Virginians: Don’t forget to vote

Even if you don’t live in Virginia, if you read the news or watch TV you can’t have missed that today is Election Day.

You’ve already probably made up your minds, but just in case you are still on the fence about any races and plan to vote this afternoon, there are a few races we’ve reported on before whose outcome will affect transportation and development in Northern Virginia.

Governor: Creigh Deeds focuses much more on transit than Bob McDonnell. McDonnell will primarily try to fix Northern Virginia’s congestion by building lots of roads, including HOV and HOT lanes, and will further the cycle of auto-dependence that’s characterized development outside Arlington and Alexandria for decades. Deeds would probably further it as well, but to a lesser extent, and ensure that good transit is a larger part of the mix. Unless Deeds pulls an upset over the polls, that means we’re probably in for a tough term on transportation in Virginia.

Delegate: Most Delegates have little to do with transportation or development policy beyond the issue of Democrats versus Republicans and how they’d approach paying for transportation. However, in Arlington, Bob Brink and Aaron Ringel have widely divergent views on widening I-66. The Post endorsed Ringel for no reason other than his desire to spend money on auto capacity; if you live in the District 48 part of Arlington, we’d suggest voting for Brink for the same reason.

Are there any other races with a significant transportation or development focus? Post your thoughts on the election in the comments.