Chairman Campaign A Showcase of Styles

Sharon E. Pandak and Corey A. Stewart are vying for the position of chairman of the Board of Supervisors. (By Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)

In the Prince William County special election for the Board of Supervisors chairman, Corey A. Stewart, a Republican who has represented Occoquan since he first won office in 2003, has worked to make the race a referendum on growth.

Sharon E. Pandak, a Democrat who served as county attorney for 15 years before leaving in 2004, has emphasized leadership.

In debates and interviews, Stewart has argued that the county must force developers to pay more for the public services that new housing requires. He also has expressed his opposition to allowing new high-density development and signed a pledge to curb growth in the county's Rural Crescent, a preserve that limits housing to one unit per 10 acres.

"He's right on this issue. He's right on the issue everyone cares about," said Thomas A. Kopko, chairman of the Prince William Republican Committee.

Pandak has characterized Stewart's views on development as simplistic and unworkable, saying his extreme rhetoric will make negotiating with builders more difficult. She has argued for a more measured approach, noting that dense development may make sense in areas served by mass transit.

Although she has refused to sign any pledges circulated by advocacy groups, including one by Advocates for the Rural Crescent on growth, she cites her work as county attorney on the details to create the preserve as one of her "proudest achievements." That work required listening to all sides, she said.

"Frankly, I have a lot of experience working over the years with both parties," she said.

Pandak also has characterized Stewart as a lone wolf who has alienated other board members. She also criticized him for voting against budgets because property owners would pay more taxes but then supporting programs made possible by those revenues.

Stewart defended his style.

"It's easy to call going along to get along 'leadership.' Sometimes, you've got to be ready to fight," Stewart said. He acknowledges the need to build alliances if he is elected chairman. "I'm not going to win every fight, I'm not going to win every battle, but if I can nudge the county in the right direction, I'll call that a victory."

Pandak, 53, said she grew up in Staunton in an apolitical family. Her father was an athletic director and coach at a private military academy and later a public school teacher and coach. Her mother was a school librarian. She is the eldest of four children.

"Mostly, I read a lot of history," she said, adding that "The Once and Future King," T.H. White's classic retelling of the Arthurian legends, was a favorite. She earned undergraduate and law degrees at the College of William and Mary. As she became more involved in politics, beginning with the student government presidency, she looked to Rep. Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state, as a model.

Pandak married Robert Ross, an assistant Fairfax County attorney, in May 2004. They have no children. She is a lawyer with Greehan, Pandak and Stone PLLC of Woodbridge.

Stewart, 38, grew up outside Duluth, Minn., with three older brothers and a younger sister. Their subdivision had a 90-acre preserve that still shapes his views on the need for children to grow up with room to play outdoors.

His father was a longshoreman. His mother took care of the children. He was the only conservative Republican in a family of Democrats who were generally liberal on issues such as economic justice and culturally conservative on matters such as abortion.

A year at St. Olaf College made him restless for new horizons.

"I went up to my dorm window and opened the curtains and it was cornfield," he said. "It wasn't what I wanted."

He transferred to Georgetown University and later attended law school at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn. He is an international trade lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP in the District.

He spent time traveling, particularly in Europe. He was in Eastern Europe when the Berlin Wall fell, and he took part in student protests in Bulgaria. He also taught English in Japan, where he met his wife, Maria. They have two sons.