Jon Sokolow: Vote Walter Alcorn for Hunter Mill District, Fairfax County Supervisor

by Jon Sokolow

Republicans in Northern Virginia are trying to steal a seat on the Board of Supervisors that Democrats have held for twenty years.  How?  By running a pro-developer stooge (who’s also supported by a Republican mega-donor) in the Democratic primary on June 11.  And in a five-way race, the pro-developer stooge – who has “raised” more than double the four real Democrats she is running against – might just win unless we have a surge in turnout.

I don’t usually endorse candidates in these races, but I am going to make an exception here.  I urge my fellow Restonians (I have lived here for 25 years) and others in the Hunter Mill District to vote in the June 11 primary for Walter Alcorn.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. The above-referenced pro-developer stooge, Maggie Parker, is being bankrolled by construction companies and other advocates of uncontrolled growth. Her donor list is a who’s who of development interests.

2. More than that, Parker is being funded by Republicans, including the thoroughly misnamed “Citizens for a Better Tomorrow,” which has given lavishly to Republican candidates over the years. Why their sudden interest in a Democratic primary?  Because they want to steal a seat on the Board of Supervisors, and they can’t run a Republican in this district and have a prayer of winning.

3. As the Washington Post just reported, Comstock Companies, which runs the public space plaza outside the Wiehle Avenue metro stop, has let Parker (who is Comstock’s Vice President for Communications!!!) campaign there, while locking out the other candidates. Think about that for a moment?  You run your vice president for political office, let her campaign in a public plaza that you rent outside a busy metro stop, and then prohibit her opponents from running because your rented space is “private property.!”  That alone is a reason everyone in the district should vote against Maggie Parker.  Comstock Companies apparently have realized that this blatant First Amendment violation is too much, even for them, and have dialed back their ban at the very last minute.

4. Walter Alcorn is the best financed real Democrat running and he has a progressive outlook on development and other issues important to our community. You can read more about him here. For those who care about such things (I don’t), he is endorsed by the Washington Post and a slew of local elected Democratic officials.

5. Most importantly for me, Alcorn has very strong labor support, earning the endorsement of KML Carpenters, Service Employees International Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, among other, and Hotel Workers UNITE HERE Local 25, is campaigning hard for him.

I urge everyone in the Hunter Mill District to stop the attempted theft of a seat by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Send a message that this type of dishonest campaigning – inserting a Republican in a Democratic primary – and then letting her boost her campaign at a metro stop while barring others from doing so – will not be tolerated here.

Vote Walter Alcorn on June 11.