Influence of Developers, Allies Runs Deep

Tulloch defended the purchase, saying the land has gained in value. It was assessed at $15.5 million in 2006. Nothing has been built on the property since the county bought it.

The sale netted the Saudis $10 million more than they had paid six years earlier.

Talking Points Prepared

As the pro-growth supervisors settled into office in 2004, they appeared to be taking cues from people with a financial stake in board decisions.

Jeffery Cowart, president of Delta Strategies, Inc., a Leesburg public relations company that has advocated for Greenvest and others, coached Snow, another of the new pro-growth majority, on how to answer critics of growth, records show. In one set of " talking points," Cowart included advice on how Snow should respond if he was asked about political contributions from Greenvest. The company gave $2,000 to his campaign.

"Steve Snow's vote cannot be bought and sold," Cowart wrote in a 2004 e-mail, providing language for the supervisor. "I served my country in the military for 25 years to protect and preserve democracy and the buying and selling of votes was not among those values."

Cowart also wrote statements for Snow supporting Cowart's causes, including a local hospital he represented, e-mails show. And Cowart helped prepare a PowerPoint presentation that Snow could use in meetings to represent his thoughts on why more development in his district was good for the county, records show.

Snow, 61, who refers often to his experience as a military planner, said his work with developers simply reflected his political beliefs.

"I did what I said I was going to do," he said in a recent interview. "There's a supposition, I think, built in now to the psyche of the American people, that if you're in politics that you . . . inherently must be corrupt, that you must be on the take," he said. "They just assume you're there for self-interest, as opposed to . . . public service." Snow said he is in office to protect property rights and solve problems for residents in his district.

Once, in a moment of frustration, Snow became discouraged with his party and entertained thoughts of resignation. He dashed off an e-mail in 2005 to county GOP chairman Minchew, who had joined with Myers, Greenvest and others to help elect the new board.

"I will resign . . . as Supervisor if you wish," Snow wrote.

Minchew pressed Snow to stay.

"You are too valuable."

The Ritz-Carlton Project

In the summer of 2005, the board was scheduled to vote on an enclave of resort homes managed by the Ritz-Carlton. The development, including a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, is across the street from Oak Hill, the still-pristine estate where President James Monroe retired in 1825.

On the eve of the vote, Tulloch and Snow received a detailed e-mail from Minchew, who represented the Ritz developer and had urged them to support his proposal. The vote was also important to Myers: She had been hired as a consultant for the project, according to Jim Brown, one of the developers.

Minchew wanted two entrances to the development so that service workers could enter separately from wealthy residents. The owners of Monroe's estate opposed the plan, saying it would disturb their historic property, a case also made by Supervisor James Burton (I-Blue Ridge).

"Dear Bruce and Steve . . . You have one heck of an agenda tomorrow," read the e-mail from Minchew dated July 18.

"I would suggest that Steve simply make the motion (we will e-mail over to you today a draft motion) and let the application be approved over Mr. Burton's objections, probably on a 5-4 vote," wrote Minchew, who copied the e-mail to Myers.

"I think that as little discussion as possible is best course of action."

The two supervisors followed Minchew's script, with Snow making the motion and Tulloch seconding it. After heated debate, the vote came out better than Minchew predicted: 6 to 3.

Minchew declined to be interviewed.

Tulloch had taken a keen interest in the Ritz project, which he said would be an attractive, high-end addition to the county. He traveled to a similar Ritz-Carlton resort in Jupiter, Fla., at his own expense, he said, and lunched with Nicklaus to discuss golf courses. Later, he offered to use his office budget to fly Zoning Administrator Melinda Artman there to demonstrate the benefits of such a development, Artman said.

Artman said she declined the trip, saying that she would base her zoning decision solely "on what the ordinance says."

This Year's Race

In its first two years, Loudoun's board of supervisors, driven by its pro-growth majority, approved more than 9,000 new homes brought forward by a host of building firms, according to county records.

Greenvest gained permission in four key votes to build more than 1,800 homes in addition to the roughly 300 that would have been allowed under the previous zoning. The total value of those additional homes could reach $1 billion, based on current sale prices.

The recent defeat by supervisors of the Dulles South plan, in which they rejected Greenvest's proposal to build 15,000 homes there, does not end the company's plans to build in the area. Greenvest is pursuing four major applications to build the same number of homes there. If the county rejects those plans, the company calculates that it could build about 2,000 homes without new approvals by the board.

Those who helped elect the pro-growth board in 2003 are gearing up for this year's race, and at least some of their efforts have been aimed at removing one supervisor: Waters, who fell out of line with some of her Republican colleagues.

Waters, the former executive director of the conservative Eagle Forum who had been elected with Myers's help, began balking in 2004 at Myers's calls for swifter home building in rural Loudoun and near Dulles.

"We need to ostracize her," Snow wrote in a 2004 e-mail. "She is anti-growth and anti-property."

Snow's e-mail went to Patricia Shockey, a Myers confidante. "Later when the opportunity presents itself, go for the jugular," Shockey told Snow. "Dale Myers will get her."

News researchers Madonna Lebling, Bobbye Pratt and Julie Tate contributed to this report.