As Political Power Shifts, So Do Prospects for the Region's Economy

In truth, a significant slowdown was inevitable no matter how the elections turned out, for the simple reason that the region just can't absorb many more people at the moment. One needs no better proof of that than the decision this week by Loudoun County to reject a new mega-development, with as many as 33,800 homes, on 9,200 acres west of Dulles Airport.

Even the pro-development supervisors in Loudoun now acknowledge that we need a timeout on major new developments until roads, schools and other infrastructure can be built to handle the growth we've already had. And the business community is slowly coming around to the recognition that we need a regional process -- in particular, one that involves the federal government -- to better plan and manage the area's growth.

Over the past few years, the key impediments to such a regional approach were political. The governors of Maryland and Virginia were of different parties, from different ends of the political spectrum, while the two state legislatures were either hostile to the Washington suburbs or took them for granted. Moreover, when it came to economic development, the focus was on growth, and the various jurisdictions were more likely to be competitive than cooperative.

But the times, they are a changin'. Maryland and Virginia will now both have moderate-to-liberal Democratic governors who won office with the help of the Washington suburbs and who, as former mayors of Baltimore and Richmond, are experienced in dealing with development issues. Meanwhile, in almost every political jurisdiction in the region, the focus of local officials has clearly shifted from generating growth to better managing it. It also won't hurt that we'll soon have a speaker of the House (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California) who grew up as the mayor's daughter in Baltimore, and possibly a House majority leader from Maryland (Rep. Steny H. Hoyer), and a Senate that is now under Democratic control thanks to the voters of Maryland and Virginia.

What might come of these political changes? Local business leaders have already begun to talk quietly about a high-level commission, involving federal, state and local officials, charged with coming up with a development plan for a national capital area that extends from Baltimore to Richmond. The idea would be to try to harmonize the operational needs of the federal government with the needs of the residents, businesses and local governments in the region. Such a commission could address such issues as the cleanup of Chesapeake Bay and the expansion of Metro and commuter rail lines, educating a federal workforce and the development around Fort Belvoir and Fort Meade. And while the plan would not necessarily be binding, it could provide a guide to federal and state investments in the region while providing a mechanism for cooperation on regional transportation and development issues among state and local governments.

How important would that be? Just ask the supervisors in Loudoun County.

Steven Pearlstein can be reached at pearlsteins@washpost.com.