Thanks to RaisingKaine, there is video of last night's "debate" -- the one that Linda Smyth refused to go to. Charlie Hall was still there, answering people's questions. I'm going to highlight some of them. Overall, Charlie focuses on how we will act differently than Smyth and the current supervisors. He admits that there are not huge ideological differences between him and Smyth, but that the way he would act and react would differ.
Charlie talks at length about the lack of a tunnel in the Tyson's Metro proposal. The Board votes on June 18 to either give or deny Fairfax taxpayer money to the project. Virtually everyone, including the Board, says they are against the elevated track concept. But, as Charlie points out, if they give the money on June 18, then they are endorsing the project.
Charlie admits that for the most part he doesn't differ too much from what the current board is doing. He does say, however, that there is a difference in action.
"I believe and I've said that an elevated train is a disaster and will destroy Tyson's Corner forever, and five years from now... no one will care whether we started in 2007, 2008 or 2009. They will care about whether we got it right or whether we got it wrong. ... We should fight and do anything we can for the tunnel and if we don't get the tunnel, let's split for something better; there are many other options."
His point is that the county needs to show the state that they are willing to fight for something that is so important to the community and not just let it happen. Rather than just giving the okay, he supports setting conditions for the construction, allowing for competitive bidding and more options, instead of just settling. In other words, show leadership in preserving our county.