By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 15, 2002; Page C04
The outcome of a special election in western Fairfax County to fill the 40th District House of Delegates seat will likely turn on how many people show up for this, the third special election in the Centreville area in four months.
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The issues in the race mirror those that voters in the region have been grappling with all year: how to fix the area's transportation network, how to control growth and how to bolster educational funding when state and local budgets are stretched thin.
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But the candidates and political observers agree that the biggest issue will be who can get more supporters to the polls Tuesday.
"When you drive the turnout down this low, it's anybody's ballgame," said state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R), who won a special election in a largely overlapping district in August and is co-chairing Hugo's campaign.
Republicans say their nightmare would be extremely low turnout -- about 2,000 to 3,000 voters -- in which the two conservative independents siphon votes from Hugo, allowing Hawn to edge ahead.
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Hugo will far outspend his rivals. He said he has raised close to $100,000, compared with less than $20,000 raised by Hawn. He is the only candidate to put up many signs. They stand alone along major thoroughfares, and his direct mailings are showing up in residents' mailboxes.
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Oddo, Calhoun and Hugo opposed the sales tax increase for new roads and public transit that Northern Virginians -- and 40th District voters -- defeated soundly Nov. 5. Hawn supported the measure.
If elected, Hugo said he would propose a spending cap on state government -- indexed to population and inflation -- and use any excess revenue to build new schools and roads. Hugo also said he thinks that grades kindergarten through 12 "should be exempt from any budget cuts." The technology industry lobbyist said education and transportation are the "core responsibilities for the state, and we've gotten away from it and funded too many things."
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© 2002 The Washington Post Company