All Aboard! Three Big Things
Early in my elected official career, a wise fellow councilmember taught me an important lesson: In politics, if you set out to do 10 or 15 things, you will end up achieving nothing. Focus on three or four priorities, and you might end up seeing most or all of them come to fruition. As a voter, you have the right to know what I intend to focus on, if re-elected. To inform my future priorities, I looked at the recent past, scouring my calendar to see what I’ve been spending my time on. Here is what I found:
Number One: Kill the Casino
In the past two years, I have served on the Steering Committee for the No Fairfax Casino Coalition. My objection to a Tysons casino originally was focused on economics: I could not see how a casino in this vibrant and growing mixed use community next door could possibly be a positive economic force for the area. Locating a casino in Tysons could very well kill the vision of Tysons as a new, major residential site with vibrant regional retail centers, as well as home to many of the nation’s most security-sensitive office tenants. For a pretty modest amount of local gaming tax revenues, all this potential future community growth could disappear.
As I studied the issue, I became aware of the social consequences of relying on gambling for tax revenues. With the explosive growth of on-line gambling, sports betting, “racinos”, and other options, problem gambling is becoming more prevalent in our society. Gambling can wreck families and lead to bankruptcies. Moreover, multiple studies have shown that casinos generate additional crime in the area.
Vienna is especially vulnerable to a casino in Tysons. As the closest small town, Vienna would bear a high proportion of the negative costs of a casino but would get none of the gaming tax revenues. A casino in Tysons is an existential threat to Vienna. That is why I have spent hundreds of hours fighting it.
Number Two: Uphold Our Democracy
Vienna is a special place, with special people, among them, our town manager, Mercury Payton. In reaction to the murder of George Floyd, Mercury conceived of a four week “holiday” to celebrate our shared rights and liberties. We, the people of Vienna, would commemorate the four so-called “Liberty Amendments” – the XIIIth, XIV th, XVth, and the XIXth – that extended rights and liberties to more and more Americans. Thus was born Liberty Amendments Month (“LAM”). For the past five years, I have taken an active role in supporting LAM, including serving on the leadership committee and as co-chair of the Speakers and Educational Events Committee. I’ve also introduced the annual July 4th public round reading of the foundational documents of American democracy to Vienna. To further the cause, I have agreed to serve as co-chair of Vienna250, the citizen group organizing Vienna’s upcoming celebration of our nation’s semiquincentennial. Because I love our country, it is my duty to do whatever I can at the local level to foster support for our country’s foundational principles and values.
Number Three: Bring the W&OD Visitor Center to the Heart of Vienna
The W&OD trail is Vienna’s “river.” It flows right through the center of town. Each year, the trail is used by over 3 million bikers, strollers, walkers and runners (and a few horses, too). A few months ago, NOVA Parks (the owners and stewards of the W&OD) and the Town announced that they had purchased an option to acquire property adjacent to the Village Green, for the purpose of determining whether it would be a good place to build a W&OD Trail visitor center. NOVA Parks is also committed to widening and splitting the trail through Vienna, as it has done in Falls Church. I strongly support this proposal, as it would be good for nearby businesses, and would attract additional tourists to our small town. In conjunction with this initiative, I have pushed for a new trail bridge across Maple. Such a bridge would enhance Vienna’s walkability and bikeability while also improving traffic flow on Maple Avenue. If reelected, I will make the realization of this proposal a priority.
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While these are my top three, I will spend time, if re-elected on other important issues, including keeping local tax rates as low as possible, maintaining infrastructure and services, and creating an environment in which our businesses and residents can thrive. If you share these priorities, please tell your neighbors about me and join me in my campaign. You can sign up to volunteer at chuckforvienna.com.
See you around town.
Next up: The Elephant in the Room (i.e., the “Pool”)
