Contest in 31st Focuses On Schools, Roads, Taxes

Transportation projects and resources for schools are the dominant issues in a hard-fought three-way race for the Republican nomination in Virginia's newly redrawn 31st House District.

Vying for the open seat are Nokesville businessman G.E. Buck Waters, retired Army Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter, of Dale City, and builder Dell P. Ennis, of Midland.

The well-funded and unusually active campaign began in earnest days after the legislature finished its statewide redistricting plan in April. As one of several open seats in increasingly Republican territory, the 31st District also has been fertile ground for a fledgling anti-tax movement with a strong base in Prince William.

The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Democrat Michele "Mickie" Krause, a retired Marine Corps colonel from the Manassas area, in the Nov. 6 election, which will decide who holds the state's three top offices and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.

Fiscal, rather than social, issues have dominated the campaign, largely because of the need for highway and public transit improvements in the region. A proposal for a referendum on increasing the sales tax for new highway funds for Northern Virginia failed narrowly this year as the region's delegation split on whether higher taxes are the answer to solving the area's transportation woes.

Lingamfelter, 50, who moved to the 31st District from Lake Ridge this summer, is a fervent tax opponent who bemoans the size of state government. Instead of raising taxes, he says, Virginia should pare unnecessary state spending.

"We don't have a problem that requires more taxes," he said.

Waters, 41, a consultant and past president of the Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce, called an anti-tax pledge "too restrictive." Waters has focused his primary bid on proposals for tax credits for families with school-age children and those in continuing education programs.

Ennis, 42, a builder of custom homes, is a former Democratic Party leader who stresses support for small business and high-tech development. Ennis said he would like to lure more high-tech business to the Vint Hill Road area of Fauquier to provide a much-needed revenue source for the county. He wants to fast-track several road projects, including widening Route 29 west of Gainesville.

Ennis has been endorsed by the Prince William teachers union and has several education proposals that include giving less weight to Standards of Learning test scores and returning more control over spending and classroom curriculum to local teachers. Like Waters, he refused to sign a no-tax pledge.

The 31st, formerly represented by Del. Jay Katzen (R-Fauquier), the party's nominee for lieutenant governor, stretches from Dale City to Brentsville and west into Fauquier along Route 29. Eleven of the 15 precincts are in Prince William.