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Election 2011: Newcomers vie for Dulles District seats | LoudounTimes.com

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Election 2011: Newcomers vie for Dulles District seats

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 by Laura Peters | 25 comments | Email this story

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Matt Letourneau, left, and Larry Roeder debate at the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Candidates Forum Sept. 14 at National Conference Center in Lansdowne. Times-Mirror Photo Elizabeth Dodd

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With a downsized Dulles District in place, candidates for Board of Supervisors and School Board say they feel that their district will be better represented with its new borders. Board of Supervisor candidates Democrat Larry Roeder and Republican Matt Letourneau want to make the district a more business-friendly place to encourage revenue. For School Board candidates Jeff Morse and Anjan Chimaladinne key issues are overcrowding, technology and improving relationships with board members. Larry Roeder A U.S. Army veteran and a former U.S. Department of State policy adviser, Roeder is running as a full-time supervisor, aiming to keep the needs of his constituents first and foremost. Roeder said he believes in bringing business to Loudoun, cutting waste in schools and creating a voice for the people. My plan every day from morning to night is to talk to county and staff, talk to shop owners, private citizens, Roeder said. If you dont talk to the local folks and find what they want, all youre doing is opposing from above. So I want to bring the county to them and give them a real voice. I would rather sit down with a half a dozen folks [and have] small meetings with a narrow agenda. Roeder said he believes strongly in being a full-time supervisor, vowing to devote himself to serving the public as his full-time job if elected. If you spend all day at another job and you look at the papers for the first time in the evening and then you go to a meeting, I dont think youre as well briefed as you could be, Roeder said. Also, wheres the time to consult with your constituents? What Id like to do to address that issue is to sit down with citizens and say look, staff is recommending this, lets talk about that and the implications and what do you think of that. If elected, Roeder said he believes in strong communication between not only him and his

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If elected, Roeder said he believes in strong communication between not only him and his constituents but the School Board and the Board of Supervisors. You need to take the stuff early on to the citizens and explain it to them. I think if you sit down and explain things better, there will be differences of opinion, but I think we can more easily achieve a bargain and bring that bargain to the board, Roeder explains. We all know that we have to rise and fall together, we cant be just one part of the budget. Roeder said he strongly believes in bringing Dulles Rail into Loudoun. He is also strongly pushing for the hospital on U.S. 50 and creating an economic engine in the Dulles District by having more farmers markets and commercial developments in order to recruit more business and to relieve high taxes on residential areas. We dont want to tax houses more, we want to spread the wealth. Changes have to come, Roeder said.
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Roeder also wants to bring business back into Loudoun, especially in the Dulles District, due to its proximity to Fairfax. He says that many residents out of convenience travel out of the county for shopping. Technology in schools is something Roeder wants to expand on. With electronic media in the hands of children, he says they will have the newest information at their fingertips.

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I think we need to invest in schools, Roeder said. We need to invest in an electronic medium. Id like to see a migration to electronic platforms for books. Also, if its electronic, youre teaching the kids to be in tune with today. Roeder is the son of an American diplomat and was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He serves as the vice chairperson of the Loudoun County Criminal Justice Board. Roeder lives with his wife in South Riding along with their dog. He has a son who attends Virginia Commonwealth University. To learn more about his campaign go to Loudoun4Roeder.org. Matt Letourneau Letourneau, a father of three and the director of communications and media for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, said he believes that transportation, business and overcrowding in schools are big issues that need to be addressed if he is elected to the Board of Supervisors in the Dulles District.
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As for the newly refocused Dulles District, Letourneau said that it will be beneficial for the residents because they will get better representation. I think its going to be a lot more manageable. It was by far the largest magisterial district and I think theres a general sense among people in the Dulles South region, where essentially the new district is, that they werent well represented, Letourneau said. Like South Riding, Stone Ridge those communities in particular really had been kind of overlooked because Dulles District was so big. Letourneau said that the Dulles District is a great place for a family and with the amount of homeowners associations in the community, the board could be using them to their advantage. I think if Im elected its going to be a two-way street, Letourneau said. Its an opportunity for me to hear from one single entity whats happening ... issues that are affecting a large number of constituents in my district and its also an opportunity for me to share my message and whats happening at the county level to a board that can disseminate that amongst people who live there. I think thats a real opportunity that I can take advantage of. The issue of unfinished roads in the Dulles District is an area of concern for Letourneau. If elected, one of his top priorities is to complete all the roads, especially if there is going to be a new hospital in the works for U.S. 50. He said he believes unfinished roads leading to the hospital create a safety issue. Transportation is probably the largest issue I care about, then its schools. Dulles in particular is in a very tough spot, Letourneau said. The three major incomplete roads all exist in the Dulles District and those are Loudoun County Parkway, Tall Cedars Parkway and Claiborne Parkway. Loudoun County Parkway needs to be finished. Bringing business into Loudoun is also the same for Letourneau. He points out that Loudoun loses a lot of business to people traveling out of the county into Fairfax to shop. If more businesses were brought into Loudoun, then the taxes for residential areas would decrease. What we need is the Board of Supervisors from day one to be absolutely focused on doing all the things we need to do to bring businesses into Loudoun County, Letourneau explains. One of the things we could do right off the bat is create an economic development authority, which is an entity that sits outside of the county government structure with a larger staff trying to sell

