Time spent stuck in traffic is time that could be spent more productively, being with family, coaching kids’ sports or working. When I grew up in Mount Vernon, congestion in Northern Virginia was virtually non-existent. You could get from A to B without encountering gridlock. In July, 2009, the Washington Post reported that Northern Virginia has the second-worst congestion in the United States and it is getting worse. Studies say that congestion costs the average Virginia driver $1,000 per year in lost productivity due to lost fuel, accidents, vehicle maintenance, and most importantly - lost time.

Fairfax County’s public schools are one of our most valuable assets.  We have a long tradition of excellent schools and talented teachers. In fact, many families move to Mount Vernon because of our quality schools.  Mount Vernon's property values are significantly stabilized by having some of the best schools in the County.  However, our schools are stressed by the recession’s impact on government.

In 1948, my grandparents helped create Mount Vernon’s oldest operating preschool – the Tauxemont Preschool on Fort Hunt Road. Three generations of my family have thrived at this community institution.

I am a product of Virginia’s first-class public colleges. My mother was the first in nine generations of Virginians in her family to attend college – Longwood University and get a master’s degree at the University of Virginia. My father attended the affordable University of Virginia School of Law. I attended James Madison University during the recession in the early 1990’s and the University of Virginia School of Law school shortly afterwards. While at JMU, the state imposed huge budget cuts resulting in a three-year hiring freeze, salary freeze, fewer programs and skyrocketing tuition – even mid-year tuition increases. While in law school, Virginia took all state money out of my law school. Since I left UVA Law, tuition has more than tripled from $8,500 per year to $26,000 for in-state students.

In a country as rich in resources as ours, every American should have health insurance and access to regular health care. Health insurance should truly insure. We should have policies that support the basic principle of insurance, to spread risk across a large, diverse group in a way that provides security to people and keeps rates affordable.

I am the owner of a small business. We have 32 employees, 17 of whom are on our plan. We provide health insurance for our employees and do not pass along the cost because we believe it is our responsibilities as an employer to provide good benefits to our workers. We pay over $150,000 in insurance costs and received notice of a 13 percent increase this year – the smallest increase we have seen in three years. Health care costs are squeezing small businesses and pushing many to drop insurance for their employees, leaving workers to pay for health insurance with after-tax dollars or forego insurance. Having more uninsured and under-insured people means that the rest of us lucky enough to have insurance have to pay more to provide services to others through, for example, more emergency room visits.

Everyone deserves a safe, secure retirement and the chance to age in their home if that is their choice. Mount Vernon is a wonderful place to live. Many people who moved here years ago still live here . My grandparents moved to Mount Vernon in 1941 and both had the good fortune to live in their home until they passed away because of the support provided by our family. However, with many families dispersed today, not everyone enjoys the same support.

In response to this need, community organizations such as Mount Vernon At Home have sprung up.  These organizations minimize taxpayer burdens and provide flexible community-based support for our elderly.  Virginia should help facilitate the start up of these organizations through targeted grants.

Virginia is blessed with natural resources, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. We are fortunate here in the Mount Vernon/U.S. 1 area to live near the “nation’s river” and have wonderful parks like the George Washington Parkway, Fort Hunt Park, Grist Mill Park, the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, Huntley Meadows Park and a state park and national wildlife refuge on Mason Neck.

Every society depends on clean air and clean water and our country has some of the strongest public health measures in the world.

The enforcement of our criminal laws and protection of Virginians from crime is perhaps the most fundamental government function undertaken by state government. Historically, Virginians have also led the nation in ensuring that our criminal justice system is fair. The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in Fairfax County by George Mason and was the foundation for the Bill of Rights constituting the first ten amendments to the United States’ Constitution.

While it is easy to say that one is going to be tough on crime and propose new laws criminalizing new behaviors, convicting criminals requires the Commonwealth to actually invest resources in prosecutions. Largely because of television shows, many juries expect first-class forensic services before convicting criminals. As an attorney, I see the effects of these shortcomings daily while defending criminal cases in Virginia’s justice system.