions of Loudoun in the newly …

In last week’s Inside Out column, I highlighted the career and accomplishments of former County Administrator Philip A. Bolen, for whom Loudoun County’s newest park was named. I considered Phil Bolen to be both a mentor and a good friend.  In 1988, he hired me to be the county’s first Public Information Officer. It didn’t take me long to gain an appreciation for his leadership skills, sense of humor and kindness. In those days the county was much smaller – less than 90,000 residents.  It was still being said that Phil knew every county employee by name. As the growing workforce approached 1,…

I decided on a headline for this week’s column before I started writing it: “A Park Worthy of Its Namesake.” My impression upon attending the grand opening of Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park on Saturday was that Loudoun County’s newest park lived up to the high standards of the man for whom it is named.  I planned to write a column about the park and how its many ballfields would help meet a critical need in the county. But eventually I realized that I had it backward.  After all, the park’s amenities and attractiveness speak for themselves. And while many of those in attendance at the grand …

In last week’s Inside Out column, we looked at the recent redistricting plan adopted by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, and how the decision to have two western Loudoun districts could lead to the unintended consequence of leaving rural Loudoun with no representation on the Board. Leesburg, however, potentially fares much better with the newly redrawn districts.  Leesburg could easily wind up with two or, if the planets align just right, even three representatives on the nine-member Board. As has been the case in the past, the town is guaranteed at least one member on the Board – the…

I have observed the redistricting process in Loudoun County three times – after the 1990, 2000, and 2010 Census counts. Every time, the process has centered around one key question: At the end of the process, how many districts would western Loudoun have? This has been the elephant in the room every ten years.  Even when it has not been addressed directly, there has been unspoken tension between those members of the Board of Supervisors who want to maximize the representation of rural western Loudoun and those who want more representation in the suburban east. In each of the three …

It wasn’t the first pitch of the election season, but Scott York definitely threw the first curveball when he announced that he would be running as a Republican for the chairmanship of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, rather than as an Independent. The race for seats on the Board of Supervisors representing the Leesburg area – for the newly redrawn Leesburg and Catoctin Districts as well as the at-large chairmanship – had seemingly been taking shape. The Leesburg District, which includes most residents living inside the town limits, has incumbent Democrat Kelly Burk potentially being …