Woodbridge, Virginia (April 24, 2007) - The Potomac News, a Prince William daily paper recently interviewed Delegate Jeff Frederick regarding his campaign for a third-term in the General Assembly. The questions asked, and Frederick's responses are below:
Q: Why are you running again?
A: There's still much to do. I've worked hard and delivered tangible results for the people of the 52nd District, but my work to protect our special quality of life by finding real transportation solutions, improving education, managing out-of-control growth, and keeping taxes low isn't done yet.
Q: Why should you be re-elected?
A: It has been the honor of my life to represent the citizens of eastern Prince William, and I hope that the honest, pro-active, responsive, and accessible representation I've provided will earn me the opportunity to serve a third term, if not the fact that I've worked hard and delivered tangible results for the people of the 52nd District.
Most of all, I've kept my promises. I've kept the promises I made when I stood before the people in my last two elections and asked them for their vote, even after I was sworn in. I've done what I said I'd do.
Finally, I have seniority and strong committee assignments that better enable me to continue to be effective in Richmond.
Q: Your feelings about your opponent?
A: Competition is great. It's what democracy is all about.
Q: What are your accomplishments for your first 2 terms?
A: Many of the bills I've sponsored throughout my two terms have been signed into law by Governors Warner and Kaine, including the most significant land-use (growth/development) reform passed and enacted into law in 2006 -- a law that has successfully halted the construction of 37,000 new homes in Northern Virginia. In 2007, I sponsored legislation that provides impact fee authority to local government to better manage and control growth/development. I also sponsored Virginia's first ever back-to-school sales tax holiday that many families took advantage of last August, and the year before, I co-sponsored legislation to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. My Community College Transfer Grant legislation will become law on July 1, which will help make a 4-year college education more affordable. As Vice-Chairman of the Virginia Small Business Commission, in 2005 I sponsored legislation to create small business health insurance pooling, which is making quality health care more accessible and affordable to our citizens, and I've worked to clean-up the Chesapeake and helped get Potomac Landfill in Dumfries on the road to closing down.
I've pushed for a comprehensive strategy to address our transportation challenges, including making Northern Virginia a priority in the state budget by targeting any new transportation dollars to the areas that need them the most, instead of simply asking our citizens to pay more while shifting 70% of those funds downstate.
In my first term, I increased state funding to my district more than any other freshman legislator in my class, and I was elected to two legislative leadership positions. We've also had significant increases in transportation funding for eastern Prince William since I was elected.
Yet, the thing I'm most proud of since I've been in office is the passage of my bill to expand the number of tests given to newborn babies. Having had our first child 7 months ago, this legislation has been especially personal, and I was told just the other day that it has already saved the lives of 33 babies in Virginia. It is also saving the state millions in health-care related costs.
Q: What are your plans for future sessions in Richmond?
A: My top priority will continue to be protecting our special quality of life. There's still much to do to increase and better prioritize transportation spending and to manage out-of-control growth to reduce our traffic congestion without raising taxes. I'll also continue to fight illegal immigration; ensure that more of each education dollar gets into the classroom; to make health care more affordable; and to lower the tax burden on hard-working families by, among other things, fully phasing out the car tax.
Q: Anything else you want to say or make comments on?
A: I just want to reiterate that I work for the people of the district and my office is always working to serve our constituents better through several different avenues including:
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