Kory, Smith square off on taxes

The candidates for the 38th district of the House of Delegates—Democrat Kaye Kory and Republican Danny Smith—clearly differed on the issue of raising taxes Oct. 13 at the Greater Sleepy Hollow Candidates Forum at the Congressional School sponsored by the Sleepy Hollow. The 38th district includes most of Annandale, Lake Barcroft, and parts of Falls Church and Seven Corners.

Kory, at least had the guts to take a stand on an unpopular issue and acknowledge that we can’t fix the state’s transportation mess and continue to provide good schools without coming up with new revenue.

In response to a question from the audience on their plan for meeting the state’s budget obligations, Kory, noting that “the state does not have enough revenue to meet its constitutional obligations,” said there are two solutions: “improving performance and efficiencies and enhanced revenue generation. We have to do both.”

Smith said “Families barely making ends meet cannot afford another tax burden.” His solution is to “expand the economy and grow the jobs base.”

Jobs are important, especially green jobs, Kory countered, but we also need to expand the schools’ career technical programs. “There is not just one answer, and there is no free lunch.”

The two sparred over education after Smith said it is “alarming” that the performance of Annandale and Falls Church High schools is below the state average in 32 areas. Kory said it all depends on “how your construe the statistics,” noting that more than 50 percent of the students in those schools are from families below the poverty line and have other risk factors, such as not being native English speakers.

When asked whether the state should empower counties to enact stronger environmental regulations, Smith said: “Yes, in certain areas. Fresh water is a concern.” He called for stronger laws to protect the Chesapeake Bay and mentioned the need to improve education on the environment.

Kory stressed the need “to empower the county to enforce regulations already passed” and reinforced her credibility on environmental issues by citing her endorsements from the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters.

In her opening statement, Kory, a representative of the Mason district on the Fairfax County school board since 1999, stressed her experience and accomplishments, including the renovations of Stuart High School and Sleepy Hollow Elementary, the renovation and expansion of Glasgow Middle School, and the forthcoming building of a new elementary on the site of the Lacey school administration building, which will be the first school in the county with geothermal energy.

Previously, Kory worked for a community agency on aging and the Fairfax County Department of Community Action. She spoke about her commitment to make “my neighborhood and my state a better place to live” and said we need a delegate who is “invested in the community and who knows how to bring people together and not get stuck in partisan politics.”

Danny Smith, a vice president at Fannie Mae, has been president of the Falls Court homeowners association, which represents a townhouse development in the Providence district. A native of Tennessee, he told the crowd his political experience started at age 15 as a page in the U.S. Capitol for Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-Tenn.). He later served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.