Posted on 01/31/2006 4:34:41 PM PST by Ligeia
RICHMOND, Va. - Voters in Virginia's fastest-growing region cast ballots in a special election Tuesday as Republicans struggled to hang on to a state Senate seat in a district where GOP dominance was once unchallenged.
Democrat Mark Herring and Republican Mick Staton focused on issues of unchecked suburban sprawl and traffic congestion that costs commuters in the Washington, D.C., exurb hours of time weekly.
Both are members of the board of supervisors in Loudoun County, the nation's fastest-growing county.
While Staton battled to retain the GOP's 24th seat in the 40-member senate, Herring and the Democrats hoped to pick up a 17th seat, reducing the Republican majority from eight seats to six.
Even if Staton wins, it could mean the bolstering of the conservative bloc of the GOP in the Senate, where Republican moderates enjoy the top leadership posts.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
M R Herring Democratic 0 0.00%
D M Staton Jr Republican 0 0.00%
M R Herring Democratic 1,995 67.01%
D M Staton Jr Republican 981 32.95%
Write Ins 1 0.03%
Total: 2,977
The figure above reflects 9 of 52 precincts reporting.
rats
D.C. suburbs outpace state's growthNorthern Virginia has grown by nearly 14 percent in the last five years, continuing to outpace the rest of the state, according to annual population estimates.
Loudoun County is the fastest growing region, with 82,700 more residents since 2000, a 49 percent increase. Prince William County was close behind, with an increase of 74,500 residents over the same period. Fairfax County added 52,400 residents.
The estimates are produced by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
Only six other states gained more residents than Virginia, and 60 percent of the state's growth was in Northern Virginia, the center found.
"The trend since 2000 has been the same: The growth has been quite steady, and the major growth is in Northern Virginia," said Qian Cai, the center's director for demographics and work force.
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Isn't it ironic that our GOP governors and legislature have encouraged all this growth to spur the economy and now it may be turning on them?
I wish Mick Staton all the best and hope we see him run again.
Previous thread: Special Election Alert (VA S33)
Nope, he's still on the BOS. Given the election results - the GOP didn't win a single precinct in S33, and LoCo as a whole went for Kaine by six points last Nov - I fully expect the next BOS will have at least 8 Dims.
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