Bruce E. Roemmelt (D)

Office Sought: Va. House of Delegates District 13
Age: 63
Residence: Haymarket.
Education: BS, fire admin., U-Md.; MA, ed tech, George Washington U.; doctoral work, education, Nova Southeastern.
Occupation: Educator, George Washington University; retired firefighter; retired, U.S. Navy.
Web site:http://www.electroemmelt.org
E-mail address: info@electroemmelt.org
Offices and positions held: Member, Vietnam Veterans of America, American Legion; shop steward, Local 2598 International Association of Fire Fighters; IAFF Local 2598 representative, NOVA Central Labor Council; board member, Bull Run Mountain Civic Association; member, Hopewell Astronomical Society, International Dark Skies Association, Prince William County Chapter of the American Heart Association.

Why should voters elect you?

"I am a firefighter, educator and a veteran. I have spent 40 years in public service, and I will be a pragmatic and positive leader."

What do you think is the most urgent problem facing your jurisdiction?

"Voters in the 13th District suffer through increasing gridlock on our roads caused by uncontrolled growth. We are all spending too much time on the roads, missing too many Little League games, school plays, teacher conferences and family dinners. We need to improve our roads, provide commuters with more viable mass transit options and control growth, including making developers bear the costs of development. After 16 years of saying he would do these things, my opponent voted against all of them and sued to block needed transportation projects! He had his chance. He did not lead. I will."

What is your plan to address the traffic problems in Virginia?

My plan to reduce traffic has three parts. In the short term, I will fight to bring five new commuter parking lots to the 13th district. I will also work with other local legislators to increase funding for VRE to address overcrowded parking lots and trains so VRE remains a viable option for commuters.

Intermediate steps include bringing Bus Rapid Transit to the I-66 corridor, thereby taking cars off the road and significantly reducing commute times. Extending VRE to Gainesville would take thousands of cars off our roads. I'm prepared to build the consensus necessary to achieve this goal.

Finally, better coordination of land use and transportation decisions is necessary if we hope to manage growth and stop sprawl. I support giving local governments the tools and authority they need to ensure development is accompanied by needed improvements in transportation infrastructure.

Do you think current policies governing growth & development in your area are too restrictive, not restrictive enough or just right?

not restrictive enough

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