Fairax City Candidates make their case
By Frank Mustac
Three mayoral candidates and 11 contenders for council spoke on the issues facing the City of Fairfax for about two hours last week during a candidates forum held at Providence Elementary School.
Roughly 100 citizens attended the April 10 event sponsored by the Historic Fairfax Neighborhood Association.
On the May 6 Election Day ballot for mayor are incumbent Robert Lederer, and Cristina Gaines and Rosemary McDowell.
Vying for a seat on the six-member city council are incumbents Joan Cross; Jeffrey Greenfield; Gary Rasmussen and Patrice Winter. The seven other candidates for council are Daniel Drummond; William Foster; Kim Luckabaugh; David Meyer; Randy Myers; Gerald O'Dell; and Steven Stombres. At least Foster and O'Dell have previously run for council.
Due to time limitations and the large number of candidates, each of the 14 public office seekers answered only every other question asked by the moderator. First, all the candidates introduced themselves and gave opening statements.
McDowell, who lives in the Crestmont community, said she has been planning a run for mayor for the last two years.
“I am running because I care. I care about you as residents and as business owners, and I care about maintaining our old town charm with our open spaces,” said McDowell, a 12-year city resident.
“As a small business owner in the city, I understand where business people are coming from,” she said. “It’s time for change. It’s time to move ahead. “It’s time to pay attention to our city residents and businesses.”
In introducing himself, Lederer, a life-long city resident who currently resides in the Cobbdale community, described his tenure as mayor.
“For me to stand up here and say the last six years have been fast and furious is probably the understatement of the year,” Lederer said.
He talked about the many public and private building projects in the city, some recently completed and others still under construction, including the downtown redevelopment, the new library, new police station, new city hall annex and renovations, plus major renovations at Fairfax High School and Lanier Middle School.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is that we did all of that at your direction,” Lederer said, referring the fact that the projects he mentioned were approved by and large by citizen referendums.
Gaines listed her qualifications for mayor first by saying she is a 12-year city resident and a board member on the Mosby Woods Community Association for about a decade.
“I have a master of science in environmental engineering,” Gaines said. “I’ve spent 14 years working for the federal government with the Environmental Protection Agency, mostly working in municipal water permitting.”
“I also spent four years working as a contract officer in charge of two contacts worth over $7 million each,” she said. “I thank you all for coming and I hope on May 6, you’ll vote for me.”