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Seeing Vote's Effects Far Beyond Herndon
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) said the election was less about immigration policy than about weariness with the national spotlight. "It was notoriety fatigue," he said. "People wanted their town back."
At the worker center yesterday morning, about 50 laborers sat at picnic tables, relaxing in the warm spring air as they waited for work. Though hiring center officials had given them a rundown on the vote, many did not know about the results or even that there had been an election.
  Mayor-elect Steve J. DeBenedittis opposed the job center for day laborers, which has a town permit until fall 2007. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post) Online Resources
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Though they were unsure what to make of the vote, they were unanimous about one thing: The job center, with its English classes, toilets and regulated hiring methods, is, as Ruben Perez put it, "magnificent." Without it, they said, they would be back in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven or the Giant Food or the Shoppers Food Warehouse.
"Here, there is order," said Roger Espinal, 21, waving his hand to show off the parking lot.
Martin Rios, the center's project manager, said he hoped the center would survive under the new mayor, Steve J. DeBenedittis, and the council. But his eyes betrayed worry.
"It is a shame," he said. "The people really didn't understand how much of a help this was to the town. It represented a lack of information, not just about day labor but about the immigrant population."
The vote, he said, "is a big stone in the way."
The center's long-term future remains unclear at best. Its town permit comes up for renewal in fall 2007. Reston Interfaith, a nonprofit group, operates the center under a $175,000 contract with Fairfax County that expires in mid-2007. Some candidates who won Tuesday night said little is likely to happen until the agreements expire.
But Bill Tirrell, a former council member who was returned to office, said he would push to place the center under greater scrutiny by town government. If it is found to be violating conditions of the local use permit, the new mayor and council could move to close it.
Staff writers Tom Jackman and Lisa Rein contributed to this report.
