I have dedicated my career to public service. Whether it is serving for 25 years in the County Attorney's Office, as Prince William County Attorney for 15 years, or representing localities throughout the Commonwealth, I strongly believe in community service. My resume´ of working for numerous and diverse professional and community organizations is long. It should be for a public servant. My family's example and my own internal compass have compelled this work since high school. This is not a quest for glory or for personal gain. I am extremely proud of the past endorsements of the Prince William Education Association, Police Association, Prince William Professional Firefighters, Washington Post and Potomac News. I look forward to their support again this year. Their recognition of my preparation for governing is heartwarming and humbling.

I now need you to spread the word throughout the County that experienced, trustworthy leadership is available. When Mr. Stewart and his friends put out untruths that I am in the pocket of developers in an effort to obscure my credentials, abilities and commitment to deal with hard issues such as growth, I need for you to call it trash. I need you to tell people that you watched me for 15 years, and that there is absolutely no question that Sharon Pandak cannot be bought. Tell them that you want a leader you can trust, not one who will do and say anything to win an election.

I am, like you, a proud citizen of this community. I will do what is best for this county, not special parochial interest.

Unlike the current Chairman, I came to Prince William over 25 years ago. I saw the County take years to overcome Statewide mockery as a result of an out-of-control Board of Supervisors known as the “four horsemen.” I worked with former Chairmen Seefeldt, King and Connaughton as well as Supervisors Barg, Jenkins and Caddigan to move Prince William forward as a progressive leader in the Commonwealth. As County Attorney, I was proud to offer my advice and representation. Now you can give me the opportunity to lead and make decisions as Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors.

Land Use

I have watched our community grow and change. This is a special place to live and work. But we are at a crisis in transportation and fed up with development which could destroy our quality of life and blur our vision for our future.

As County Attorney, I helped draft the first comprehensive plan and regulatory system that truly held developers accountable for their impacts on schools, roads and other public facilities. I will ensure that development pays for itself, but I will do this in a fair and constructive manner. The current Chairman called for a halt to growth (until after the 2007 election), but he has done nothing to help us deal with development, including the 26,000 housing units already approved and are waiting to be built. After trying to work his backroom deal, he voted for my concept of an inventory of old zonings. I want a thorough discussion about how to better solve the problem of overdevelopment. I will not take any pledge that enshrines the status quo as good enough when we can provide greater protections of our open space that are environmentally, socially and economically responsible. I want to stop out of control development but I won't send a message that Prince William County is “closed for business,” when our citizens need jobs closer to home. I will go to Richmond and get the authority we need to stop out of control development and sprawl. My previous work with the General Assembly and understanding of land use law make me credible, and I look forward to putting my abilities and experience to work on behalf of Prince William once again.

I am so glad that protection of the rural and historical aspects of the County and the environment is now a community-wide concern. That is in sync with my long-held personal views.

As a child growing up in Staunton near the Blue Ridge Parkway, I vowed to always live near either mountains or water. They lift my spirits and calm my soul. I will fight to protect our natural environment in Prince William County which stretches from the Potomac River to the Bull Run Mountains.

As County Attorney, I helped draft Prince William's first protections of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. When I could not be active, I have financially supported environmental groups.

Because of my advocacy for responsible environmental policies, former Governor Mark Warner named me to the multi-state Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board. I worked on early proposals to protect non-tidal wetlands with former Senator Joseph Gartlan. I toured the Commonwealth with a Bar Association panel formed under the mentoring of former Governor Baliles which stressed the need to protect vanishing landscapes.

We can save our precious natural resources and promote our County's vital economic interests. I have proposed a bond referendum to allow for creative public-private projects to preserve and increase our open-space. New parks and interconnected trails will reduce traffic and increase the health and well-being of our community. I will ask the School Board to join in implementing innovative green technologies and policies. We can set the right example for young people. We can show that the County is committed to preserving our environment and our viewsheds in a fiscally responsible manner for generations to come, and saving taxpayers' money.

The current Chairman gives lip service to the environment. But by first making people angry, he creates impasse not passable solutions. The County expects the building of a community consensus toward environmental stewardship and improving the quality of life of its citizens. Instead of polarizing rhetoric, I offer my experience.

The County has some of the worst traffic and commutes. We don't need recent national reports to remind us how gridlock destroys our quality of life everyday.

The current Chairman threatened to sue the “Richmond Bureaucrats.” Then, after others did all the heavy lifting, claimed that the recent transportation legislation was the result of his threat. How preposterous is that? While the new state funding is critical, it falls far short of our needs. If the Chairman was serious about his threat, why did he settle for half a loaf?

Only a concerted effort at the state, regional and federal levels and all the creativity and hard work for which Prince William is renown can ease gridlock and the worst effects of the BRAC proposals on our roads. I have contributed at all of these levels of government.

As County Attorney, I worked to establish PRTC and VRE. We can better utilize multi-modal transportation and alternative ideas to move people. If we create new jobs within the County and support existing businesses we can achieve live-work communities and cut commutes. If we think and act together, Prince William County will have even more innovations to offer.

