Before we head off into the windy weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

1. Developing: Reston Association’s CEO Leaves Position
2. As New Tenants Come to Reston Town Center, Current Businesses Report Losses Due to Paid Parking
3. South Lakes High School Students Stage Walkout In the Aftermath of Florida Shooting
4. Proposal to Conduct Third Review of Controversial Tetra Purchase Withdrawn
5. After Changes, Plan to Redevelop Offices into Condominiums Moves Forward

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates. This is the last of those profiles.

Featured here is Ven Iyer, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have enjoyed living in Reston near Lake Anne for nine years. I was born and raised in Mumbai in a middle class family. After completing my bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering, I came to the United States to earn a Masters Degree in Computer Science. After graduation, I proceeded to take a job at IBM, which allowed me to live anywhere in the country and travel across the United States to customers. Eleven years ago, I was living in Florida, and planning to start my own technology company. I was searching for a place to call home, with plenty of open space and outdoor activities. I happened upon Reston, which was featured as one of the top places to live in America. I flew into Dulles to explore the area, and I was captivated by what Reston had to offer. After renting in Ashburn for a couple years, I bought my first home near Lake Anne in May 2009. I also went on to start my technology company. We are a small and minority-owned business, and our customers are Local, State, and Federal Government agencies. Thus, Reston has been instrumental in my personal and professional life.

What inspired you to run for the board? 

I want to stop the wasteful spending on projects Members clearly have expressed they don’t want. For example, the Board pushed for the Hook Road rec-area full-facility rebuild with a mere budget of $122,000. They proposed regulation soccer, baseball, lacrosse fields with lights, bleachers, pavilions; butterfly park, dog park, skateboard park and sculpture garden as “enhancements”, which Members found are invasive on neighbors and nature. This also shows that the Board is disconnected from the expectations of grass roots Members and there is influence from special interest groups. In another example, the Board insists that StoneTurn’s $45,000 business process review of the Tetra fiasco is forensic analysis. Members find that it is a 30-page report of process and policy philosophies devoid of individual culpability, law-breaking and conflicts of interest, also found in an HOA manual available at the Reston library or for $16.95 on amazon. Other examples are the $100k RA website with terrible user experience, glossy magazine with outrageous costs. I want to demand Board transparency. I want to stop the rapidly rising assessment bills – although RA brags that the 2018 assessments are lower, it is because new Members brought additional revenue and not because RA cut costs.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

The biggest concerns for the Reston community are from wasteful spending and lack of transparency posed by RA, and threat of increased development posed by developers, Fairfax County and others set to benefit from it. Any zoning changes must be accompanied by planned growth and concomitant infrastructure without threat to Reston’s open and green space. Although RA may be viewed as a mere HOA with no enforceable ordinance by those who will benefit by increased growth, we must remind them that we are recognized as a hybrid government in many levels including courts. Also, the most common way people lose power is by thinking that they don’t have any. With about 22,000 households, our Members are our biggest asset in making our voice heard against zoning changes, and RA is in the frontline. We must, however, champion Member participation further in meetings, gatherings, protests and marches and increase our campaigning and lobbying efforts. Although we see hundreds of Members participate, it is a small fraction of the booming roar we can generate, and activist groups need further support. We also need DRB and Covenants to focus resources on deterring increased development over policing obsolete and burdensome design Rules on residents.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

The RA Board is a highly cohesive group where its desire for consensus and agreement overrides critical thinking and correct judgment. Dissenting opinions are ignored or discouraged by the Board, and Member input is restricted in the interests of reaching a unanimous decision. Meeting minutes for this Board seem to show that there has been only one failed motion versus over a 120 of them passed unanimously. The voting majority and groupthink mode is evident when the Board unanimously voted to use $2.42 million of Members’ reserve money to pay off the Lake House loan. This was a rushed and self-serving decision by the Board in an effort to reduce the 2018 assessments by a mere $8.66, without due diligence, just weeks before its Directors are now running for re-election. They will spend a year’s time and $50,000 of the $122,000 budget to study the Hook Road rec-area but no careful analysis to support a $2.42 million decision? I want to avoid costly mistakes from groupthink, establish effective audits, Member inclusion and better two-way communications to improve transparency. I will remind RA that they operate with their Members’ money and trust, and the Board must always be cognizant of that.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I am grateful to this country; it has facilitated everything I’ve achieved, and that makes me want to give back even more. I have actively participated in prevention of St. Johns Wood high-rises, unwarranted Hook Road full-facility rebuild, replacing natural Lake Newport soccer fields with artificial turf, Fairfax County zoning changes that would eliminate our golf course open spaces, paid parking at Reston Town Center, and the Density Cap Increase. I have been involved in community service with Fairfax County organizations. At HART, I drove a van of rescue animals for adoption events, fostered rescue dogs and house checked potential adopters. At FACETS, I assisted parents and children affected by poverty and mentored students towards well-paying careers in technology. I am running for the RA Board, At-Large Seat because I believe my positions on key issues will benefit the entire Reston community. You can learn more at veniyer.com or facebook.com/voteforven. Finally, during my campaign, I have met some terrific Restonians with excellent insight into the issues and solutions, and many who are eager to help. I am certain that I can do my job better with their involvement and hope that the community will participate in making my service successful.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Travis Johnson, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

My family has been part of the Reston Association for just under four years.  We’ve had a Reston address for longer than that, though, as, prior to this, we lived in Deepwood for about four years.

What inspired you to run for the board? 

I love my home and my community, and I want to serve them as best I can.  I moved here because I want this place, with its historic beautiful open spaces, its diverse and friendly population, and its safe and sustainable lifestyle, to be a place my two daughters will always be happy to call home.  I want to preserve those elements for my daughters and their children. I see serving on the Board as a vehicle for doing that, not just for my family, but for the community at large.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

• Mismanagement. I’m sorry to say that I think the Reston Association has, until the relatively recent past, with the Board new majority, been poor stewards of our Association’s resources. We purchased Tetra in 2015 at close to twice its market value without a real plan for its use. We’ve seen project cost overruns that careful oversight and having the necessary controls in place could have prevented.
• “Cash Cow” vs a Community. Fairfax County government doesn’t think of Reston as the thriving community filled with people who live and work according to a sense of shared values like you and I do. Fairfax County sees Reston as a pot from which they can draw resources to pay for activities in the rest of the County. It’s why they want to increase our population density. Not because it will help our community in any way. It’s wrong.
• Losing the family feeling. One thing I’ve heard from long-time residents of Reston is how the community felt like a big family. I know my family feels that when we go to festivals in and around town or when the kids are playing soccer or participating in local theater.  But, it doesn’t feel like that for all of us. Large segments of our community have grown detached from one another. We don’t know our neighbors anymore. We don’t look out for each other. In the not too distant past, Board members would shout and yell and insult each other. This atmosphere contributed to all sorts of problems. We need to bring back the community feeling in Reston.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

