Haymarket Elections Tomorrow
By Greg L | 5 May 2008 | Prince William County | No Comments
In Haymarket, eleven people are running for six seats on the Town Council, and it’s an interesting mix. With a rash of scandals since the last municipal elections and a major redevelopment project in possible jeopardy, there’s a lot at stake in this small town. Here’s the rundown:
John Cole is running from overseas after resigning his position because he was out of the country and just not in a position to do the job. He seems like a good guy who fell victim to a temporary overseas job assignment as a civilian DOD employee, which hopefully won’t intrude on his ability to serve in the future if he’s elected. Having his wife appointed to fill out his term, who promised to seek his advice from overseas does tend to make folks question Cole’s candidacy, however.
Bob Weir single-handedly broke up the deal to sell the town center property to Gerry Kennedy through a maneuver that was slightly off center, to put it mildly. He could have dealt with the issue of a turning lane head on instead of throwing it back to Kennedy knowing it would disrupt his deadlines and putting the project into jeopardy. Weir’s storming out of a meeting and resigning in a huff definitely put his suitability for elected office into serious question.
Charles King and Susan Edwards are very close to Mayor Stutz, and are running to help her with votes for her issues on the Town Council. Given Stutz’s sub-par performance to date, electing these two to shore her up isn’t likely in the best interests of the Town, which needs more independent oversight of Stutz rather than less.
Chris Johnson isn’t very well known and hasn’t responded to media requests for information. As far as whether he’s a good candidate or not, it’s impossible to tell.
Bryan Garcia is running to get back on to work on the town redevelopment project, but his close association with developer Gerry Kennedy might be of some concern.
James Tobias is running to move forward with tangible results that community can be proud of. Moving or improving Town Hall, getting a better budget,
and enforcing building and zoning code violations against businesses that violate them round out his agenda. He’s got some strong credentials, and good policy positions.
Ozze Vasquez and Sue Shuryn have done a decent job on the Town Council, and seem to have earned the respect and trust of the voters. They’ve demonstrated competence and have been good about exercising needed oversight.
With six seats available, the best picks seem to be Vasquez, Shuryn, Tobias, Cole, and Garcia. As for the last seat, maybe gambling on Chris Johnson is the best bet.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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