Penny Gross launches re-election campaign
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| Gross and Bulova |
Penny Gross, Mason District’s representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, kicked off her re-election campaign Sunday at a fundraising event at the home of Dottie Bennett and Richard Morton in Lake Barcroft.
Among the politicians who turned out for Gross at the 15th Annual Champagne and Chocolate Extravaganza: Rep. Jim Moran, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Virginia Sen. Dick Saslaw, Del. Kaye Kory, Del. Jim Scott, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova, Supervisor Jim McKay, Supervisor John Faust, and school board member Sandy Evans.
Gross told the audience she loves representing the Mason District even though it takes “every gray cell and ounce of energy” to do so. One of her biggest challenges will be“to maintain the excellent reputation of our schools,” Gross said. She vowed to “work on transportation and environmental issues, celebrate diversity, revitalize our older communities, and maintain our quality of life.”
Connolly said Gross’ “thoughtful leadership and caring heart really made a difference for this community.” Bulova lauded Gross’ service on the board, calling her “my right hand.” Gross is vice chair of the board and chairs its environmental and personnel committees.
The Fairfax County Republican Party has not yet announced who will run against Gross.
Well, she does NOT have my vote. She should have thought about helping our older communities several years ago. Thanks for nothing Penny Gross.
ditto
Same here
Time for a change in the Mason District Supervisors office. Penny Gross is not in touch with her constituents.
I like Penny, but she has a nasty streak that sometimes comes out and has been known to yell at constituents. I would also like to see a more principled approach, versus going the expedient route.
I definitely agree with the idea that Penny Gross should not/not be re-elected. She has lost total touch with her constituents and has done nothing for them. She must be voted out in the upcoming election.
I like Supervisor Gross. She can be tough sometimes, but I do not think she is nasty. What do folks mean when they say she has lost touch? I don’t agree with some of her positions, but I think she is doing an OK job.
OK is not acceptable. she is mediocre and has done nothing to improve Annandale. Someone that feels her most important job is going to park musical openings is not what we need. When she is asked whether getting 100 percent disapproval from her constituents would make a difference as to whether townhouses would be erected, and she doesn’t seem to care one way or the other, and her indifference is indicative of her complacency and lack of respect for her constituents! Get someone else in there! Vote her out! Annandale has gone downhill since she has been our Supervisor.
Well said. Another job Penny Gross deems very important and spends much time on is donning a hard hat, holding a shovel in her hand, and posing for a photo op. Someone asked what is meant when it is said that she is out of touch. It is because she is clueless about problems her constituents have in the older communities of her district. And, she gets hot under the collar when you dare to disagree with her. Annandale has definitely gone downhill since she has been our supervisor. We need to vote her out.
Penny Gross uses parks, schools and social services to get the votes, but secretly is all about maximizing tax revenue for the county by supporting basically any all developers wishes…..and happily takes their campaign dollars. Look it up — her #1 campaign donation comes from real estate/developers and has steadily risen since she has been in office.
We need new blood in Mason District. She is out of touch.
Don’t Republicans tend to be more ‘pro-development’ than Democrats? I do’t doubt that Ms. Gross has accepted donations from developers, but I would guess that anyone who runs against her would be a Republican, hence they would tend to be even more pro-developer than she is. Does she have an opponent?
Regarding comment "I do’t doubt that Ms. Gross has accepted donations from developers" if the commenter meant they DO DOUBT, here is one example: Concordia is just one developer, and per http://concordiagroup.biz their work is "Specializing in developing land throughout the Washington, DC area," and lists two people, William J. Collins and Paul C. Norman, Jr. who have been some of her bigger donors per http://www.vpap.org:
William J. Collins from 2000 through 2009:
$1,299 Gross for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors – Penny
Paul C. Norman, Jr. (Vienna VA) from 2002 to 2007:
$1,000 Gross for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors – Penny
Concordia Group LLC (Bethesda, MD) from 2007 to 2010:
$1,000 Gross for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors – Penny
$200 Bulova for Fairfax County Board Chair – Sharon
More than one constituent has had Penny yell at her or him because Penny disagrees with that person. Granted, it's her right to do so, but as an elected official, that goes to smarts. I also am concerned that, while she pays lip service to housing and other issues important to our County, she does not appear to be a effective advocate for those issues.