• I hope to bring oversight and prudent management to the Association. Before any project is considered for approval, we need to see a plan that includes a detailed mission statement, frequent milestones during which the Association staff can report progress back to the Board, so the Board can subsequently report back to the membership. I will request community impact assessments for any large-scale project to ensure member needs are met. I will help the Board avoid the mistakes past and pay attention to Members’ needs.  And I will work hard to help the Board make the best possible decisions using the best possible information.
• I will work with other members of the Board and other members of the community to make our community’s voice heard to the County government and, if necessary, to the Commonwealth government. Specifically, I will encourage the Board to work closely with other Reston-based community groups to firmly assert that we do not want the population cap increase forced on us. We will say it as often as we need to and to as many people as we need in the hopes that we can make that point.
• I will work with the Board of Directors to engage Reston in activities that will bring us closer together and make our community safer. I’ll work with the clusters to encourage more year-round activities so neighbors have more opportunities to get to know each other. We’ll also work to step up our Neighborhood Watch programs which will enable our neighbors to look out for each other ‘s safety.  We’ll work with community organizations to utilize more of our empty spaces like the parking lot at Hunter’s Woods or the soon-to-be redeveloped spaces at Tall Oaks for year-round community activities.  I will encourage the Board to reach out to community groups throughout Reston so our currently underserved members can be included.

I will also act as an example of the kind of behavior I want to foster. I will not engage in the inappropriate behavior I’ve seen some Board Members exhibit in earlier years. I will attempt to build strong working relationships with my colleagues and act as an intermediary between them. We are adults who care about our community and we should act that way.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I have over almost two decades of experience in project management. I know how to make projects work on time and within their budgets. I have served on my condominium board and served as the Neighborhood Watch coordinator in Deepwood. I work to finance and coordinate social justice activities at my church.  Bringing diverse populations together in the interest of safety and community is my passion. I will bring this experience and this energy to my tenure on the Board of Directors.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Sridhar Ganesan, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have lived in Reston for over 19 years. After an international finance and business degree from Columbia University, I was working out of New Jersey for Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, when I traveled to Reston in 1997 for a conference.  My wife and I found this small new town to be charming.  After numerous trips to Reston over a year, we relocated here in 1998.

What brought me here was work, but what made me choose Reston from all of the neighboring towns was a combination of things:

The small town feel, lakes, open space, walkability, very little density, proximity to an airport and, believe it or not, I liked Reston for TRAFFIC.  Yes, even with fewer lanes on Reston Parkway and a very incomplete Fairfax County Parkway that did not run all along Reston, traffic flow was just fine then.

Reston seemed like a great place to drop down roots, chase my version of the American dream and raise a family. I am exactly where I want to be.

What inspired you to run for the board?

Seven years ago, I decided to leverage my varied and global experience for public service in civic issues and Education. I served on the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) budget taskforce in 2015 that identified potential cuts of up to $100 million to deal with expected funding shortfalls.

In 2012, I joined the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) board and served as its President from 2014 to 2017.  During that time, we opposed higher Planned Residential Community (PRC) density; the opening up of Reston National Golf Course for development; Town Center paid parking; and any re-development that would force low-income seniors out of Lake Anne Fellowship House.

Given its central role, we also focused on Reston Association (RA) and its serious missteps on the acquisition and renovation of the Tetra/Lakehouse property.  These experiences led me to the conclusion that the best place to reform RA was from within.

I now serve as Treasurer of Reston Association (RA) and am an At-Large Director.  With strong support from the current RA Board, I led the establishment of many operational reforms at RA, since my appointment in June 2017.   I want to finish what I started at RA, so I am running for a new 3-year At-Large Term to reinforce the reforms to make RA work better for its members.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

Density:  The issue of greatest importance to Reston is the County proposed increase in density from 13 to 16 persons per acre in Reston’s PRC district.  Combined with the growth in the Transit Station Areas (TSA), an increase in the PRC population from the zoned limit of about 74,000 to 100,000 seriously threatens the future of Reston we know today. Property developers recently expressed concerns about softness in the Reston market, so where is the demand and why the rush? Reston’s current transportation and other infrastructure cannot support such growth.  The public response has been a loud “NO” to higher density. RA’s role should be collaborative with its members and other community organizations to shape Reston’s destiny.

RA Operations, Processes, Controls:  A second major issue is completion of the restructuring of RA operations started by the current Board majority and assuring that these changes become ingrained in RA. There were some serious problems that the Tetra/Lake House property acquisition, renovation and planning showed.  They include:

• The process of decision-making, the high purchase price, the questionable appraisal, the lack of negotiation, and inadequacy of the referendum materials.
• The lack of controls, which led to serious cost overruns.
  Poor use planning for the property without fiscal responsibility or careful analysis.
• Many improvements have been made during 2017, but continued focus on corrective action is necessary to make RA prudent, cost-effective and responsive to members.

What should RA be? Third concern is to work with sports groups, members, clusters and other groups to do some soul-searching on RA’s strategic vision.  Many RA assets are aging.  Replacing/updating them will cost more than the Reserve Study estimates.  Bumper sticker slogans such as “Wasteful Spending” are easy, but even hard work can only yield so much cost reduction without crippling services and RA operations, so that is not the answer to everything.  RA cannot be all things to all people, so it is time for an honest discussion about what RA should be and what it should deliver to its members.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I want to continue the reforms instituted by the current Board and continue the positive change. I am leading the establishment and implementation of internal controls, oversight of policies and procedures to avoid a Tetra/Lake House repeat. I want to achieve the following for more effective functioning of RA for the benefit of members:

• Complete a comprehensive analysis of recreational facilities (pools, ball-fields, tennis courts) to inform the public about usage/demand and member benefit, supply, revenues, expenses and cost to update or replace.
• Comprehensive analysis and update of the Reserve Study for maintaining, replacing and updating aging RA assets.
• Reinforce rigor in planning new investments, improvements to amenities, validate cost estimates, purchasing/contracting procedures, and ensure major projects and programs are implemented on schedule and within budget.
• Make RA a leader in voicing/advocating for the community’s needs on issues like PRC Density and work in collaboration with members and community organizations.
• Establish a process and system to seek out quantifiable member feedback on major issues and policies.
• Continue to drive more transparency through open meetings, public reporting and disclosure, and to strengthen Board oversight of on-going operations.
• Establish a routine process for review of RA rules and regulations for flexibility and materiality.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I bring 20+ years of operational, financial and executive leadership experience, including as Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded company that I steered to a NASDAQ initial public offering.

My experience spans media, satellites, telecommunications, technology and education in the US and international markets.

