According to a guest editorial printed last Monday in the Alexandria News and again in the Alexandria Times, Councilman Rob Krupicka’s new claim is that he opposed the placement of BRAC-133 at the Mark Center all along. If that’s true, then why didn’t Councilman Krupicka champion opposition to the BRAC facility project from the beginning? Why didn’t he take the lead in favoring a different location? And, specifically, what leadership did he provide to stop this colossal mistake?
It’s all well and good for the Councilman to say he was opposed to this project from the beginning, but it’s quite another matter to find that opposition anywhere in the public record before the Council issued its opinion. Voters should expect more than just an after-the-fact statement of opposition from the Councilman. The BRAC-133 building will grind our transportation systems to a halt and result in severe damage to our quality of life across the Northern Virginia region.
On August 13, 2008, the City of Alexandria found that both the Mark Center and the Victory Center were quality locations. That letter is posted on our website at http://www.libbyforsenate.com/… It doesn’t take a traffic engineer to figure out that putting 6400 employees in a building next to I-395 at the Seminary Rd. exit will have an extraordinarily negative impact on our traffic grid. This is a common sense finding finally put forth in the Inspector General’s report released on April 20, 2011. Only now, over 2 years later and while running for higher office, does Rob Krupicka step forward to oppose his prior folly.
Furthermore, while Councilman Krupicka has exclaimed that he was “shocked and dismayed”1 upon hearing that the Defense Department would choose the Mark Center, BRAC-133 Advisory Council member Don Buch has repeatedly been told that the Alexandria City Council ultimately made its decision recommending the Mark Center because the Alexandria City Council felt they “couldn’t take sides” between two private real estate development firms.2
What’s unclear is which is worse:
1. Not understanding the full impact of the Mark Center proposed location.
2. Expressing surprise when the Defense Department chose a site that he and the Council had already approved.
3. Ineffective leadership by failing to properly oppose the Mark Center as a potential location if he did indeed believe it to be a poor location at the time.
4. Putting politics before the people by catering to the wishes of big developers.
5. Making all BRAC-133 decisions behind closed doors without public input when their safety and quality of life were on the line.
6. Waiting over 2 years after critical decisions were made – and after deciding to run for higher office – to make his “true” position known.
What is clear, however, is that the citizens of Alexandria and the 30th Senate District deserve a full investigation of this matter. The people of the 30th Senate District definitely deserve better leadership in their next senator.
1 http://www.alexandrianews.org/…
2 http://lhhgblog.wordpress.com/…
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Libby Garvey, currently Chair of the Arlington County School Board and a resident of Fairlington, is running for the 30th Senate District seat currently held by Senator Patsy Ticer. Ticer has announced that she will not seek another term, and has endorsed Garvey as her successor.
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