I am complaining after 13 years of seeing declining infrastructure in my immediate area. Annandale Rd, Gallows Rd and several other offshoots from them are a total disgrace. I walked Annandale Rd yesterday and had trouble negotiating waste stacked or abandoned at curbside and obstructing the roadway. Particularly dangerous where there is no sidewalk e.g. as Annandale Rd rises to Walnut Hill. There is a huge amount of stone aggregate strewn about the road. It requires sweeping/pickup. Gallows Rd has been consistently under disrepair due to many construction projects. During these 13 yrs many projects being constructed required repeated destruction of pavement particularly Gallows Rd. Repairs have never been effectively carried out. Some projects were easy to identify such as Verizon infrastructure which went on for years. I saw one trench cut, steel plated, repaired ineffectively only to be opened up within a few weeks again with a slightly different trench cut. This is chaotic. The shopping mall adjacent Luther Jackson Middle School has been a construction staging area for three years or longer. Grass medians are never cleaned mowed or maintained. Leaf collection is poor and incomplete. An example is adjacent the bus stop at the Gallows Rd/Mason Dr intersection where leaf pickup has not been done for years. Fall waste is allowed to simply rot in the barely usable sidewalk. Current conditions are not acceptable. Cars take a beating each time I drive down these roads, it reminds me of living in East Africa where potholes infested the roads – I see no difference. I cannot use sidewalks and have to walk in the roadway in many areas. The 09/10 snow clearing left many curbs damaged due to plow impacts that still have not been repaired – this is disgusting. I presume some contractor or perhaps VDOT plows damaged the curbs and have been left unaccountable for that. Just drive past Exxon/Mobil H/Q either direction up to Cottage Lane and you can see the huge destruction all around. Visual impact says a lot about our urban area – none of it is good. Anyone would assume we don't care, can't be bothered and have no revenue to effect proper maintenance. Construction contractors seem to arrive and exit with impunity and no effective repair/reinstatement of wrecked infrastructure. What do you propose to do about this poor state of affairs? I pay my taxes just like people in Reston,, Herndon, Fairfax, etc. I expect to enjoy a well maintained public infrastructure like everyone else and not to be have to put up with these unacceptable conditions. I note the HOT lanes additional destruction by the independent owner/operator. Its impact on local conditions is massive. Trees ripped out with no reinstatement/replacement requirement, degraded visual environment reveals many unsightly views of buildings previously screened. The so visible urban sprawl now seems like living next to the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark. The HOT lanes project devised to permit rapid passage through this area benefits the elite and wealthy but it's disruption and inconvenience is of no advantage to residents of this area. I don't know why we should be expected to put up with these conditions. While this goes on I am paying higher taxes each year to live in a degraded environment. I am not confident that public officials intend to address these issues. I question whether I am getting my fair share of public action based on the again rising Fairfax county property taxes. What do you intend to do to effect adequate provision of public infrastructure in my area?
Penny is awesome and has been a great supervisor. I fully support her campaign! I am surprised by all of these negative comments. She's been a great asset to our community.
I agree with every single negative comment here. I reached out to Penny Gross four years ago when I saw my neighborhood go into decline. I received little support and never got a response to letters I wrote and emails I wrote regarding the physical condition of my neighborhood and trying to get support to copy the "Neighborhood Engagement Initiative" that John Cook has implemented in the Braddock District. I simply got no response. The Braddock district is embrassing community leaders and supporting their efforts to better their communities. Penny has four meetings a year for Civic and HOA presidents. That simply doesnt cut it. I have gone to these meetings and I dont really see how someone giving us a "powerpoint" presentation does any good for the problems our district faces. Over-crowding, litter everywhere, and yes take a look at how horrible columbia pike looks. Its a slum! All the community leaders at the meeting last year asked for action on litter and she said she would have another meeting on it – NEVER HAPPENED. I asked her to please put a small anti-litter ad in her newsletter to help educate people. NO RESPONSE. I recently re-formed the Mason District Council of Civic Associations to connect all the neighborhoods. I asked for a list of Civic Associations / HOA's from her office and they refused to email me a list. They "mailed" me copies of labels. I told Penny what I was doing and she got very angry and asked me "what gives you the legal right to do this!!!"
In addition to this, may I also point out that my neighborhood was snowed in for EIGHT days during snowmaggedon and all we got from her office was a voice message pointig us to VDOT. Isnt it the Supervisor's job to represent us when we need it most? Kaye Kory eventually came to our rescue. No help from Penny as usual. But, Penny had no problem pointing the finger at our volunteers who cleared invassive plants off an area near Glasgow Middle school. She reported them to VDOT for some sort of environmental disturbance. Response time – two days.
I for one dont even bother calling that office as it is an exercise in frustration for me. These are just a few of the stories…. believe me I have more.
I am disgusted with the lack of leadership coming from her office. She has avoided or punted on the biggest issues we face in Mason District – from BRAC, to traffic, to inbuild, to revitalization. If I read about one more "history" book she's working on, my head will pop off.
A year ago it was reported that Penny was paid $75,000.02/year.
http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/381124.html
We are hard pressed to find a replacement for somebody who works so hard for so little.
she shouldn't be in the office — she's a thief as far as I'm concerned — she has not listened to any of her constituents and has stolen Mason District for herself. Get her out of here.
give me a break. she needs to be voted out. one of the guys standing on the street at 7/11 would do a better job than she does.