Loudoun Dem takes on Marshall in 13th

Democrat John Bell knows he's in for a tough fight as he takes on 17-year incumbent Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) for a seat in the House of Delegates.

The retired Air Force officer lives in South Riding and works as a financial analyst with the nonprofit company Mitre, where he specializes in cost-estimating. Bell also volunteers as the head coach for the Freedom (South Riding) High School boys tennis team.

Bell said his nine-member team must use a 44-seat activity bus to travel between games even though a smaller, more fuel-efficient van would work fine.

And that's not his only problem with the school system.

The Loudoun County government has opted to charge each student $200 per extracurricular activity, which Bell sees as unfair to poor students.

Instead, Bell proposes the General Assembly conduct a study to find out how increased corporate sponsorships could help fund after-school activities in a type of public-private partnerships.

"Right now, we don't even have dialogue going on. I mean, we have to make this a priority," he said.

The foundation of Bell's candidacy centers on the "day-to-day" issues of transportation, education and economic development. Bell describes himself as being "fiscally conservative" and "socially liberal."

His fiscally-conservative credentials depend more on the definition of the phrase rather than his clear-cut views on social issues.

"I'd say a fiscal liberal would be more into more social programs, bigger government," said Bell. "Bigger government would mean more social programs, more welfare, more programs, expansions of various, what would be called 'free' programs of the past. I'm really more for giving people a hand up instead of a hand-out."

To avoid raising taxes, Bell said he would like the General Assembly to focus on efficiency projects, including implementing a program called "practical design" for transportation.

"If we are building a road through an area that includes a lot of bedrock, instead of blasting the bedrock out and building the foundation the same way we would in an area that doesn't have that type of terrain, it would take advantage of the bedrock and engineer a new road on top of it," said Bell.

He noted common-sense procedures could be used for securing bridges too.

As a delegate, Bell said he would work to increase the use of slugging for Interstate 66 and Dulles Toll Road commuters.

According to Bell, one of the main reasons slugging has been successful along the I-95 corridor but not on I-66 in western Prince William is the wider availability of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.

The I-66 westbound HOV lanes end in Manassas, though construction to widen the road out to Gainesville is well underway. Pinpointing the best meeting places for potential sluggers would have to be thoroughly planned and Bell recommends the Manassas Mall as one such spot.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) would have to sign-off on any plan with mall operators but available space, bus service and the potential boon to mall retailers would provide incentives for the project to be considered, he said.

"Well, I think there will be a fair amount of people, but this is one parking area," said Bell. "And the idea would be to have slugging routes in several different areas so they wouldn't be all congregated into one."

Bell does not rule out tax increases as a way to increase state revenue for projects like transportation but he said he would rather generate revenue by growing the economy.

Though he said it would not be his first approach, Bell stated, "I think we have to look at the fuel tax" for raising more transportation revenue.

"Well, I think first off, if you look at all the bordering states of Virginia, they've continued to raise their fuel taxes," said Bell.

He supports indexing tax increases on fuel to the cost at the pump. For instance, if gas hit $4 per gallon again, he would rather charge less in taxes than if it was $2 per gallon.

Though Marshall has signed pledges promising not to raise taxes; Bell has not.

"Now, I'm against tax increases but I'm never going to take a no tax increase [pledge] because what happens if something catastrophic happens and the only way we could counter that would be a tax?" said Bell. "You know, I think if you're representing people you need to keep all options open for what's the best way to deal with problems."

Of course, no candidate running against the conservative stalwart Marshall can escape the debate about social issues.

Bell directly said he is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, contrasting himself with the anti-abortion activist-turned-politician Marshall, co-author of the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and civil unions that voters approved in 2006.

"My feeling is as long as Roe versus Wade is the law of the land in the United States, no time should be put into that issue in Virginia legislation," said Bell.

On gay marriage, Bell declared he "served in the military for almost 26 years to protect the rights of people and to protect my rights. And it really bothers me when somebody tries to take rights away from anybody.”

To Bell, the state should issue marriage licenses without regard to sexual orientation.

"I believe we mixed religion and politics in this area and I think that's wrong. Gay and lesbian couples pay taxes just like everyone else and they should have the same rights as everyone else," said Bell.

Bell does laud Marshall for his work on behalf of the environment and autism. But he has problems with illegal immigration as a political issue.

Regarding the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287 (g) opt-in program, which allows local law enforcement agents to begin the process of deporting incarcerated illegal immigrants, Bell said, "I don't really have a position on that" as he was not familiar with the issue.

Aside from pledging to learn more about 287 (g), Bell, who volunteered for now-President Barack Obama's campaign, said he plans to knock on more than 12,000 doors and has enlisted more than 100 volunteers to help him out.

"I plan to outwork him," Bell said of Marshall, adding that he will "work harder than anyone" who has previously challenged the nine-term incumbent.

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