Corey Stewart sold the County a bill of goods. Instead of real land-use reform, we got cheap publicity stunts. Instead of going to Richmond and standing up to his fellow Republicans in the General Assembly, the Chairman stayed home and shirked his responsibility. Instead of proposing a better way, the current Chairman sat on the sidelines and played politics. In the recent County budget process, instead of working on finding new funding sources or working with educators, police, fire, human services and parks, the Chairman threw up his hands and said the County is tapped out. He offered citizens a cut in services for a cut in taxes that amounted to less than the price of a few pizzas. He ignores that human services improve public safety; youth are healthier and parents sleep better after swimming or a ballgame; if you can get a child into a library, he is less likely to join a gang. We need a reality check. We need consensus and negotiation to resolve our problems. Mr. Stewart breeds political partisanship and polarizes people. It may be entertaining soap opera but our daily lives are being affected because we are not moving forward with solutions.

Everyone, except for the current Chairman, can agree that education must remain a top priority. I received my entire education in the Virginia public school system. We owe it to our children to ensure our schools excel, and we owe it to ourselves. I will work with the Schools to urge Richmond to honor its funding commitments and encourage Washington to end its unfounded mandates.

To maintain world-class schools, we must pay our educators competitively. My parents were teachers. I saw their dedication and personal commitment; I realized their financial challenges in raising 4 children. I will not use the budget process as a political game when people's jobs and finances are at stake, as well as our children's ability to learn.

As Chairman, I will immediately reach out to the School Board and restore constructive dialogue. Mr. Stewart has turned the relationship between the Supervisors and the School Board from one of the strongest in the Commonwealth into one of the most dysfunctional in only a few short months. Imagine what he could do in 4 years.

I will address the overcrowding that plagues our schools. We must have reasonable class sizes where teachers and students can communicate, learn and build strong relationships. We can no longer allow trailers to become a permanent solution.

In short, I will promote the strong and innovative public schools for which the County is known, and that our citizens demand and deserve.

Fiscal responsibility means reasonable taxes coupled with adequate and responsible funding. This chairman just doesn't get that. He would rather score cheap political points by creating an artificial crisis over the tax rate than enact a budget that adequately provides for core government services like education, public safety and social services. We cannot be the 7^th wealthiest county in the United States and not plan for essential public services. We are a diverse and dynamic community with an ever-changing citizenry that expects quality essential services and is willing to fund them and public infrastructure. I will seek a healthy equilibrium between the level of taxation and the level and quality of services which you, the community, expect. Instead of what Mr. Stewart has offered, imagine enlightened government.

As Chairman, I will promote Prince William to business and industry throughout the Commonwealth and the country. If we increase quality jobs, we can truly become a live-work community. Unfortunately, the current chairman has unnecessarily alienated much of the business community. I will reach out and engage business as one of the many important pieces of our community.

I have strong long-standing relationships with Chief Deane, Sheriff Hill and Chief Michos from my days as County Attorney when I represented the Police Department and Fire & Rescue. I have witnessed how a building can burn and seen my own helmet melt. I have taught police officers and seen close up the tragic effects of violence. I will work to ensure that our public safety personnel have the tools, resources and compensation commensurate with their critical work. They are tremendous public servants who risk their lives in order to protect us. I met my husband Bob Ross through my work with law enforcement. He will be my mentor on these issues as well.

I worked to facilitate coordination of local law enforcement and state and federal authorities when I helped spearhead congressional legislation in the wake of 911 and the sniper killings. But I want an honest discussion when the federal government tries to pawn its financial responsibilities off on the shoulders of local taxpayers.

I will do all that I can to support our public safety personnel and to keep our communities safe. I will not, however, sacrifice our public safety trying to solve an immigration issue which the federal government created or by letting the federal government continue to ignore the burden which it has shifted to County citizens by its utter failure to meet its responsibilities. Instead of pressuring Washington, Chairman Stewart covers for his political patrons.

I will petition the State for more authority to deal with overcrowding in our neighborhoods. I will work for a positive interaction with all citizens of all ethnicities to our communities.

Corey Stewart, as chairman, is polarizing, fomenting and creating a hostile and dysfunctional political environment. The bi-partisanship and collegial atmosphere that the County enjoyed, and that served our citizens so well, is being eradicated, and we are no closer to solutions to the difficult problems that we face.

Our party has demonstrated through Mark Warner's extraordinary governorship that we know how to make the Commonwealth great and fiscally sound again. Governor Tim Kaine's mark on land use and transportation and as a leader in difficult times are evident. We brought a breath of fresh air to Congress with Senator Jim Webb. Senator Puller has shown us how to be effective without being offensive. The long and good-natured service of Virginia's #1 Senator Chuck Colgan is a continuous example of strong, progressive and responsible leadership.

You can help me to return honesty, integrity and professional leadership to the Chairmanship. We can again lead our community forward to address the critical problems which threaten our quality of life. We offer solutions, not slogans. Prince William is my long time home; it is not a way-station for me. I am one of you in heart and in obligation. Help me help you improve the quality of life for all citizens as Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors.