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Issues Military-specific related items are listed in green. Ending politics as usual in Virginia.The career politicians in Richmond have made a mess of our economy and have put future generations at risk. Sure, they talk about creating jobs, but, in reality, they vote time and time again for job-killing tax hikes, new regulations and more wasteful government programs. Our families deserve someone who will stand up to the career politicians. They deserve an honest, independent, common-sense voice. Jeff Frederick will be that voice. Putting people over politics, Jeff Frederick will stand up for us. Jeff’s plan to help Virginia families:✔ Create jobs by getting government out of the way ✔ Pass incentives to revitalilze and redevelop the Rt. 1 Corridor ✔ End government waste so we can fund our priorities, like transportation ✔ Provide local and state governments more tools to fight illegal immigration ✔ Ensure a quality education for every child During Jeff’s 3 terms in the House of Delegates, he was a strong voice for our priorities and our special quality of life. He kept his promises and did what he said he would do — and we need him back in Richmond. Economy & TaxesToo often in Richmond, the knee-jerk reaction to just about every challenge we face is to take more money from your family budget so that government can grow its budget. Yet, Jeff believes that you know better how to spend your money than government does, and when times get tough, government should tighten its belt, downsize, and cut out the waste and niceties. And, government needs to get out of the way so that individuals and small businesses can do what they do best: create jobs and grow our economy. As Delegate, Jeff fought against the largest tax increase in Virginia history (when the state was running a massive $2 billion surplus). If elected to the Senate, Jeff will continue to protect your hard earned money and work to create a pro-job environment for the citizens of Virginia.
Transportation and InfrastructureTraffic and congestion is an everyday problem that affects us all that Jeff faced head-on as a member of the House Transportation Committee. Jeff believes that if your tax dollars are adequately prioritized for transportation and existing transportation funds are better utilized, many of our transportation challenges can be alleviated without raising your taxes. We also need to focus less on building more roads for the sake of building roads, and more on targeting specific choke points and identifying projects that will provide direct congestion relief. Our success should be measured exclusively on how much each transportation dollar reduces or eliminates congestion — not by how many roads we build, dollars we spend, or whether projects are on time/budget (the latter should be a given for anything government does with your money). Solutions range from the simple, like better timing lights, building more commuter parking to promote slugging and ride-sharing, and improving intersections to better promote the flow of traffic — to the more involved, like eliminating major bottle necks (such as the one at I-95 and Rt. 234) and implementing an effective and practical BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system — in addition to major long term projects like the widening of Rt. 1. As Delegate, Jeff introduced a five-point plan to reduce congestion without raising taxes. While progress has been made on some of his plan, work must continue to fully implement each point:
EducationJeff believes our children deserve the highest quality education so that every child will have the tools to become anything they dream. And, with the significant investment taxpayers are making in education, he strongly believes that the best return on that investment is children getting the great education they deserve. As Delegate, Jeff made education a top priority. That’s why he’s worked closely with the state’s educators by holding a successful Teacher’s Summit. He served on the House Committee on Education, created an Education Advisory Committee (the only legislator in Virginia to have done so) so he could regularly meet with and hear directly from educators on the challenges they face. Jeff feels it is important to stay on top of the SOLs (Standards of Learning) to make certain they are working to improve accountability in our schools without putting an undue burden on our children, and he is the first member of the General Assembly to visit the Department of Education and actually take the SOLs, giving him first-hand knowledge of the tests. Jeff has also introduced important legislation that provides a tax credit to teachers for un-reimbursed classroom expenses, and he sponsored the Education Improvement Act of 2005 to increase student performance in reading. Jeff has worked to make college more affordable by passing legislation to provide military families in-state tuition, and he sponsored a grant program that makes a 4-year college education more affordable for Virginia residents. Finally, in his continued efforts to gain insight into our schools, he has volunteered in our public schools as a teacher’s aide. Advocating for Virginia’s Working FamiliesGovernment needs to promote policies that support our parents and help to strengthen families. Among his accomplishments:
Illegal ImmigrationJeff is a strong advocate for preserving taxpayer resources for citizens and legal immigrants (like his Colombian mother). There is nothing wrong with people coming to our country in search of the American dream, but they must follow the rules that everyone else has to play by. Jeff is opposed to any sort of amnesty program for law breakers, and has sponsored legislation in the past to give state and local government more tools to address the challenges they face, and to discourage businesses from utilizing and taking advantage of illegal labor. Route 1The Route One corridor extends from the top to bottom of the 36th District, and Jeff believes it is critical to redevelop and revitalize this corridor to improve our local economy, create jobs, and get traffic moving — among other benefits to our citizen’s quality of life that can be produced by an improved Route 1. For the last 20 years, Route 1 has been studied. In January, yet another study costing Virginia taxpayers millions of dollars was again approved. Jeff thinks it is time to stop studying and get on with it. He has a plan to reduce or eliminate taxes on businesses who chose to locate and invest along Rt. 1. With BRAC affecting areas around both Ft. Belvior and MCB Quantico, we have a wonderful opportunity to attract new businesses to the corridor and incentivize them to create new jobs and invest in redevelopment projects. More, higher paying jobs mean less people commuting up and down Rt. 1; higher end retail being attracted to the area to serve that daily population; more taxpayers paying taxes (instead of asking you to pay more); and more public and private investment, improving our roads and creating additional mass transit options, like BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). Other areas have been able to accomplish these goals, and there is no place with more potential than this corridor.
Related: Jeff’s candidacy announcement | 2007 re-election issues page |
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