Mason District Deserves a New Supervisor

Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross provided her brand of “continuity” on Tuesday, September 24. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved plans to increase the footprint of the INOVA campus for the Center for Personalized Health. Simultaneously, the Board increased building capacity in adjacent Fairview Park by 1.6 million square feet. The Board punted on road infrastructure improvements and environmental impacts. Impacts that directly affect Supervisor Gross’ district.

Housing is a Board priority as your paper noted in a September 11, 2019 article: “Region’s elected officials urge their governments to commit to affordable-housing targets”. To quell the outcry from Mason District residents, who would feel the brunt of traffic (additional 10,000 cars) and environmental impacts (runoff and loss of habitat), the number of housing units decreased from the Planning Commission to the Board. The decrease in housing is a direct result of Supervisor Gross’ inability to communicate with and unwillingness to represent effectively her own constituents.

At the meeting, Supervisor Gross jokingly told INOVA staffers that they were “on notice” to deal with the pending environmental issues. Of course, she’s a member of the Board of Trustees of INOVA, Environmental Chair for the Board of Supervisors, and a member of the Board of Supervisors representing Mason District. Naturally, one would expect that her input (and the input of citizens in her district) had already been incorporated into the plan. That was not the case.

Supervisor Linda Smyth humbly and rightfully bragged about how the Task Force met the complex demands of their mission in record time: 1.5 years. She stated by comparison that Mosaic, the successful mixed use development near the Dunn Loring Metro stop, took 3 years.

In Gary Aiken's debates with Supervisor Gross, she’s lamented six year traffic planning cycles and 10 year comprehensive planning cycles. She’s been in office for 24 years. That’s two Comprehensive Plans. That’s four Traffic Plans. That’s eight Mosaics. That’s sixteen INOVA/Fairview Parks.

In her 24 years as Supervisor, Ms. Gross has been unsuccessful in revitalizing Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, Seven Corners, and Lincolnia. She has neglected the local environment. She has failed that most basic responsibility: to represent the constituents who elected her. Supervisor Gross has not earned four more years. It is time for a change in Mason District.

VOTE GARY AIKEN FOR MASON DISTRICT SUPERVISOR NOVEMBER 5.

www.garyaiken.org