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Weathering The Economy

While Northern Virginia hasn’t been hit as hard as other places in the country by the recent economic downturn, many parts of Mt. Vernon are facing the toughest times they’ve ever encountered. Our focus needs to be three-fold: 1) Enact and strengthen policies that will help turn our economy around, 2) Fix the habits and practices in Richmond that are doing more harm than good, and 3) Work to create common-sense provisions that will better protect Virginia from future crises.

Control Spending

Too often those in government forget that they are spending the people’s money – and that everything they spend needs to meet the needs of the community. Our representatives must provide a critical eye to watch every program to ensure it is necessary and effective. As a Delegate, it is not only important to work within government to provide the best for one’s constituents, but also to be watchful stewards of the trust and financial resources those constituents put into government.

Create Jobs by Maintaining our Right to Work Laws

One of the most important aspects of attracting and keeping businesses are our right-to-work laws. While only a few are seriously interested in repealing these laws, there have been repeated attempts to weaken them. Unfortunately, even weakening these laws detracts from our ability to attract new businesses. As delegate, I will oppose any attempt to weaken our right-to-work laws, to make sure that Virginia remains a place where businesses want to do business.

Attract Businesses to the Route 1 Corridor

Richmond Highway should be a vibrant business corridor, providing an excellent place to both live and work. Increasingly, however, it is dotted with at-risk or failing businesses, like our recently closed movie theater. We need immediate solutions to revitalize the corridor, improving access, traffic flow, and safety, while protecting our long term strategy for growth. Businesses have a choice of where to locate – we need to make sure we’re the best option.

Smarter Projections

We have been hampered in the past several years by inaccurate or optimistic revenue projections that leave us in a deeper hole when reality hits. We need to review every step of how we project our budget and reform where necessary. Investing in this now will save untold amounts down the line, and will help restore confidence in the budget process.

Short Term Spending, Long Term Consequences

As a delegate, I will take a tough stand against spending money without the proper resources behind it. We have seen too often in recent years of borrowing more money, raiding our Rainy Day Fund, or relying on federal intervention and the strings that come attached to it. These short-term fixes not only increase our burden for when those sources run out, but also jeopardize our future ability to keep real and necessary programs operating.

Virginia has worked hard, in a bi-partisan manner, to earn our AAA Bond Rating. We can leverage this excellent legacy to good effect, but must carefully manage our accounts, maintain our Rainy Day Fund, and keep our culture of fiscal responsibility so that future generations can continue to benefit from our business and family friendly financial environment.

Run Government Like a Business

As a businessman, I understand that when economic times are tough, you have to make smart, sometimes painful, decisions. Successful businesses also know that you have to continually stay ahead of emerging trends and capabilities, be creative and solution oriented, and never let yourself become wedded to old and ineffective ways.

Families across the Commonwealth have had to tighten their belts and adjust to our current economic climate, as well as to the changing economy of the XXIst Century. It is imperative that government follows suit. By applying business principles we can keep our government running well, minimize wasted resources, end ineffective programs, and prevent tax increases on our families and businesses.

An integral part of any good business is regularly reviewing every expense made. As the direct representative of citizens, it is the duty of state legislators to investigate, review, and when prudent audit government agencies and programs to make sure taxpayers’ money is never wasted.

Business leadership, like community and government leadership, means keeping an eye always on success. As your delegate I will do what needs to be done to keep Virginia strong and growing.

Transparency

The public has a right to know what Richmond spends their money on, and they deserve to have easy access to this information. I will fight to make our budget and spending process as transparent as possible, and use new technology to increase citizen access and involvement. I support ideas like “Google for Government” and other similar ideas that puts information online and removes obstacles to the public finding out what they have a right to know.

Paid for and Authorized by Jay McConville for Delegate