I am an entrepreneur who has started-up several new ventures around the world and an executive who has helped restructure companies and businesses. My nature is to roll up my sleeves, dive into details, fix issues and get things done.

I have dedicated several hundred hours to digging into RA and it’s restructuring during my eight months as a very hands-on Treasurer and Director. I have demonstrated the vision, skillsets and passion necessary for public service. Some of the accomplishments are:

• Achieved reduction in assessments; 1st time ever in RA’s history.
• Shaped budget, led in-depth budget sessions, provided more public input opportunities than before.
• Moved RA towards rigorous, analytical approach for programs and capital projects.
• Driving the establishment of solid decision-making processes, internal controls, policies and procedures to avoid a repeat of Tetra/Lake House disaster.
• Providing strong, diligent review of the adequacy of contracts and their performance.
• Reconstituted, reformulated fiscal committee for greater engagement and Board support.

I believe that my background, commitment to public service, time and effort I have put into RA and the results achieved will help me as a board member over the next years.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Last week Democrats in the House of Delegates were able largely to sit on the sidelines as Republicans debated among themselves whether Virginia should expand access to medical care through the federal Medicaid program. Arguments that had been used by Democrats to support Medicaid in the past were now being used by Republicans to support their newly found support for expansion.

The news is good since Medicaid expansion could only come about with bipartisan support. When the final vote was taken on the issue, only 31 Republicans voted “nay” and all Democrats voting “aye” with 20 Republicans making the total for passage 69 votes. There was a sense of relief as a goal for which we had been working for more than a half dozen years moved closer to realization.

The news was not so good on the other side of the Capitol. The Senate passed a budget that did not include further Medicaid expansion. While there was an effort to amend the Senate bill to include the expansion of access to health care, it failed along a straight party line vote. Final passage of a budget for the next two years requires that the bills passed in each house be identical. A conference committee made up of House and Senate members must resolve the largest imbalance in the budget that I have ever seen before its final adoption.

If I had predicted before the session where we would be at this point I would have said that the Senate would have passed a version of Medicaid expansion but the Republicans in the House were maintaining their opposition. At least that’s what the public pronouncements and the rumor mill suggested.

How could we have been so wrong? I believe that the predictions on the outcome of the session left out one very important consideration: the results of the 2016 elections. The House’s 66 to 34 Republican control was diminished to a close margin of 51 to 49. For weeks it appeared that Democrats might take control. Among the losses were senior members and committee chairs who were opponents of Medicaid expansion and were expected to win re-election easily. The Speaker who opposed expansion retired.

The voters in 2016 sent a clear message that they supported Medicaid expansion. For most it simply did not make sense to leave more than ten billion federal dollars on the table when there were so many people without access to health care. Many more people went to the polls than usual to send the message to legislators. Whether it was public opinion polling or common sense that showed the Republican majority they were in trouble and needed to change the stance on issues, the public speaking through the ballot box brought about this very important change for Virginia.

How to explain the Senate vote? Senators with four-year terms have not been before the voters since 2014. They have not had a recent message from the electorate and could be in for a big surprise if they do not re-evaluate their positions. The real heroes in all this are the Indivisibles and other groups that mobilized voters in 2016 to elect responsive candidates. These new members are bringing balance to public policy as well as to the budget.

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is John Pinkman, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have lived in Reston for 40 years. After reading an article in the NY Times I visited Reston around 1970. The townhouses lining Lake Anne, the only lake in town at that time, were 2×4 sticks just being framed. I returned in 1978 looking for a permanent home for the family. I arrived on the weekend of the Reston Festival at the Lake Anne Plaza. It was such a joyous international community event with such diversity. I immediately fell in love. Still am.

What inspired you to run for the board?

Five years ago I co-founded Rescue Reston. Working closely with the county and RA, as we fought to defend open space, we realized that working together was more beneficial than organizing opposition separately. As successful as we have been, I believe we need a greater unification of community action. We need to unite the Reston Spirit. We face external challenges to the culture we have built for 50 years. The proposed senseless development is foreign to how Reston historically has grown. Take your profits and run, is not how we became Reston. The integrity of “let’s build what’s good for the long term benefit to the town” is how we thrived together. Now we see irresponsible growth expressed in “what can we get away with”. It looms in the future and on the bottom lines of external sources.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

I see concerns as opportunities to share a vision of uniting a positive and cohesive future.

1. Protecting Open Space preserves the very identity of Reston as a planned community.
2. Maintaining our nature standards and planning for the future of Parks and Recreation amenities protects our property values and quality of life.
3. Public Safety – Many years ago Reston was a safe community. The police use to say it was because the criminals couldn’t find their way out of town after burglary! It’s naïve to think that that is still true today. Although RA does not have responsibility for public safety we should increase our cooperation with police and fire first responders to raise awareness and use our best efforts to work with them in crime prevention and home security.  The term “first responders” is meaningful – they respond. Their main mission is to respond to emergencies. It is our job, our mission, to work with them to enhance the term  “prevent”.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

We need to create an Annual Leadership Summit between neighborhood leaders and RA. We need to listen to each other’s needs and challenges. Listening shows respect. Conversations give birth to solutions.

As a professional baseball instructor and coach for 36 years I understand the need to create a unifying Reston Sports Council. The athletic community shares one goal – teaching children athletic values that they can use off the field, court, or pool to become excellent citizen leaders. Working together we can support the growth of individual sports, parks and facilities. Sharing excess capabilities and assisting each other’s needs for expansion helps everyone. Unifying safety standards is in everyone’s best interest. As Reston residents age in place, we need to learn how to provide social sports as well as we have understood competitive youth sports for decades.

Finally, I support and believe it is vital, to create a member survey that would assess the needs of the community as to parks and recreation use. It is important to learn from Restonians their needs as together we determine the future of Reston. Community leadership is creating a vision and listening to the people you serve.

 

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

During my 36 years as a coach and professional instructor I have learned that successful coaches are team builders. Creating a winning team begins by building trust. Trust begins with sharing information and the truth. Communicating what the team has in common and the joint vision for the future generates action. Teams that are apathetic or confronted with individuals, who present a unique self-interest, do not endure.  In the context of a community, town or city, there are varying and very local challenges to neighborhoods. Whether faced with a success or threat, leaders must recognize that any one issue may affect us all.

When evaluating a player or creating team strategy a coach must consider one skill or one game at a time. Observe, analyze, provide or obtain information, then if necessary make changes for improvement. The process is reasonable and objective. The integrity of the team or community is exposed in the process. As we live together and work together we all seek improvement and with the assistance of each other the community succeeds.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Derrick Watkins, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I came to Reston four year ago looking for opportunity in the aviation industry as an Aircraft Mechanic.  With its location next to IAD and DCA, Reston was a prime location.  I love Reston and its close proximity to Washington, D.C., which will help support my future aspirations in government.