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an entity that sits outside of the county government structure with a larger staff trying to sell Loudoun County. I really think we need to approach this like a business would. As for Dulles Rail, Letourneau said that the county will have to pay for it one way or another. But he does say that putting it underground so the station is just a couple hundred feet closer to the airport would not have been the right use of funds. He is also concerned about skyrocketing tolls. I think the current board has been right to try to get a better deal from the airports authority, Letourneau said. Its been apparent that the airports authority has not been a good partner in this project. Letourneau also said the relationships between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors and between supervisors themselves need improvement. The relationship between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors directly attributes to one of the largest problems we have in the Dulles District now, which is the overcrowding at Freedom High School. Its occurring because Champe High School isnt coming online until next year and thats because the boards couldnt agree on the right location for that site, Letourneau said. At some point you have to make a decision and move forward and you need a respectful relationship with your school board. Letourneau lives in Loudoun Valley Estates with his wife Margaret and his three children. To learn more about his campaign go to Matt2011.com. Jeff Morse A former Naval officer, Morse said he feels his experience with acquisitions, procurements and contracts will be a benefit as a School Board member. He is currently working for Booz Allen Hamilton as a consultant. I am not intimidated by the size of Loudoun County [Public] Schools, and I understand there are significant differences and Im ready to learn about those, Morse said. I dont claim to know everything about all the acquisition that goes on in Loudoun County [Public] Schools, but I am certainly willing to learn. Morse said the big issues facing the board are the budget, class sizes and maintaining good teachers. Morse started getting active in the school system six years ago because of his three children, who are in high school, middle and elementary schools in Loudoun County Public Schools. School boundary issues [were] my first introduction to the mayhem. I became very active in the boundary discussion and wanted to ensure those boundaries were made for the right reasons with good logic behind them and not emotional, Morse said. I also became active in the budget process by going around to teachers and principals in the Dulles South area to discuss their concerns with them. Morse said the biggest issue residents and board members should be concerned with is the budget. One of the driving forces in the county is the fact that the taxes are so high on individual homes because we dont have the businesses that every time the school budget comes up, everybody is shrieking about the raising of taxes and wonder why we have such extravagant schools, Morse said. After doing a little research and comparing our per pupil cost for neighboring counties, were really not that expensive relatively speaking. My sentiments are that there are going to be some areas we can look at and efficiencies we can apply and gain and there is a smarter way to do business. Morse also said that there is poor communication between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board, and its something he hopes to address. There has been poor communication between the boards over the last couple of election cycles, Morse said. They need to act in unison with the student needs first and foremost and personality and politics sometimes come into play, but it shouldnt. It should be all about the students and preparing them for their future. Morse lives in South Riding with his wife Karen and their three children. For more information on his campaign go to electJeffMorse.com. Anjan Chimaladinne

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Anjan Chimaladinne Originally from India, Chimaladinne has been living in the Washington D.C., area since 1993 and has been a Loudoun County resident since 2001. He is actively involved in PTA at his childrens schools and as the block captain of his South Riding Homeowners Association, he has contributed to getting more street lights to help prevent robberies. Chimaladinne also ran an online signature campaign to collect hundreds of signatures from Loudoun residents to request Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) unfreeze the local composite index biennial adjustment for the fiscal 2011 fiscal budget. Chimaladinne said he believes in creating a 21st century learning framework to further the excellence of the children in the school system. As the next Dulles District School Board Representative, I will engage the key stakeholders in developing and implementing viable options for overcrowded schools, leverage tools and technology to provide world-class education to our kids and train them to excel in colleges and beyond, establish partnership between the LCPS and the industry to enrich after school activities academic, physical and social, cut down wasteful spending and create rainy day funds, incorporate best practices from top notch schools in the country, Chimaladinne said in a statement. To learn more about Chimaladinnes campaign go to Anjan4LoudounSchools.org. Editors note: Margaret Michaud has filed as a Dulles District School Board candidate but could not be reached for an interview.

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Comments
Mon, Oct 31 at 10:09 AM by Barbara Munsey | Report this comment

Roeder campaign staff (Larry? Hi!) on 10/23: I read the article you linked on the blogpost to the State Dept. mag article on Peacewing. Interesting to see that If it had gone into commercial production (after more development)...! And IF it had moredevelopment, who is supposed to fund that? Do we do it ourselves and grow business through government? Or do we do the McGimsey thing and grow government directly through the free money of government grants to continue to try to develop it? Yes, very nice idea (with more development, $ from ?) with a very nice name. And it will cure Openband? Im sorry, but you are floundering. Ms. Robinson, a corporate board gives votes to shareholders. HomeOWNERS are shareholders. The vast majority of residents in most HOAs (particularly the large ones) are shareholders. Recognizing HOA positions is just one piece of the puzzle. Im confused by your tossing of CPR into the mix. I am not a member, they have not been active for some time, and property rights are something possessed by the owner of the property, arent they? You are combining a lot of positions here, and they may not be making the point you desire, unless it is simply to have something to attack a candidate with.
Thu, Oct 27 at 09:07 PM by Keep Your Options Open | Report this comment

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