Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
The candidates vying to be the next Braddock District supervisor fielded questions during a candidate forum at North Springfield Elementary. FAIRFAX, VA — Three candidates running in the Braddock District supervisor's race participated in a candidate forum Wednesday night, where they discussed funding for public schools, the impact federal layoffs and furloughs have had on the local economy, and the preservation of Lake Accotink. Kenneth Paul Balbuena (R), Carey Chet Campbell(I), and Rachna Sizemore Heizer (D) fielded questions from an audience about 60 people in the North Springfield Elementary School cafeteria. The event was hosted by the North Springfield Civic Association. Balbuena, Campbell, and Sizemore Heizer are on the Dec. 9 ballot to see who will complete the remainder of former Supervisor James Walkinshaw's (D) term, which runs until Nov. 2, 2027. The seat became vacant when Walkinshaw defeated Republican challenger Stewart Whitson in the Sept. 9 special election, filling the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D), who died in May. The former supervisor's victory created the need for the Dec. 9 special election. Here are excerpts from of the remarks made by candidates during Wednesday night's forum. On Why They're Running "The number one reason that I run, I have 45 years of federal service, is to be of service to you, because that's what the Braddock District supervisor job is all about. When you call and you have an issue, we have to address it. We have to get you an answer, or find someone who can answer your question." — Carey Chet Campbell "I am really proud to now be running for Braddock district supervisor, because I want to bring that integrity, that heart, that passion for service, to serve you. One thing I'm really proud of in my record on the school board is I don't care who you are, who you love, where you're from, your political party, I'm here to serve you." — Rachna Sizemore Heizer "People have always been at the forefront of what my public service is. 'People before politics' is my campaign slogan, and that is what I focus on. I don't focus on party labels. I focus on making sure I'm representing the needs of the people. I've got five priorities I'm going to touch on just a couple of them. One of them is to really just restore confidence and trust back into the Board of Supervisors to reassure those that we represent that their voices are heard and listened to, not only just heard, but listened to." — Kenneth Paul Balbuena On Impact Of Federal Layoffs And Furloughs "There are a lot of things already being done. The Braddock District office right now is already sending out a list on a regular basis of facilities. There have been meetings for unemployment, for people who want to learn how to apply for unemployment. There have been meetings where people are looking for part-time jobs. There have been opportunities to go and get food. All of those things are coming out of the Braddock District. — Carey Chet Campbell "I have a vision to build on our strong local economy, building on the strengths of what we have here in Fairfax County. We have a strong cybersecurity presence already. Many of the organizations and companies that support the federal government have a cyber expertise. Mason has cyber security training programs with workforce development right here in the Braddock District and we can utilize the infrastructure with the highly skilled workforce to help plug them into growing a cybersecurity industry that has jobs for people with and without college degrees. That reduces the reliance on the federal government." — Rachna Sizemore Heizer "I don't think that many of them want to be retrained. Many of them want to be federal servants. They want to be public servants for a reason. They don't do it for the money. They do it for the service. So, we want to get them back into their jobs. A big piece of that is we just had Congressman Watkinshaw elected to Congress. It sounds like that the bill is going to be getting redrawn. So it's working with him to just make sure that we get a good bill that can pass, hat's very bipartisan to the extent that it can be. We're working on getting people back into their jobs." — Kenneth Paul Balbuena Fixing Lake Accotink "The Lake Accotink Task Force ... recommends a few studies to try to preserve a smaller lake. Right now, it's a 55-acre lake. The two options are a 40-acre or 20-acre lake. I would like to keep it as large as possible. But we also have to make sure we do it right, so we're not right back here again in five or 10 years. We need to see what the sediment study shows, to show the rate of sedimentation flow, to show the rate of fill. We need to see what the feasibility study shows us and see the feasibility of different options for dredging the lake, taking the sludge that comes out of it, making sure it's dried and disposed of properly, without having a bazillion trucks flowing through neighborhoods every day and every week."— Rachna Sizemore Heizer Also See ... 3 Vie For Braddock District Supervisor Seat: Early Voting Underway Early Bird Candidate Enters Braddock School Board Race Fairfax GOP Endorses Candidate In Braddock District Supervisor's Race Winner Declared In Democratic Firehouse Primary For Braddock Supervisor "I'm the only one here of the candidates that was on that task force from the very, very beginning. ... My big contribution to that was analyzing the survey that they used for community input, and I think it was a very skewed survey. What I would specifically do as supervisor, I would work on finding out what happened to the funding that was originally secured for it, what is the actual cost that it's going to be and how can we take the findings from ... the feasibility study, and how can we move forward with actually taking care of the lake and preserving it." —Kenneth Paul Balbuena "I think we're going to be able to preserve the Lake Accotink community. The lake itself is another question. The most recent projection of $100 million over 10 years is the cost for the dredging. We have to solve the problem at its source, and that relates to more trains, less traffic, walkable, bike and pedestrian, rail-friendly communities where you plan, and that's planning and zoning. ... We have to plan and zone going into the future and not doing what we've done in the past." — Carey Chet Campbell How To Vote For Braddock Supervisor Only registered residents of Braddock District are eligible to vote in the Dec. 9 special election. Residents can confirm their eligibility to vote by visiting the Virginia Department of Elections Citizen Portal. The deadline to register or to request a mail-in ballot is Dec. 1. Forms sent by mail must be postmarked on or before Dec. 1, at 5 p.m. The online deadline to register normally or update your registration is Dec. 1, at 11:59 p.m. Learn More. Starting on Dec. 2, same day registration will be available at early voting locations. Voters registering same day will complete a provisional ballot. Learn More.. The early voting period closes at 5 p.m. on Dec. 6. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Dec. 9 and received by 12 noon on Dec. 12. Learn More. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Same day registration will be available only at your precinct polling place, where you will complete a provisional ballot. Learn More The deadline to return vote by mail ballots in a drop box or hand deliver to the Election Office is 7 p.m. on Dec. 9. Learn More
