Sharon Bulova. Image from the candidate’s Web site.

Tomorrow, Fairfax County voters will elect a “Chairman” for the Board of Supervisors, replacing Gerry Connolly who ascended to Congress. Current Supervisors Democrat Sharon Bulova and Republican Pat Herrity, along with Republican

Independent Chris DeCarlo and others are vying for the seat. Anti-HOT lane group MAMMA asked the candidates for statements on transportation and other issues; Bulova’s response clearly makes the case for readers to elect her as Chair.

Bulova‘s campaign said:

If elected she will… work to reduce traffic and make sure rail to Dulles gets built. Sharon chaired Mark Warner’s commission on rail enhancement for the 21st century, proposed and implemented the creation of VRE, served as the Chair of the VRE’s Operations Board four times, and has pushed through the creation of many transportation improvements in the county.

Herrity, on the other hand, wants to build more roads. His transportation page is much better than Bulova’s sparse site. Unfortunately, while he does nod in the direction of mass transit, most of his transportation agenda involves adding more private auto capacity. He wants to build HOT lanes, the Techway, and Fairfax County Parkway, widen I-66, and more.

DeCarlo has only one message: lower taxes. Farifax’s tax burden is already lower than DC’s or Montgomery’s, and the county desperately needs transit and other improvements to rescue it from gridlock that is crippling its growth. A balanced approach that recognizes the futility of endlessly adding highway lane miles is the right choice, and Fairfax voters should elect Sharon Bulova their next Chair.

Update: I mistakenly thought DeCarlo was the Republican nominee because I only received two candidate statements. I should have double checked. I’ve added a discussion of Pat Herrity, whose positions on transportation don’t change my recommendation at all.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.