Candidates for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Debbie K. Rose (republican) and Juli E. Briskman (democrat) participated in the Algonkian district debate held at River Bend Middle School on September 28th. Mediated by Mayor Kelly Burke of Leesburg, candidates offered their views on topics ranging from data centers to partnerships with the school board.
Throughout the evening of the debate, Rose argued on keeping Loudoun County out of the news for “all the wrong reasons.” Loudoun County Public Schools alone has been a subject of many news hours in lieu of the former superintendent facing trial and open comments during School Board meetings about many topics.
Briskman took time in her opening statement to comment on the work of her committee to secure project funding for many projects on Loudoun County Public Schools during her term whose loan approval will be voted on in the General and Special Elections alongside board members. The projects include the construction of Dulles North High School, renovations and additions to Banneker Elementary and Waterford Elementary, School Security Improvements, and Facility Renewals as well as reconstruction of Park View High School.
In schools, Briskman claimed that the presence of Security Resource Officers (SROs) in LCPS create a school to prison pipeline. Rose refutes this claim and said “I fully support the SROs in our schools…contrary to what my opponent says, there isn’t a school to prison pipeline that our SROs are involved in.”
During her closing statement, Briskman urged voters “don’t go back to Rose,” referencing the candidates previous terms on the school board. Briskman’s grievances primarily included the reduction of bus drivers, and a lack of explicit protection of LGBTQ students from the school board during Rose’s terms.
Rose and Briskman are both parents of current or previous students in LCPS and have included education as one of their priorities in their campaign. According to their sites, Rose “led efforts to increase transparency in discipline data collection which resulted in important reforms to discipline policy and procedures”’ and “played a critical role in opening the Academies of Loudoun” during her terms.
In addition to the budget for school improvements in Loudoun County, Briskman also served on the Joint School Board Committee and desires free bus passes for LCPS students in Middle and High School.
Loudoun County “should be discouraging the auto service society” to reduce traffic, according to Briskman. Briskman also advocated for increased access to bike lanes in her statement.
Rose criticized Briskman’s bike lane on Saulty Drive in Lowes Island and said “we call it the bike lane to nowhere” and that it “doesn’t alleviate traffic.”
Data centers were a major issue of discussion where zoning and future developments were debated including Dulles Cloud South which proposes the development of 56 million square ft for more data centers. “I do not support the Dulles Cloud South project in any way shape or form,” said Briskman in her response.
Both candidates agree that zoning should ensure preservation of Loudoun County’s beautiful areas. Rose believes the correct placement for future data centers are near the airport and power lines but also warns that “not recognizing the benefit [of data centers] is wrong and lacks foresight.”
On Tuesday, November 7th voters will select either Briskman or Rose. Early voting began on Friday, September 22.