What inspired you to run for the board?

Running for the board of directors is a unique opportunity to get involved in government.  In America, anyone should have the opportunity to be involved in community government.  Reston has helped me to succeed personally and being on the board would allow me to help Reston continue to prosper and also fix a few snags along the way.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

1. Letting development happen at the expense of experience.

2. Letting development destroy green spaces.

3. Residents not being engaged with the community and RA governance.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

1. Engage the community.

2. Alleviate congestion before more development happens.

3. Engage the community some more.  Community pressure is how things get done.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I started my career as an Aircraft Mechanic early in life and now work in the highly intensive and demanding airline industry.  Every day I exercise the highest levels of ethics and integrity in my trade.  Hard work and the desire to finish a job often leads me to staying many hours after I should have been home.  Ethics and genuine hard work is what the Reston Association needs to completely serve its purpose in the community.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Colin Meade, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats, which run for a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have lived in Reston for 5 years.  I’ve been a long time Northern Virginia resident and had always admired Reston as a prime example of suburban planning.  At the time we decided to move to Reston, my wife and I were just starting our family. With the excellent schools, abundance of nature and the amenities of the Town Center, it felt like the perfect place to put down roots.  The last five years have proven that to be true.

What inspired you to run for the board? 

My wife and I have two young boys (four and five) who have been very active in many of the children’s programs sponsored by the RA (Fit Kids, Enrichment Clubs, Summer Camps, etc).  Over the last year, those programs have been either cut drastically or eliminated altogether.  When I raised the issue with some of the members of the current board, it was made very clear to me that children are not a priority of this current version of the RA Board With respect to other worthy initiatives, I disagree with that prioritization and am running to provide a voice on the board for the families of Reston.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

1.  I believe some of the board’s priorities, particularly as they apply to families and children, are misplaced and not necessarily reflective of Reston as a whole, but rather the much smaller subset who happen to be active in local politics.  I believe the board should be more reflective of the entire community and make decisions accordingly.

2.  Like most Restonians, I am concerned about the rapid pace of development in Reston and ensuring that the community retains its essential character while adapting to the inevitable growth to come.

3. As Reston grows and evolves, its relationship with Fairfax County will become more an more important.  I believe the current relationship can be improved, and I will bring a pragmatic approach to working with the county while advocating for issues such as smart growth, better schools and the preservation of natural spaces that are important to Reston.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I hope to be a voice on the board for the families of Reston.  As it’s currently comprised, the  RA Board is not reflective of the overall population of Reston, nor their priorities.  As a board member, I will advocate for programs and policies that benefit the families and children of Reston.  That includes restoration of funding for children’s programs, putting a priority on maintaining and improving our common areas and parks and working with the county to build a new middle and high school for Reston.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

As a high level sales executive, I’ve learned that nothing is more important than listening to your constituency and knowing their problems and concerns.  Only then can you tailor a solution to meet their needs.  I will take the same approach to being a board member and pledge to be the ears of the RA board for anyone in Reston who has concerns.  Additionally, I’ve learned the power of negotiation and being pragmatic in order to achieve your goals. The ability to see issues from multiple perspectives is key to any good negotiation and is a skill I have mastered throughout my career.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Aaron Webb, who is facing six other candidates for two at-large seats, which run a three-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

My family and I came to Reston from California for a one-year assignment when I was working for the Navy. A year among the trees in the Barton Hill area was enough to convince us to sell our house and make a career change so we could stay and raise our kids here.

What inspired you to run for the board?

I have had the opportunity to work on the Hook Road Recreation Area Working Group and really enjoyed working with fellow Restonians to plan for the future of our community. After one of the meetings of the working group I came across a flier about serving on the board and felt I should do my part to contribute. I was encouraged by the process of obtaining signatures for the application, everyone I spoke with agreed that running for a position on the board was a great idea.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

My three largest concerns are infrastructure, stagnation, and Reston being exploited by outside entities. I want to ensure that Reston’s growth into the future is well thought-out and designed with the long-term health of the community in mind. Infrastructure and amenities should accompany growth, not be an after-thought. Reston must continue to lead in innovative concepts and excellent management. We must also protect Reston from any entity that would trade away long-term benefits for short-term windfalls.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I hope to keep a focus on the principles that have formed and sustained Reston. I will ensure that the seven goals outlined at the outset are still a driving force behind board decisions (see https://www.restonmuseum.org/reston-history).

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I have served in several capacities that have given me useful experience for service on the board. As the Director of Engineering, I have learned to analyze and evaluate the costs and benefits of alternatives and select the best approach for the company. Serving in my church I have a deep respect for entrusted funds. The time I spent on the board of the Lakeside Cluster honed my skills in working with others for the benefit of the community.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Ray Wedell, who is facing three other candidates for the at-large seat for a one-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have little doubt that you will be flooded with answers that say people have lived here for an eternity (or at least most of their adult lives), and that Reston’s ambiance, environmental planning, diversity, etc. were driving forces. All well and good, I consider all these givens about our community.

Here is my reality: I have lived in Reston for 19 years. I used to live in a vast mansion in Oakton, living a dream life with dream kids, and a dream….well, modern world realities forced me out of that life because my ex-wife thought it would be a great idea to get a divorce. ‘Nuff said.

I needed a place to stay, and one which would be a good place for my then-10 year old daughter and 7-year old son. I rented a town house in North Reston, not because of any long research on Bob Simon or the Reston vision, but because it seemed like a nice place to rent for a year until we could get our lives back into some sort of order. That was 19 years ago; I am still here.

Reston was the first community I lived in that reminded me in many ways of the Long Island town I grew up in, Malverne. Back then, there was now internet or PlayStation, and kids played outside. All of the schools and playing fields were located on the borderline of the neighboring black community, Lakeview. Imagine the Toll Road from Hunter Mill exit to Reston Parkway, and all that corridor land being open ball fields and a junior and senior high school. Instead of the Toll Road, we had Ocean Avenue that divided the Lakeview community with Malverne. As the Toll Road divides Reston into North and South, Ocean Avenue divided us the same way.

But in Malverne, kids met at the ball fields at an early age. It is what we did; not play on an iPad. We chose teams and played extremely competitive basketball or touch football games, and the intensity of the play brought out the best and worst in all of us. After all, everyone likes to win. But we laughed, argued, teamed up with, and teamed up against,  each other in a way that ludicrous factors like someone’s skin tone had nothing to do with any of it. You either hugged or fought a person of different race on a daily basis; often the same person on each side of that coin from day-to-day, depending on which team you were chosen to play on that day.

As we all “grew up” (or at least some of us did), most of us had a much different perspective on the news of the day. None of us needed “diversity training”, or to be told how screwed up things were in Selma, Alabama. And the violence of 1968 did not spill over to our communities, although based on population demographics and mood of the times, most outsiders predicted it would. Awareness and action, yes. Blindly categorizing people by race? Not in our communities.

I mention the above because my son was a superior basketball player at age 8. He used to watch Pete Maravich instructional videos from age 3, and we had two hoops set up at our house at a lower height for him to play. The beautiful hardwood floors inside, and the wide portals between rooms, were perfect for Scott to practice his dribbling in the house most of the day. When in Reston, Scott would love me to take him to the Southgate Community Center, where they had exceptional outdoor basketball courts, one set of hoops set at 8 feet to accommodate smaller kids. He played in youth leagues at Southgate, and grew to know many kids who would later be friends and teammates/opponents in basketball games as he grew older. Scott was much different from all the other kids, being small, blond, and always smiling. But kids do not carry the same gremlins in their heads as adults, and Scott was always chosen early to be on the team with kids who looked nothing like him. Kids wanted the best players on their team, and want to win. What that person looked like never matters.

So we had that semi-Malverne factor working for Scott, and the vast bicycle paths and “cool places” to hang out appealed to my daughter. So Reston had things about it other communities simply did not have. Therefore, my one year trial period turned into what is now 19 years and counting.

Thank you for your patience in allowing me to tell you a part of my story.

What inspired you to run for the board?

I used to play golf with my son every weekend. So the thought of Reston National Golf Course being re-zoned (leading to inevitable building later on) just stuck in my craw. I joined the Rescue Reston movement, becoming a Director. The Rescue Reston movement proved to me the power of a dedicated community to force the right thing to be done, despite “odds being so stacked against us”, and all sorts of reasons leading people to give up, or simply compromise away their own rights. Common sense told me it was right for citizens to rally in full harmony behind this, so that was the beginning of my “public service” in some way.

But again, I am not going to join the chorus of those who will tell us about their need to “give back to the community” and all that.

I am reminded of this story: A Greek billionaire is hosting a party on his yachts in the rough Aegian waters…..His beautiful daughter falls overboard….. the man panics and screams, “Any man who saves my daughter will have her hand in marriage, a new yacht, and a mansion on the Sea.”…..just then a man is hurling through the air, splashed into the sea, swims to the daughter, gives her his life jacket, and eventually saves her……A news reporter is on board and decides to interview this ultra-courageous man: “You leaped overboard to an almost certain death to save this woman! What do you have to say?”….. The man gazes at the people all around him and screams, “WHO PUSHED ME???!!”

Why did I run? There was a person who continuously “reminded” me that I needed to run for the Board three years ago. Relentlessly. I had no idea at first what that meant. But persistence paid…..so I was pushed.

Reform and Improve….I will have much on this topic in coming weeks. The current R.A. Board has the potential to institute major changes that are absolutely necessary in how the Board works FUNDAMENTALLY. The incumbents are smart and want things to run right. There are several reform candidates who could join them and really turn this ocean liner around. The idea that we have to continue to function in the same status quo ways, just because “that is how we do things around here” definitely needs to die a quick death. The current Board actually showed some promise in going in this direction. Nobody understands the inner workings of this Board and what needs to happen to get the RA  train on the right tracks and headed in the right direction.

REFORM and IMPROVE.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

Here is a late-breaking news flash: The Reston community is undergoing massive growth and things are going to change. If Amazon chooses this area for its “HQ-2” site, this growth  will be exaggerated.

It is the 21st Century….major change is going to happen. Much more development is going to happen. However, this means we need to not only protect what open spaces we have; we need to expand them. There will be endless clashes; endless skirmishes; possible generation vs. generation viewpoints on what Reston “should” look like in the future.

Will we remain a vibrant and cohesive community, able to shape the growth in ways that make sense to us as a community? Will internal differences of opinion split the community, or will it lead to a different form of harmony and diversity than what people are accustomed to seeing?

Other concerns pale in comparison to these, but I have detailed position papers on many that I will soon release.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I have an expectation, not a hope.

An expectation that after spending the last six months in extremely positive environments, communicating with positive and forward-thinking people, that I can take an in-depth knowledge honed by 2 1/2 years of eye-opening recent experiencing on this RA Board, combine it with a refreshed spirit and new ideas, and convert these as follows:

• This Board has made great strides and shown a willingness to improve in directions I have supported and promoted for 2 1/2 years. But in many key areas, they have fallen short, and in those, they have defaulted back to the comfort of “doing what we do.” Now that I am fresh from the previous Board fights, full of knowledge/experience,  and have six months of needed reflection, I need just one year to help instill some common sense changes and bring a 21st century mentality into a system that has grown staid. Just one year.
• Convert “One Reston” from a slogan into a way of life and a community mind set.
• Hold people to the fire, especially myself, to slogans we all love to cite. In other words, don’t just say it, live it. Don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. The current five member incumbents on the RA Board all have the intelligence and community dedication to WANT to do this. The candidates running for the other four slots all appear to have this in their DNA as well…….I expect that this new Board can, and will, make major breakthroughs in acting as a Board that is touch with Reston’s people and with 21st century ways of solving problems and promoting positive changes. And the focus is always on the overall Community needs, not the expediency of the Board, the desires of Staff, or pleasing small groups of those who are very active in promoting their needs (not necessarily overall community needs).

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

My personal and professional experience with this institution and how it works (or doesn’t) overshadows other professional experiences. Having said that, the current Board totally ignored my opinion on issues that were “in my wheel house” last year. This should NEVER happen, and the demands on the volunteer Board have reached a point in which there are simply too many issues and too many extraneous things thrown to the Board that should be addressed elsewhere. This has led to valuable individual positions being ignored on MAJOR issues. This is a major point I plan to make in keeping the Board ON POINT with those things that truly require long-term guidance and sound decisions.

I have more degrees than a thermometer. I also am a Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA, which for those who are not aware, is a grueling designation that cannot be earned in less than three years. In my younger days I was employed at HUD, and truth be told, going to school at night became a way to alleviate much of the boredom of my day-to-day job. So now I can claim formal “expertise” in Psychology, History, Business Administration, Public Administration, Financial Markets, School-of-Hard-Knocks, and all sorts of other things I rarely use directly, but nonetheless….they are there.

I have worked in the most stultifying environments known to mankind (HUD in the 1970s and early-1980s), and the most free-wheeling, anything-goes capitalistic environment (Wall Street trading desks). I clearly do not want to see RA run along the lines of either model. However, I warn the community of this: The empire building that is underway and somewhat unchecked at RA is very reminiscent of the internal growth of HUD in the 1970s. Please do not allow that to happen in our Reston Government. It is the 21st century: take cues from the successful 21st century business leaders, and don’t allow endless silo-building within the organization to occur. This is not an easy fight, but a necessary one.

