Gross opens campaign office in Annandale
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| Penny Gross speaks to supporters at her campaign office. |
Supervisor Penny Gross told supporters at the opening of her re-election
campaign headquarters April 22. Dozens of local residents came to Gross’ campaign office, located in the former Healthway store on John Marr Drive in Annandale.
and a privilege,” Gross said. “It’s also a lot of hard work.” Being supervisor is “the best job,” because, “I get
to “address the everyday aggravations of life.”
Gross said one of her top priorities is education, noting that
the county transferred $30 billion to schools since she was first elected to the
BoS 20 years ago. She also said, “it’s been a joy to work on the issues that
don’t get a lot of attention” – such as clean water, the tree canopy, and stormwater
issues – that address “the physical nature of our community and make it a
great place to live.”
Gross, who’s served on the Board of Supervisors for over 19
years, urged her supporters to work hard, making phone calls and knocking on
doors, to ensure a win in the Democratic primary on June 9. Her primary
opponent is Jessica Swanson, who has never run for political office before.
election in November.
but, up until the day after she announced, she was listed on the Republicans’
website as the precinct captain in Parklawn for the Republican Party,” said George
Burke, communications director for Rep. Gerry Connolly. “Don’t let them fool you. They just know it’s
tough to elect a Republican in Mason so they’re going to run her as an
independent.”
re-election this year, called Gross “one of the most competent elected
officials in this state.”
district. There is nothing going on here that she doesn’t know.”
Connolly, running to retain his seat in Congress, gave Gross
credit for Fairfax County having “the lowest crime rate in the history of the
county.” And noting that Gross chairs the board’s environmental committee, he
said, “we have one of the most robust environmental plans in the country.” He
also praised her efforts in promoting regional cooperation.
her ebullient character, her energy, and her willingness to commit.”
22 responses to “Gross opens campaign office in Annandale”
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Jessica Swanson is one-note candidate – all she wants is MORE MONEY for schools, but has not provided any specifics as to how to pay for the increase (higher taxes? cuts to public safety?). While I think everyone supports high-quality public education, I think Ms. Swanson needs to realize that most voters don't want to just give the schools a blank check.
…grabs popcorn
Penny Gross has been the CAUSE of everyday aggravations in this community for two decades. Enough is enough.
Please go out and vote so we can end this legacy of ineptitude and greed and hopefully move on to actual leadership.
Penny hasn't run a competitive campaign since Buzz Hawley ran against her in 2003. Jessica Swanson won't offer her any competition, so it's up to Mollie Loeffler to unseat Penny. In order for that to happen, the mainstream GOP must stay out of this race. They're toxic in Mason and will only take votes away from Mollie. In addition, a lot of residents will have to contribute financially to Mollie's campaign and help get out the vote. It's easy to forget that most Mason voters aren't nearly as well versed in local issues as many readers of this blog. They need to be educated. Penny is a longstanding incumbent with good name recognition who won't easily be unseated.
You know, Penny Gross could just bow out gracefully, say that she is retiring, and it would not be all that scandalous, but she just won't. So, she will have to be voted out of office.
I am impressed with Penny's vast knowledge of municipal and state laws, her attention to minor issues (she has driven down my street multiple times when I have written her about complaints, and made sure that they were somewhat resolved), and her general vast knowledge of the area.
The ills plaguing our area are not entirely her fault.
However, all of the above is not enough, and I still am not voting for her in the coming election
such as clean water, the tree canopy, and stormwater issues – that address “the physical nature of our community and make it a great place to live.”
FAIL UNDER GROSS – "physical nature" of our community –
Let me pull this apart..
Gross said. “It’s also a lot of hard work.” Being supervisor is “the best job,” because, “I get to “address the everyday aggravations of life.”
Gross is one of the biggest everyday aggravation of life here in Mason District.
Gross said one of her top priorities is education
This is crap! I was at a meeting one time when education was brought up she said "That is not my problem!"
State Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-35th District), called Gross “one of the most competent elected officials in this state.”
If this is the best VA has to offer that is sad for VA.
