John Whitbeck For Loudoun BOS Chairman

Attorney and former Republican Party of Virginia chairman John Whitbeck has officially made an announcement that he is running for chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. This announcement has been expected ever since Whitbeck resigned as RPV chairman last summer. It is likely that Whitbeck will be uncontested for the Republican nomination.

He told Loudoun Times-Mirror:

“Among other things, the recent vote by the incumbent chair to side with the owners of the Greenway to guarantee toll increases every year convinced me that Loudoun’s leadership is completely off track and motivated me to run for chair,” Whitbeck said in a prepared statement. “That means fighting a war on traffic, having a real strategy for housing and development, preserving our rural west, keeping taxes low, and committing to strong and safe public schools.  Our campaign will be about the quality of life issues that matter to Loudoun residents, not the angry partisan politics that have divided us for too long.”

Whitbeck is likely to face the incumbent chairman Democrat Phyllis Randall in a one-on-one race of formidable candidates (long shot third party candidates are also likely but stand no chance). This race won’t be like last time when the Democrat nominee won the General Election with only 37 percent of the vote. The then incumbent Scott York had announced his retirement from public office, so Republicans nominated a true conservative to run, which York didn’t like. So York changed his mind and ran as an independent to stop a conservative from winning. He split the Republican vote and allowed the Democrat to win with only 37 percent. Unbelievable.

This time the disgraced York will not be on the ballot. Loudoun is still a Republican county, Whitbeck should win.

Going from state party chairman to elected office is a tough transition to make. Functionally it’s not a tough transition because they both involve the allocation of resources, budgeting, and growth. But politically it is tough because as state party chair he will labeled guilty by association of any and all negative soundbites from any Virginia Republican, which is, of course, unfair and an inaccurate critique. It will take some maneuvering for Whitbeck to keep the focus on issues concerning Loudoun County while not running on a referendum on state level Republican Party policy.

All politics is local. While Democrats are likely to try to wed Whitbeck to all kinds of national and state issues, expect Whitbeck to stay on message about issues that will effect Loudoun County, such as traffic, taxes, and public safety.

Whitbeck is politically astute and well-qualified to serve on the local county board. His political experience has made him a disciplined communicator and cautious conservative. He has our full support.

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