My current business is buying and selling residential real estate in Reston. I am “out and about” on a daily basis, and have a really good idea of the attributes in all of our Reston neighborhoods. It is my job to understand  the people of Reston, from age 20 to 100, whether living on a lake front home or in a 40-year old South Reston condo.

The bottom line is this: I KNOW how to focus on the major issues and how to make sure we fight for that which is important to the people. I did not get this from TCU, George Mason University, American University, or from working in the Federal Government or on Wall Street. I always try to live it. I always try to walk the walk.

Authenticity matters.

Reform and improve.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is John Bowman, who is facing three other candidates for the at-large seat for a one-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I moved to Reston in 1985.  Visiting friends who lived in Reston then, I very much appreciated the concept of building infrastructure and community amenities, including open and natural spaces, simultaneously with residential and commercial development.  I believe this concept to be fundamental to the essence of Reston that we must strive to maintain as new and re-development occurs.

What inspired you to run for the board?

I am honored and privileged to have been selected by the board to fill an open seat in September 2017. I submit my selection was predicated on my 12+ years active participation on RA board advisory committees, for which I monitored and engaged with the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee and the Fairfax County Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force and two previous board election campaigns – Hunters Woods & At-Large.

My community engagement started in 2006 with a group of neighbors when Fairfax County attempted to redevelop the Reston South Park & Ride under the auspices of an unsolicited public-private partnership proposal without sufficient input from the community. This experience taught me that RA members needed more peer input to constructively contribute to land use development and redevelopment actions.  So, I joined the RA Transportation Advisory Committee, of which I was a member, including chair & co-chair roles, until my appointment to the board. I currently serve as the board liaison to the Multimodal Transportation Advisory Committee.

My successful campaign will bring this experience to my continued service on the board.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

Density, Density, Density …

When addressing RA member concerns, it is important to distinguish RA issues from greater Reston issues.  RA has no standing in Reston Town Center and the former Reston Center for Industry & Government (RCIG) – the properties roughly between Sunset Hills Dr. & Sunrise Valley Dr.  – we can “reason, cajol and call out” the county and developers for issues in those areas.

However, without any doubt, the single most important issue facing greater Reston today is the adverse impact of proposed and future land use development and re-development on the quality of life of RA members – particularly infrastructure and parks and open spaces, including golf courses.

Within the RA house, we must insist upon board and staff discipline to attain continual review of how we spend RA member’s assessment dollars.  Based upon the Tetra/Lake House experience, the current board has implemented a considerable number of internal controls to ensure proper due diligence when committing RA funds to projects.  I support continued maturing and application of these internal controls – particularly to demand complete, sufficient, and appropriate business case analysis of all proposed activities requesting RA funds in order to avert another Tetra.

Additionally, we must address those aspects of RA member service experience that detract from our member interaction.  Too often, member dissatisfaction derives from a lack of common sense application of RA guidelines.  It is time for RA to enforce the “spirit of the law” vs. literal reading of our resolutions, etc.  Many of our resolutions are written in a manner to address specific situations, thus rendering them less useful to both staff and members when seeking general guidance. We need to revisit RA documents that are written in a manner that appears to prohibit common sense interpretations.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

My primary goals are RA fiscal discipline and maintaining the Reston sense of “place” within planned redevelopment. I feel an obligation to RA members to continue the direction that the current board has taken to unabashedly address internal financial discipline; continue our firm stance against negative impacts of excessive density; and require sound decision making by the board on careful study of matters being consider.

A staunch advocate for disciplined stewardship of our assessment dollars. I will support the increased fiscal discipline demonstrated by the current board, as evidenced by 1) implementing the Tetra/Lake House issue remediations delineated by the StoneTurn Group’s report; and 2) focusing on long range fiscal planning. Assessment increases should be enacted only in the most extreme circumstances.

I support this Board’s focus to bring more value to the members. Program funding initiatives must have valid business cases, including member and community benefits to serve a critical mass of RA members. This direction applies common sense and rationality to board actions, especially when determining use of the member’s assessment dollars.  We need to achieve and communicate the value proposition of RA membership to all members, including those who no longer, or do not yet, use RA programs or facilities.

Perhaps the most challenging, I advocate for standing firm with the county to control negative impacts of excessive density by applying pressure to the principals in land use and development issues. Pressing the County (we do have 60K+ residents 😊) to require compliance from property owners & developers with the guidelines in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan – as described in Reston Master Plan – will be a positive force to preserve the Reston quality of life and sense of place.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I bring to RA 20+ years of progressively responsible corporate management, academic and association experience focused on business operations emphasizing financial and technology metrics to drive positive business outcomes. My relevant experience includes:

• RA Board of Directors (9/2017 – Present)
• Multiple RA Board Advisory Committees since 2006 – including Transportation Advisory Committee & Multimodal Transportation Advisory Committee (Co-Chair/Chair of both)
• 2008 RA Board Candidate (Hunters Woods); 2016 RA Board Candidate (At-Large)
• Past member Reston Citizens Association Board of Directors, founding Reston 2020 member
• West Virginia University (WVU) College of Creative Arts, Board of Visitors (2007-Present)
• WVU Music Alumni Association, Board of Directors (2005-Present)
• PMI Project Management Professional
• Certified Information System Security Professional
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certified
• Doctor of Musical Arts, Catholic University
• Master of Science (Information Systems) (GMU)
• Private Pilot – Instrument Rated

My experience in the US Navy, in commercial consulting, government contracting, and corporate management combined with service on multiple boards and advisory groups for academia and associations positions me well to serve the RA by having learned the absolute need to “ask the next obvious question”, and to keeping asking until the ability to execute an idea that “sounds great” is actually validated or debunked.  

The current challenges to the RA Board from the membership for crisper and forward-looking land use actions are best met with disciplined action and input from the standing advisory committees.  I bring this discipline from my organizational and financial experience managing delivery elements of large business organizations.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is David Ballard, who is facing three other candidates for the at-large seat for a one-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

My family has lived in Reston since 2001, though we were overseas on diplomatic assignment from 2004-2010.

I am originally from Texas, but went to college in Washington and lived off and on in the DC area the various times I was assigned to Washington as a Foreign Service Officer.

In 2000, my mother moved to Reston from Texas because three of her four kids were living (or based, in our case) in the DC area. She lived in North Point and worked as a teacher at Lake Anne Elementary School. We stayed with her on a visit in 2000 and fell in love with Reston, which I don’t think I’d ever even visited before. When I was assigned to Washington in 2001, we didn’t even look anywhere else and bought a home in the Hunt Club cluster. During those years, our two sons started at Lake Anne and our daughter was born at Reston Hospital Center.

By the time we returned from overseas for another Washington assignment in early 2011, we had three school-aged kids and ended up in a different house–the one we still live in. At that time, we had a child at South Lakes, another at Langston Hughes, and a third at Lake Anne. Since then, two have graduated from South Lakes and the third is currently a student there.

What inspired you to run for the board?

You’ll be pleased to hear that one of the main reasons I was inspired to run for the Board is, in fact, Reston Now. I had not paid any attention to the website until 2015, when someone told me he’d read an article about my son’s SLHS track team on the site. So I signed up for the daily email from Reston Now and began to pay a lot more attention to our community’s issues. That, in turn, led to the notion that I had a voice and, perhaps, a role to play in those issues.

I retired from the Foreign Service in 2015 and have had a much more flexible schedule since then. While I still work part-time, including as an FCPS substitute teacher, I missed the “service” part of my former career, and- to be honest–after decades of supervisory responsibility in my assignments, missed having a leadership role in something I care about. (In this vein, Lord knows my family is tired of my presuming to assume a leadership role at home…) Most important, however, is that I truly enjoy being a part of a team that is working to fix, solve, or improve something, so when I read the call for candidates–on Reston Now, of course–I thought I might be useful to my community’s leadership.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

Like every other candidate, I am concerned about the potential–although I would say “inevitable,” not just “potential”–negative effects of increased population density, and want to avoid or mitigate them. Our back yard is on Wiehle Avenue, for example, so we now live next to two traffic jams per day during morning and evening rush hours. It had never crossed my mind that Reston might suffer such a thing as a rush hour until that happened. Maybe, with better planning, we can spare some of our residents that fate in the future.

Another concern I have is budget-driven cuts to quality of life components of the Reston experience. I was as annoyed as anyone when pool hours were shortened, for example, even though I admittedly didn’t know enough about the cost-to-usage ratio to have clear grounds to object. Still, that was emblematic of the kind of thing that I hate to see happen in Reston, whatever the reason might be.

The third concern I have is more abstract. It is preparing Reston’s future in the county and the entire DC area. We’ve seen the impact of the Silver Line, so what is the future impact of even more Silver Line? If Amazon chooses Northern Virginia for its second headquarters, what will that mean for Reston? In other words, we have to be ready to contend with probable changes to the overall Northern Virginia environment in order to protect and promote Reston’s special–and I believe it is special–status in that region.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I’d like to think I’d be a hardworking, thoughtful team member who accurately and honestly represents the concerns of the people of Reston. What is probably most important to me, however, is that I would hope to reflect the aspirations of our community as we move forward. I don’t think the RA Board’s role is just to protect a way of life or to hold back the forces of change. We should also be a channel for projecting and promoting whatever constitutes positive evolution for the Reston way. Reston is not what it was when it was founded, but that doesn’t mean we throw up our hands or mourn our loss when we can choose to identify and work toward an even better Reston.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

Maybe the best way to answer this is to copy and paste–unedited– the opening summary of the resumé I use in my rather desultory “second career” job search. Your readers–and, ultimately, Reston voters– can decide if these qualifications and experience are compatible with service on the RA Board.

Former U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer skilled in leading and coordinating interagency teams to define, promote, and execute U.S. policy while simultaneously directly managing US Government operations at diplomatic posts in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Washington. Proven morale builder in difficult environments, guiding diverse groups to cooperate in analysis and reporting of relevant context while developing tactics and strategies to advance specific objectives. Outstanding communicator, comfortably works in several languages and in challenging circumstances, including war. Accustomed to supervising multiple sub-units and managing multi-million dollar budgets. Significant experience working with U.S. military and U.S. businesses. Top secret security clearance.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Andy Sigle, who is facing three other candidates for the at-large seat for a one-year term. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

My family moved to Reston from England in 2006 after a six year ex-pat assignment. Our four children were in International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in England, so we looked for schools near my MCI/Verizon assignment in Ashburn that had the IB program, including South Lakes High School (SLHS). My wife and I toured Reston and fell in love with it.   We still love it today.  Over the 11 years my children were at South Lakes, I helped with several organizations including the band, chorus, softball team, drama department, etc.  I was also elected as President of the SLHS Parent-Teacher-Student-Association (PTSA) for 2 terms (2015-2017) and helped create the SLHS PTSA Food Pantry which opened in March 2017.

What inspired you to run for the board?

It was a privilege to serve on the RA Board from 2011-2014, the last two years as board vice-president. I am proud of leading many accomplishments during that term including the championing of the effort to install lights on the Brown’s Chapel #1 baseball field, driving the restructuring of RA financial processes into separate Operating and Repair/Replacement budgets to better plan for our financial future, saving RA thousands of dollars by pushing for an audit firm competitive bid re-selection process, etc.  These experiences will allow me to “hit the ground running” from day one of this shortened one-year term. I feel that is it important that we elect someone with board experience into this abbreviated role, as it can easily take a new board member six months to learn the post.   It has also been helpful, for perspective, to have been away from the Board for a few years.  I am confident that as I did in my previous term, I will bring a needed-now-more-than-ever positive, thoughtful and community-first spirit and demeanor to the next board.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

• Development that is not in line with the updated Reston Master Plan, and delays in implementation of infrastructure that will support new development.  Although Fairfax County government has the responsibility and decision-making authority, RA can work to better influence our County government to live by the Reston Master Plan. For example, we need to fight against the County granting exceptions to the Plan for developers, and we must lobby them to ensure that there is adequate funding to support infrastructure upgrades by the time new development is completed.
• Mission-creep for RA. RA must coordinate with local government agencies, non-profits and for-profit businesses rather than trying to do everything itself.  It is perfectly appropriate for RA to spend time and money on areas that affect Restonian’s quality of life where it can add value, but RA must focus on the items that it has direct responsibility over, such as our physical infrastructure of parks, paths, pools, courts, lakes, dams, etc. “Going it alone” unnecessarily can cause our annual dues to rise higher than is needed.
• Loss of knowledge about and use of our Community’s Founding Principles:  Environmental Stewardship, Diverse Housing Opportunities, Recreational Amenities, Accessibility – walk/bike ability, Planning and Design Excellence, and Commitment to the Arts.  These principles that Mr. Simon laid out as the foundation of our “New Town” have stood the test of time and should continue to be used as the lens by which we plan our going-forward agenda and base our decisions.  We must also educate the thousands of new residents who arrive in Reston in the coming years about these principles so that they remain at our core.  We must use them to continually pursue actions and efforts that pull Reston together as One Reston.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

• Ensure Reston’s Founding Principles remain the basis for RA agenda-setting and decision-making
• Increase and solidify RA’s influence with Fairfax County on land use (re)development activities and infrastructure in our community – saving our golf courses and open spaces!
• Focus RA funding on the Association’s physical infrastructure (e.g., paths, parks, pools, lakes, etc.), avoiding RA “mission-creep,” and, as such, holding down RA annual dues
• Increase RA and Board transparency efforts and Community Engagement activities

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

I bring 28 years as an executive in the telecommunications industry and experience working in many parts of the Reston Community. I am currently applying that experience in many areas including working part-time at Cornerstones and at the Lake Anne Brew House.  Additionally, I volunteer as chair of the Southgate Community Center Advisory Council, sing in The Reston Chorale, serve on the Reston Historic Trust board, led the SLHS PTSA and helped establish the SLHS PTSA Food Pantry.  Each of these roles are part of a powerful base of people and organizations that will help me address the issues facing our community.  My previous efforts and track record of accomplishment on the RA board and Fiscal Committee set the foundation for me to be effective and productive on the next board term from day one.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association

Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.

