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www.fairfaxtimes.com/news/2009/sep/08/werkheiser-takes-second-shot-albo/

In 2005, a relatively unknown young lawyer challenged a veteran Republican state delegate and came within 800 votes of pulling off an upset.
Four years later, Democrat Greg Werkheiser is back to take on Del. Dave Albo (R-Dist. 42) again, this time with a more sophisticated political organization and in an area that has favored Democrats in a series of recent elections.
“I think it’s still the race to watch, because of funding and because Werkheiser came so close the last time,” said Toni-Michelle Travis, a political science professor and Virginia politics expert at George Mason University.
No one is expecting Albo to go down easy, however. The eight-term delegate had significantly more money in the bank as of the last filing period. He grew up in the Springfield area and is a leader in his party, now serving as chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee.
On that committee, Albo has helped implement what he says are the toughest laws in the United States regarding gangs and driving under the influence. On the policy side of crime, he thinks law enforcement officials have the tools they need for the time being, while his focus for the next session is to keep law enforcement funds from being cut during a tough budget year.
“The No. 1 role of government is to protect people from criminals,” he said.
Some find Albo’s tough stance on crime in the Assembly, particularly drunk driving laws, to be hypocritical due to his profession. As a senior partner in the large law firm Albo & Oblon LLP, Albo defends people charged with crimes and serious traffic offenses similar to the ones he is now advocating against.
“I get a clear impression from folks … that they think Dave Albo has become a typical politician,” Werkheiser said. “I think the tradeoff for him achieving that seniority has been selling out our district.”
State budget
Although delegates who are not on the Finance or Appropriations committees can have limited impact on the state budget, budget cuts are likely to dominate the next Assembly session. Both Albo and Werkheiser support the concept of annual performance measurements for state agencies to ensure that tax dollars are spent efficiently.
Beyond protecting critical public safety functions, Albo said he will consider trimming everywhere.
“We’re going to have to cut, we just have to cut smart,” he added.
Werkheiser wants to preserve education funding that goes to the classroom, as well as remaining health care and transportation dollars.
“Everything else we’re going to have to take a look at,” he said.
It was job creation in Northern Virginia that got the state out of the last two recessions, Albo said, and he expects that to be the case again.
“What I view my role as is to try and get government out of the way and to let things happen,” he said.
Werkheiser favors tax incentives and other methods to attract businesses here.
“We’ve got to grow industry in Northern Virginia that is different than relying on the federal government,” he said.
Transportation
In conjunction with Del. Tom Rust (R-Dist. 86), Albo has worked on numerous bills related to transportation improvements, including the funding compromise in 2007 that the Virginia Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional.
While he would not support any tax hikes while the economy is in recession, Albo says he is willing to consider raising taxes on Northern Virginians, provided that the money stays here.
“I’m not going to raise revenue in Northern Virginia and send it to Southwest Virginia,” he said.
Albo is expecting the redistricting after the 2010 census to result in a new urban and suburban majority in the House of Delegates for the first time, which many believe could be a boon for a transportation funding plan.
Werkheiser also is not focused on generating new revenues at this time. He says he would use stimulus dollars and existing funds to shore up current transportation projects and then focus on one, relatively low-cost project to try and restore public confidence in the government.
“Then you’ll have more support for the long-term investments we need,” he said.
Education
Like most challengers, Werkheiser strongly supports changing the state’s local funding formulas for transportation and for education, and he believes he is the man to do what many others have been unable to achieve.  
In the area of education, he believes sending more money back to Northern Virginia is the only way to relieve the real estate tax burden on Fairfax County residents while maintaining excellent schools.
“Without the funding formula, everything else is just a Band-Aid around the edges,” he said.
Albo supports a mandate that school districts shift more funds from administrative expenses into classroom-related costs, such as teacher salaries and equipment. He also favors increased use of public-private partnerships, like the one used to build South County Secondary School, and thinks now would be a great time to push such a deal.
“You will never ever be able to build stuff as cheaply as you can right now,” he said.

By Kali Schumitz
Source: Fairfax County Times
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 2009