Candidate Profile: Mark Welch Runs For Franconia District Supervisor

FRANCONIA, VA — March Welch is running as an Independent candidate for Franconia District supervisor in the Nov. 7, 2023 general election.

Welch is running against current Democratic Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Luskand Republican Paul Beran.

Franconia District voters will have a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors representative and Fairfax County School Board representative on the ballot. The Franconia District includes areas like Franconia, Rose Hill, Kingstowne, and parts of Springfield, Huntington, Groveton and Hybla Valley.

The general election ballot in Fairfax County will also include countywide races for Board of Supervisors chairman, three at-large School Board representatives, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney, Fairfax County Sheriff, and Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.

Early voting for the general election began Friday, Sept. 22. More information on how to vote is available from the Fairfax County Office of Elections.

Patch asked candidates for Franconia District supervisor to fill out a candidate questionnaire with the same questions. Here are Welch's responses:

Name

Mark T. Welch

Office Sought

Franconia Supervisor

Candidate Website

www.markforsupervisor.org

Age (as of Nov. 7 election)

62

Education

B.A. - Holy Cross College/MBA - George Washington University

Occupation

Retired

Family

I have been married for 30 years. My wife and I have three children, all of whom attended Fairfax County public schools and went on to graduate from Virginia public universities.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Previous public office positions or appointments

No

Why are you seeking this office?

Quite simply, I am running because Supervisor Lusk and the current Board of Supervisors prioritize spending over the affordability of the living in the County. That must stop. The County budget can be trimmed over the next 4 years to keep the residential tax burden unchanged.

Let’s look at the facts. The County ended FY 2019, the last fiscal year before Supervisor Lusk took office, with operating fund expenditures of $4.3B. After voting to approve a FY 2024 Budget of $5.3B, he has now voted over his term to increase the County budget by $1B. He has voted to increase average residential taxes per household by $1,430 from $6,690 to $8,120, a 21% increase over those four years. Based on that history, if reelected, we can expect the County Budget to be over $6B and average taxes per household to be $9,825 at the end of his term, making homeownership unaffordable to all but the well-to-do.

What is now clear is how excessive those tax increases were. For example, the County and FCPS ended FY23 with available surpluses of over $400M. What will the Board do with the surplus $400M? Spend it, just as they spent similar surpluses in the last two fiscal years. Not a penny reserved or set aside for tax relief. In other words, the Board overtaxes homeowners and in lieu of returning any portion of that money, consistently votes to spend it all.

The residents of the Franconia District deserve better. If elected, I pledge to keep real estate taxes unchanged. I have laid out a realistic plan as to how this can be done while still maintaining the current level of County operations (including providing reasonable salary increases to County employees). It can be viewed at www.markforsupervisor.org.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate(s) seeking this post?

I believe my answer can be summed up by the four campaign pledges unique to my campaign. If elected, I pledge to: 1) only vote for an annual budget that keeps residential taxes unchanged; 2) donate my entire Board member salary to County charitable organizations (I am running to be a voice for fiscal restraint on the Board, not for monetary reasons); 3) serve one term and not seek re-election (I will make decisions, take positions, and issue votes that in my judgement are solely in the interests of my constituents, and for no other reasons); and 4) strive for a 100% response rate to all constituent requests and questions (I cannot pledge that constituents will like or agree with the response, but I believe it to be of paramount importance to provide a timely response, good or bad).

What do you see as the top issues facing (your county/district), and how do you address them in your campaign platform?

As I explained in why I am seeking the office of Franconia District Supervisor, my main priority is to stop unnecessarily high real estate tax. Another issue is improving public safety (including getting rid of panhandling). Crime is increasing in Fairfax County. County police statistics show that between 2021 and 2022, assaults increased 11%, sex offenses increased 20%, larceny/theft increased 29%, motor vehicle thefts increased 13%, and robberies increased 37%! Midyear 2023 data shows further increases in rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults. We need to give our police department the resources and support it needs to attract and retain the best officers to make our community safer. How can the County effectively recruit when starting salaries for police officers rank near the bottom across the Washington Metro area? As Supervisor, I will fight to ensure that unjustified and unnecessary spending in other program areas will be re-allocated to public safety to make the County a safer place to live. I will also fight to adopt an ordinance such as the one in Loudoun County that prohibits curb to curb exchanges in public roadways between pedestrians and motorists. That ordinance has significantly reduced panhandling in the County.

A third top issue is making effective land use decisions that support revitalization. There are several large upcoming land use decisions (e.g., Rose Hill Shopping Center) that will need to properly balance the need for revitalization and impacts on the affected communities. Land use decisions is one of the reasons I have pledged to only serve one term. I will have no ongoing campaign account and thus will not be receiving donations from developers or others with business before the County. I think that is a conflict of interest and not right.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I retired from the Senior Executive Service after more than 30 years with the Federal Government. My professional background was primarily in the budgeting and finance areas. At my last job I was responsible for developing the agency’s budget that was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and then defending the budget to both OMB and Congressional staff. I also managed a large staff that provided customer service support to its customers, much like the Supervisor’s office must provide effective support to its constituents.

I also worked at the Department of Transportation (DOT), where I received the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award for helping stand up the Transportation Security Administration from scratch after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I started my government career with the Department of the Navy, where I analyzed and negotiated multimillion-dollar Harpoon Missile production contracts. While working for the Navy, I took night classes at George Washington University and obtained a Master of Business Administration degree.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have lived in the County for more than 30 years. In my previous neighborhood I was very active with the civic association, serving as Vice President and Treasurer for over 10 years, after serving for many years on the association’s budget committee.

I also volunteer extensively in the community. Pre-Covid, I was a volunteer at the Financial Empowerment Center at the South County Government Center, providing financial counseling services to member of our community needing assistance. I currently help count collections at my church (St. Lawerence) and have been a volunteer tax preparer for the past 5 years with the AARP Tax-Aide program.