Dick Saslaw can't be expected to criticize another NOVA Democrat. Penny's forte isn't providing leadership on critical Mason District issues. It's being a good soldier and supporting Bulova, Saslaw, Connnolly and other Democrats. That's worked well for her.because most Mason residents vote according to party label. With the exception of some infill housing construction, Mason has been dormant economically for Penny's entire tenure as supervisor. That's finally beginning to change and she's repeatedly demonstrated over the past several years that she can't keep up with the times. However, unseating her won't be easy unless Mollie can get out her message.
"Economically dormant" – you can't lay the blame on Penny for that. We did have that little thing called the Great Recession (which many economist are now saying was really a depression), and from which we are just now recovering from. I think that killed a lot of potential projects. But if the economy keeps improving, I would expect to see real economic development to start happening soon…
Economic development: The Loeffler NIMBYs will be shooting them all down.
Don't expect progress under Loeffer. Expect that she'll want to set the clock back to 1954.
@2:43 I heard that same talking points from Penny at local town hall meetings and at neighborhood gatherings. You must be either Penny or very closely related to her.
@8:10 Um no, my comment is not based on any "talking points" but instead based on observation and fact. Seriously, did you forget about the dang recession? I sure as heck haven't. And no, I do not "work for Penny" (nor am I Penny) but I am likely going to vote for her over the other two candidates.
Why is it whenever anyone posts a comment on here based on logic or reason, or posts something that goes against what this mob thinks they are immediately accused of working for Penny? Are you working for Mollie?
Where to begin. " Robust environmental plan" ?
Ever looked closely at Tripps and Holmes Run ?
Sewage spills into Lake Barcroft and 2 abortive attempts before a successful clean up? How many of these may occur in other neighborhoods that are undetected or ignored?
What good is the Chesapeake Bay legislation if its not enforced?
Instead of attempting to save some of our precious,disappearing green space, Penny facilitates every development that comes her way. with the exception of saving the Culmore soccer field. In that case, she ignored a massive community effort to save the one recreation space within the apartment complexes.
How does the addition of 16,000 residential units including parking in the Baileys/7 Corners area contribute to her environmental plan? More cars, pollution,concrete and storm water doesn't seem to be the answer. Our infrastructure is already on life support.
If this is the best that can be said about Penny's record, it is definitely time for a change..
"Sewage spills into Lake Barcroft and 2 abortive attempts before a successful clean up?" Maybe I should feel bad about that, but, at least this time, I can't blame Penny for it. It's not as if she was doing the actual digging. From an environmental standpoint, Lake Barcroft is like Las Vegas. What flows into it stays in it. It's basically a sink for holding effluent. There may still be prestige associated with living there, but I view it as a stink hole that should never have been dug.
Perhaps, you would feel differently if it were your back yard, which is a possibility considering the age of and increased pressure put on the existing system.
A pleasant thought, isn't it?.
Hardly. I could have moved there, but chose to live adjacent to the Lake Barcroft community instead. That's because there's nothing ecologically sound about living next to an artificial lake. My current street offers a system of storm water drains that have withstood the test of time.
There are so many former store fronts available, how did she choose that one?
She could've had the entire Bloom supermarket – the one that's been dormant for three years thanks to her neglect for the local economy.
But she sure loves more sprawl builders!
Things sure are busy in the Penny camp. Phone surveys, mailer surveys. After 20 years in office, shouldn't she have a firm grasp of community concerns? Why the rash of attention now?
Because she has to run a competitive campaign for a change.
People say Penny's office is attentive, but I have contacted her office several times for issues in my neighborhood (it's a culdesac that gets minimal attention) and they basically brush us aside. Her office is condescending and only focused on the popular sexy issues, but half of the sidewalks are covered in weeds, uncut grass, and trash. Several marquee businesses have been run out or fled Annandale under her years in office. How about someone with a better long term vision proposes that to the people, so they can see why Penny must go? Maybe I should run…
Where is Penny's crowd of supporters? She looks lonely standing there holding a microphone.