Marsden, Flanary Spar at Candidates Forum

Cox Communications and the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidates forum Thursday, Oct. 20 that included candidates from districts around the area. 

(D), the current 37th district senator, and challenger (R) took to the podium during the debate, which will be available on Cox’s YouTube channel beginning Wednesday, Oct. 26.  

Moderator Danny Vargas of VARCom Solutions and board member of DRCC opened the debate by inviting Flanary to give his opening remarks.

Flanary is a Marine Corps veteran and chief operating officer of a small business in Northern Virginia. He has worked in the local business community for the past seven years and was the vice president of government relations for the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce.

Flanary said the local and state economy is a top issue for him and he wants to make sure businesses in Northern Virginia have opportunities to grow. He said his military experience has prepared him for Richmond and many of the issues that impact the region.

Marsden has lived in the area his whole life and has seen the changes and growth the region has gone through. He has served as the chief deputy then acting director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and currently works with Development Services Group, Inc., working to reduce youth gang activity and violent crime.

Vargas asked the first question to Marsden on the topic of how more jobs can be brought to Northern Virginia.

Marsden said Virgina is the best state in the country to do business in but the state senate needs to take a more global view. He said some of the things they can do is create green energy with offshore wind and working to get urban pollution under control in the Chesapeake Bay.

He said he would also like to see the senate advance the new college in southern Virginia to help take pressure off of other universities and make sure more students can get a higher education.

Flanary responded and said elected officials need to understand that jobs and the economy are the number one issue in Virginia. He said he’d like to help ensure government gets out of the way of businesses, reducing regulations and keeping taxes low.

Flanary said businesses need to remain competitive with Maryland and Washington, D.C. to ensure they either come to Virignia or stay in Virginia, because they are also trying to entice businesses.

The second question Vargas asked was the candidates’ thoughts on workforce development, with Flanary answering first.

Flanary said he has a pro jobs and business approach to workforce development, which is why the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce endorsed him. He said many are moving to this area because the economy where they live is not as vibrant. 

He said those who move here may not have all the skills they need for the high tech and government jobs that are here and Virginia needs to start taking steps now to make sure they can attain those jobs through training.

Marsden said he supported the Higher Education Opportunity Act which adds 100,000 new graduates to Northern Virginia and the business environment. He said the Commonwealth needs to start with community colleges working to fill the need for a pool of talented and skilled people so companies can fill positions.

Additionally, they must work to keep the talent pool in Northern Virginia, Marsden said, rather than going overseas for jobs. He said having good local schools is also a critical factor in getting and keeping businesses here.

Vargas’ last question for the candidates was how they could work to make sure more women- and minority-owned small businesses can attain government contracts at the state level.

Marsden said many people ask him how they can break into state contracts because the state always goes back to long-established contractors they’ve used in the past. He said he tries to connect them with businesses such as Booz Allen Hamilton in the private sector, who can help provide them with an introduction into the environment of state contracts.

Flanary said often federal government contracts reserve a portion of the work for small businesses breaking into the government contracting community. He said they need to work to bridge that practice from the federal level to the state level. 

The debate is available on the “Local Government” folder on Cox On Demand (channel 2635) for those with Cox cable. The event was cosponsored by Dominion Virginia Power.