Corey A. Stewart

Corey A. Stewart for Board of Supervisors

Woodbridge, VA ~ BristowEnews.com met with Corey A. Stewart, the current incumbent and the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The 29th District election is Tuesday, November 6, 2007 and as a continued public service to the community we have outlined these following questions for Chairman Stewart.

1. The intent of Immigration Resolution - 287G.

2. Hot Issues for the Residents of Bristow, Gainesville, and Nokesville.

3. Message to the Voters for the upcoming November 6, 2007 election.

According to Corey Stewart the resolution came about because there were pressing needs to address the concerns and complaints of the local residents. Chairman Stewart noted the intent of this express opinion was a result of these following events leading up to this resolution:

1. Over-crowded homes ~ Degradation of neighborhood, people parking on lawns, uncollected trash, and other related issues.

2. Increase in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) population in the public school systems ~ The ESOL population has grown at least by 270%. The population has increased by 27% over the past years.

3. Illegal aliens were using the hospital emergency services as means for obtaining routine medical visits.

4. Gang Violence ~ Statistics have indicated that gang violence is directly proportioned to the rise of illegal alien immigration. Over 1/5th of the Jail Precinct Population are illegal immigrants.

5. Stress on public services. The county has limited resources in addressing public needs and Mr. Stewart feels illegal aliens' pose an additional burden to the local government resources. Public services should only cater to the needs of the local legal residents and citizens of the United States.

The county has been monitoring the overall effects of illegal immigration over the course of several years and believes there is causal and effect as it relates to the upsurge in illegal immigration and illegal gang activities. Within this framework, the 287G Program was developed. The 287G program which his office authored about year ago essentially refers to the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1996. This program deputizes local enforcement personnel to act and enforce Immigration Laws within boundaries. The 287G program recently passed this July of 2007.

This program requires law enforcement official to complete a 5 week of training course. In addition, a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by the local enforcement and Homeland Security, which includes the Immigration and Customs Office. However, at this time, this program has not been fully adopted.

As a result of this Resolution, the county had immediately identified 57 illegal immigrants in the local jail system that would have been released had the Resolution not passed. Upon completion of their jail time these offenders were eventually turned over to the federal court systems where legal due process took effect and the process of deportation began. In concert with this program, local enforcement authorities have the means of inquiring the legal status of suspected offenders during and as the result of illegal activities. The program allows law enforcement authorities to identify and to arrest suspected illegal aliens who commit crimes. He further noted that this resolution is a "Public Safety" and has addressed the five (5) issues and concerns mentioned above. The full implementation of this Resolution will not be in effect until the beginning of early or mid year of 2008 depending on the budget and the processes in place. Chairman Steward feels the current lawsuit against this Resolution is without merit and weight. He feels the Program can withstand legal scrutiny.

Top Three Issues:

1. Controlling residential development, making sure the county has the resources to address growth, schools, and infrastructure. He feels area resident needs are addressed adequately as it relates to classroom sizes, qualified teachers, and the current road infrastructure.

2. Residential Developers are accountable and need to share the burden. The county believes residential developers profit from these housing development and must share in funding and maintenance of public roads. There is currently a process in place for receiving fees from residential developers. The current fees are set to $38,000 for single family home and cascading depending on the type of homes such as town homes, condominiums, etc. Chairman Steward recently requested to the Board to raise the amount to $51,000 per home because this is what actual costs in building a new school to support a residential development. Although the board rejected the request, Chairman Steward is currently working and revisiting the issue again. The other concern is with the application of land development and zoning. There are current needs to re-address the zoning fees and amend the zoning grand-fathered clause within the system.

3. Impact Fees on already Zoned Properties. There are currently 50,000 units that have been re-zoned and need to re-assess according to current needs. Michael York of Loudon County, Governor Kaine, and Chairman Stewart worked on attaching these fees to the newly Transportation Bill. This bill allows the state or the local government to charge road impact fees based on the size of the residential land development. This bill will be in full effect sometime next year and will be the 1st in the country. The other long term plan is to attach this bill to the Educational Funding System.

Message to Local Voters:

Overall - Layout a vision for controlling residential growth and development, focus on spending, focus on Transportation and Education system, and crack down on illegal immigration. He feels in the short amount of time he has spent in public office, his role allowed him to accomplish many tasks. He is certain that the responsibilities ahead will be sometimes daunting, but he confident that it can be done.

 

Date Published: 2007-11-04 06:00:00

Section: Politics,