1. South Lakes High School Students Walkout In the Aftermath of Florida Shooting
2. Reston Association Board Member Seeks Closure Following Scathing Critique of Tetra Purchase
3. Crime Roundup: Police Investigate Three Gas Station Robberies
4. New Fire Station to Replace ‘Outdated’ 1970s Facility
5. South Lakes High School Student-Athletes Sign with Division I Colleges

If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip. We’re also looking for photos of Reston submitted by readers. Have a great weekend.

Voting in the 2018 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 5 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates.

Featured here is Tammi Petrine, who is facing one Julie Bitzer for the three-year South Lakes District seat. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

In 1976, my family moved here from a beautiful small town in Illinois when my husband took a job with the FDIC.  On previous visits to the DC area, we had discovered Reston and were SOLD immediately on its diversity, beauty and reputation as a planned community.  When we moved here, Lawyers Road to Vienna was part gravel and forded Difficult Run Stream.  South Lakes had not yet been developed, nor had N. Point.  The Dulles tollway did not exist; Rt. #7 and Lawyers were the main access roads to the New Town.  Reston Town Center (RTC) and Metro were but dreams.  We shopped at the cramped Magruder’s grocery in Vienna, an iconic Washington institution with an international clientele – diversity in Technicolor!  Thriving though the years is the activist, pioneering spirit of Reston, where all are welcomed and robust opinions are expected.  But where we once led the way as the premiere planned community in the world, today we are fighting to keep the character of our unique community alive.

What inspired you to run for the board?

During our 42 years in Reston, I have participated in a variety of community organizations, but became intensely interested in RA when the 2013 Lake Anne land swap occurred.  I was alarmed at irregularities that occurred during that process and later became involved in the debate over RA’s purchase of Tetra.  Looking at both Tetra’s run-down condition and the property’s limitations, I knew instantly it was wildly overpriced.  When the referendum to purchase passed by a narrow margin, I vowed to get to the bottom of how RA members were so misled.  Curious others, also concerned with the radical transformation of our planned community, conducted successful campaigns to be elected to the board.  When two directors resigned this year, two very active community volunteers were appointed.  This allowed a strong new board majority to closely examine RA internal processes.  When the recent independent Callaghan/Gallagher exposé on Tetra was presented, I knew we could not afford to backslide into a situation where special interests could manipulate RA decisions over the well-being of all.  An aging community has many challenges, but our financial and ethical integrity is paramount to serving our membership well over the long term.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

1. Urbanization: Bob Simon’s precious 7 founding principles  are disappearing as development springs up in the corridor and RTC.  The vast majority of Restonians object to recent densification without accompanying infrastructure in these areas. Livability in Reston is endangered, but Fairfax Co. officials are tone deaf to community frustration. A functioning, inclusive suburban planned community is our overwhelming preference.  Every day we worry ‘What is next?’
2. Communication: Understanding who controls what in Reston is frustrating!  Decoding the functions of organizations is tricky, as many overlap or sound similar. Even worse, in a rapidly changing Reston, public lack of awareness advantages developer interests.  While RA and its community partners desperately seek to facilitate understanding, no way exists to communicate efficiently, if members do not sign up for newsletters or critical announcements.  People can empower themselves by providing email addresses to organizations who care and are working hard to serve.
3. Aging Community Assets:  RA must be disciplined in allocating limited resources for upkeep of and accessibility to our commonly owned amenities: pools, courts, fields and trails, etc.  RA’s covenants must be applied consistently to protect the value of all members’ property.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

Prime goals are:

• Promote RA as the representative of 22,000+ households, each of which has a stake in influencing future development in Reston.  Collectively, members represent a significant political force that is routinely ignored by Fairfax Co., as it seeks to capitalize on Reston’s fine reputation.  However, unrestrained densification without limits and supporting infrastructure threaten our community’s flavor and functioning.  We want to remain a welcoming, caring, diverse planned community!  OUR taxes pay county bills; we want OUR judgments to determine OUR future.
• Continue the complete assessment of all RA departments, processes, programs, projects and internal controls.  One assumes, as a 52 year old organization, RA has sophisticated management systems in place.  Surprisingly, StoneTurn’s 2017 review proved otherwise.  The current new board led by President Hebert & new treasurer Ganesan have accomplished much in a short time; I support the completion of this huge, critical job.
• Promote sound fiscal management of RA.  Although RA cannot be all things to all people, we can chart a holistic analysis of Reston’s many working parts.  We should identify what other entities can fill some of the voids impossible for RA to undertake.  We can and should coordinate with other resources to best serve our members.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

Reston is a complex puzzle and our history is not always pretty.  For the past 10 years, I have attended 100’s of meetings.  As a Reston Citizens Association (not RA!) board member and Co-Chair of Reston 20/20, I have learned about Fairfax County’s Small Tax District #5 (aka Reston Community Center) and RA.  At the county level, I have interacted with planners or chiefs in most departments.  I have been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Restonians in many issues:

• The Make Reston a Town movement (2007)
• Reston Master Planning including subsequent, continuous rapid-fire zoning amendments that change the density/character of Reston (2009 – present)
• The fight to save Reston National Golf Course (2012)
• Library system degradation (2012 – present)
• Lake Anne land swap (2013)
• Indoor Rec center at Baron Cameron Park (2013)
• Lake Anne Fellowship House redevelopment (2013)
• Tetra/Lake House (2015 – 2018)
• Tall Oaks Shopping Center (2016)
• St. John’s Wood (2016)
• Reston Town Center paid parking (2017)
• Kensington Assisted Living outside of Transit Station Area boundaries (2017 – present)
• Hidden Creek Golf Course preservation pursuant to developer purchase (2017 – present)
• Metro and gridlock (sigh…)

I have been privileged to serve as a member of Reston’s diverse, committed volunteer army and hope to use my knowledge and love of Reston to carry on in service to the residents of RA’s South Lakes District.

Click here to view video statements or read candidate statements submitted to RA. 

Photo by Reston Association