In the News

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart has unofficially retained his seat on Tuesday.

With all precincts reporting Stewart had 32,978 votes to 15,464 for Democrat candidate Babur Lateef. Independent John Gray had garnered 8,210 votes.

Lateef called Stewart shortly before 10 p.m. to concede the election, stated Stewart.

Stewart is starting his second full term as chairman after previously serving as the Occoquan Supervisor in the early 2000s. He was originally elected chairman in a special election to replace outgoing chair Sean T. Connaughton, now Virginia Secretary of Transportation.

Read the full story here

Prince William County Chairman Corey A. Stewart wants his opponent, Babur Lateef, to explain why he and his business were contribut­ing money by the thousands to political candidates less than a year before his home went into foreclosure.

An ophthalmologist, Lateef has repeatedly said that his plight was sim­ilar to many small business owners dur­ing the height of the reces­sion, leading ultimately to a foreclosure on his $1.2 ­million mid­county home in the spring of 2010. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Lateef gave $5,200 in cash contribu­tions to various Democratic candidates in 2009. He also contributed $4,800 in in-kind contributions in 2009 and $1,000 in cash donations in December 2008 to Brian Mo­ran’s campaign for governor.

Read the full story here

Corey Stewart endorsed George Allen for Virginia’s Senate seat, News4′s Julie Carey reported.

Months ago, the Prince William County chairman considered jumping into the race himself, firing some pointed criticism at the former governor.

“He was a very good governor of Virginia,” Stewart told News4 in January. “But I think when he got to the U.S. Senate, I think that Washington changed him more than he changed Washington.”

Since then, Stewart and Allen seem to have found a way to get along.  They appeared together in Prince William County for the formal announcement Tuesday morning.

During a political debate this week, Prince William Chairman Corey Stewart (R, At large) said he will put more focus on widening the entirety of U.S. 1 in Woodbridge and the Dumfries area.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest, especially because of BRAC, the defense industry, the Stonebridge development that is now building another 58 acres of high-end retailers and office space… I think we are going to do that and I think the economic development of the eastern end [of Prince William County] is coming along just fine,” said Stewart.

Read the full story here.

Prince William County campaigns began to turn up the heat this week.

Democratic candidate Babur Lateef is planning to spend $25,000 to air a campaign ad against Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart in the county’s at-large race. The advertisement, which will air on cable stations countywide, features baseballs “beaning” children and seniors — not-so-subtle critiques of Stewart’s stance on several issues, including turning down federal stimulus money and that he “snuck home” with campaign cash after the county approved funding to improve the Potomac Nationals minor league stadium, according to theadvertisement.

“The Board did not turn down $17 million,” Stewart wrote in an e-mail. “We accepted the federal funding but saved the funds until the next fiscal year to avoid one-time funding being used to cover ongoing expenses.”

Read the full story here.

When it comes to job growth, Virginia’s Prince William County is among the best in the nation.

The county had an employment increase of 4.3 percent between March 2010 and March 2011, compared to 1.3 percent nationwide, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That’s higher than any other county in the Commonwealth and the third highest rate of job growth in the nation compared to 322 large U.S. counties.

Read the full story here.

A smaller-bore politico opened fire at city — in particular at Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s move Wednesday to order city agencies not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of Country Supervisors, issued a statement calling Gray’s move “disturbing and reprehensible.”

In an interview late Wednesday, Stewart expanded on his critique of Gray and his order, which was sought by activists who argued that immigrants would otherwise be less likely to seek help from or cooperate with police and other city departments.

Read the full story here.

The chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors said he had the biggest campaign fundraiser of his political career last week, hosting business executives from across the region at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Babur Lateef, a local physician, and independent John S. Gray, an accountant. Stewart said his campaign pulled in about $234,000 last Wednesday night, giving him about $300,000 to spend heading into the Nov. 8 election. The business executives attending the dinner included some of Prince William County’s and the region’s largest real estate developers, he said.

Read the full story here.

Corey Stewart says job creation and the economy are the top issues facing Prince William Count residents. He faces independent John Gray and Democrat Babur Lateef on Nov. 8.

What are your feelings about the BPOL tax?

This is a tax that is unfair to businesses.

In the current budget we were able to increase the BPOL threshold for small businesses in the County; this is a step in the right direction. There may be ways to further increase the threshold in the future and ultimately eliminate this tax completely.

Read the full story here.

Prince William County was named one of the nation’s top 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance and ING for the second year in a row.

In a press release from Prince William County Schools, Marguerite W. Kondracke, America’s Promise Alliance president and CEO stated, “Prince William County is especially deserving of this recognition due to their efforts to ensure that their young people graduate high school and go on to lead healthy, productive lives. Prince William County refuses to let the challenges they face determine the future for their young people. Instead, they are helping their youth prosper and become contributing members of society.”

Read the full story here.