Q & A: Town Council Candidate Kelly Burk

The Town Council will hold a special election on Tuesday, April 17 to fill the remainder of Councilman Ken Reid's term, expiring on Dec. 31, 2014. He was recently elected to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, last year. 

Two candidates are running for the open seat. Among them is former Supervisor and Town Council member Kelly Burk. 

Below are her responses to a number of questions that were asked during an interview late last week:

KELLY BURK 

Q: How has your campaign been going?
A: My campaign’s going very well. I’m very excited about it. I’ve got lots of excited supporters and volunteers and it’s been really interesting and a lot of fun.

Q: What are some of the concerns you’ve heard from voters, which you hope to address as a Town Council member?
A: It depends on the neighborhood. Transportation, a lot of times, are an issue for people. I knew that in Kincaid they’re very concerned about cross trails. When I was on the board I proposed expanding it to Route 7 and if it doesn’t they’re concerned that all that traffic will go down Kincaid Blvd into the neighborhoods.

Older neighborhoods are more about trying to fix them up, revitalize them. Every neighborhood has a specific issue that they want dealt with.

Q: If you could choose one issue that is most important to you what would it be?
A: It’s kind of hard to say that one of them is more important than the other. But having the government be efficient and honest and open and transparent to people is significantly important to me. I really value people’s input into the issues where they live. So having an open government that they feel comfortable talking to is very important.

Q: What is one thing that you support most in the Town of Leesburg?
A: I think the revitalization of the downtown is very important. I’m a big supporter of small businesses. I think that that’s the backbone of every economy that we’ve got going. If you’ve got small businesses that are strong and successful that’s important for everybody.

Q: How do you feel about the upcoming election?
A: I always go after elections as if you’re the underdog. We’ll see when it’s all said and done.

Q: What is one thing that you would like the voters to know about you before heading to the polls on Tuesday?
A: I really appreciate living in Leesburg, working nearby. It’s really important to me that Leesburg’s a place where people want to come live, work and play.

To read more about Kelly Burk check out more of her campaign coverage on Leesburg Patch.