Education, Development Focus for Council Hopeful

Mark Wolfe, a local businessman, arts promoter and father of a fallen Marine, is running as a Republican for Manassas City Council on a pledge to make education and economic development his top two priorities.

Wolfe, 50, is one of five Republicans who will vie for three council seats at the party's nominating convention Jan. 26 at Metz Middle School. Although other candidates have made illegal immigration their call to arms, Wolfe said he has broader quality-of-life concerns.

"We have other issues that need to be discussed," said Wolfe, the president and owner of ADCO, a local heating and air-conditioning company. "Illegal immigration is one of them, but the quality of our schools and economic development are critical issues to our long-term success as well," he said.

With no Democrats running for council, the Republican nominees chosen Jan. 26 will be virtual shoo-ins. The mayor's race is also essentially decided inasmuch as Vice Mayor Harry J. "Hal" Parrish II (R) is running unopposed.

But the contest for the three council nominations is much less certain. Of the five Republican candidates, two are incumbents, Steven S. Smith and Jonathan L. Way, and the other three have never held public office. In addition to Wolfe, they are Maureen Wood, 46, a substitute teacher who has run unsuccessfully for council three times, and newcomer Dave Core, 46, a member of the city's Recreation and Parks Committee.

"This field offers individuals of diverse backgrounds and different viewpoints," said Anthony Kostelecky, chairman of the City of Manassas Republican Committee. "It's gratifying to me that so many folks are willing to stake their time and resources to seek the Republican nomination."

Unlike Wood and Core, Wolfe is not a member of the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas. He said he's concerned the debate over the issue is harming the city's reputation. Wolfe said he's especially troubled by comments from developers who have told him businesses are discouraged from coming to the city, citing an image of intolerance.

"There is so much negativity out there about our community," Wolfe said. "We need to have a positive public face. We need to be selling our community and extolling its virtues."

Wolfe said he is strongly opposed to illegal immigration but believes the issue must be handled with delicacy and respect.

"There is a level of public discourse in how you go about it that we have to be careful of," he said. "We are addressing internal constituencies and external ones. You may be talking to a Manassas audience, but the message is going beyond the city and Prince William County."

Wood ranked illegal immigration and overcrowding as her biggest concerns, as well as preserving the city's tax base. "You have to have taxes, but keep them as low as you can without sacrificing public services," she said.

"My view differs from some other people's view," said Wood, a substitute teacher at Osbourn High School, adding that she is "very community oriented."

In addition to his work at ADCO, Wolfe is the executive director of the Manassas Ballet Theatre and said the group's budget has grown from $35,000 to $400,000 under his family's direction. His wife, Amy Grant Wolfe, is the ballet company's artistic director.

Wolfe is also president of the Prince William County Arts Council and a member of the Manassas Board of Equalization. He also has served on the Manassas Board of Zoning Appeals and the Manassas Business Council.

Although he is reluctant to discuss it, Wolfe acknowledges he was partly spurred to run for the council by the example of his only son, Pfc. Colin J. Wolfe. While serving in Iraq, the Marine was killed in combat on Aug. 30, 2006. He was 19. The Wolfes' daughter, Cece, is a junior at Osbourn High School.

"I always taught my kids to have courage with their convictions," Wolfe said. "Colin obviously did. The very least I can do is follow in his footsteps."