Candidate Profile: Rodney Lusk Runs For New Term As Franconia District Supervisor

FRANCONIA, VA — Rodney Lusk, the current Democratic Franconia District supervisor, is running for re-election in the general election.

Lusk, a former planning commissioner who was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, is running against Republican Paul Beran and Independent Mark Welch.

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 Lusk's responses:

Name

Rodney Lusk

Office

Franconia Supervisor

Campaign Website

LuskForSupervisor.com

Age (as of Nov. 7 election)

57

Education

B.A. Sociology and American Government, University of Virginia

Occupation

Franconia District Supervisor

Family

My wife Jackie and I raised out two daughters in the Franconia District, and are proud to have called it home for 24 years.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Previous public office positions or appointments

I am completing my first term on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, representing the Franconia District.

Why are you seeking this office?

Despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, and the disruption that its subsequent impact has had on so many of my plans for my first term, I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in spite of those challenges.

That being said, I still feel an incredible sense of urgency to carry that progress even further. From affordable housing, to the revitalization of our business centers, to transportation infrastructure and safety, and so many more critical areas of need to our community–I’m running for a second term to ensure that the progress that we’ve made over the past three years is only the beginning of what can accomplish together as a community.

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

I respect and appreciate both of my opponents for stepping forward and being willing to serve the people of Franconia District. That being said, elections are about contrast, and I certainly have some strong contrasts with each of my opponents. I’m proud to be the first African American male to be elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, as well as the first regular county employee to be elected to the Board. This gives me a perspective that has been uniquely impactful over my first term, and I believe will be equally as useful if I am re-elected to a second term. I’m also the only candidate running in this race who previously served in a staff role in a Board office, or within the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. I’m also the only candidate to have served this district through an official appointment, having served both as the Franconia District Planning Commissioner and At-Large Park Authority Representative.

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

Over the last three and a half years there are a number of initiatives that I have stepped forward to take leadership over as a member of the Board of Supervisors. Despite the significant progress that has been made on many of them, there are several that will require additional efforts if our community’s ambitions are to be fully realized. There are also several other items that I would like to jumpstart in my second term.

As Chairman of the Board’s Public Safety Committee, I’ve led the effort to modernize our public safety system, fighting for increased pay for first responders, increasing transparency in both data and community access, and initiating the creation of a modernized co-responder system that embeds public health professionals with our police in order to decrease uses of force and increase the effectiveness of our law enforcement capabilities. While many of these efforts are beyond their pilot phases, they will need to be monitored and shaped over the next four years.

Next, we must stay diligently focused on the expansion and preservation of affordable housing. While the Board as a whole has taken positive steps towards our county-wide affordable housing goals, there is work to be done specific to our district. I have undertaken a district policy of no net-loss on affordable housing, and led the effort to not just improve conditions and protect mobile home communities, but to designate them officially as affordable housing. We must continue to make progress on these goals over the next four years.

The next item that I plan to prioritize in my second term is the revitalization of Springfield. In my first term we advanced and approved a number of much needed redevelopment projects, and successfully secured funding for and oversaw a market study analysis of the Springfield market in order to better understand how to support business and economic growth beyond the current comprehensive plan.

Beyond these top three priorities, I also plan to dedicate significant time and attention to implementing the next stages of the Embark Richmond Highway Plan, improving bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure and expanding the operations of the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub.

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

The opening of the Workforce Innovation Skills HUB (WISH), the creation of a true 911 co-responder program, the funding and delivery of a Springfield market study, the launch and management of the largest food distribution in county history, and the advancement of major development projects such as the INOVA Springfield project, the AWS Data Center, and the addition of non-retail uses at the Springfield Town Center.

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

Outside of the top priorities that I’ve already outlined, I am also proud of the progress we’ve made on several other initiatives, including bringing awareness to red flag laws, assisting with legal resources for underserved communities, and advances in pedestrian and bicycle safety.