News-Press Editorial

The next two years are going to be among the most critical in history for the City of Falls Church. The City stands at a true crossroads. The proverbial pump has been primed for an unprecedented period of economic growth that can ensure the long-term viability of Falls Church as an independent jurisdiction. Many would not have bet a dime a decade ago on the eventual survival of Falls Church, given its years-long pattern of stubborn resistance to economic growth. The fact that things are now so different is a tribute to a decades' long effort to change attitudes both within this community and without. Now, Falls Church cuts a new image in the regional environment. Once "persona non grata" to developers, it is now characterized as one of the "hot spots" for smart growth in the D.C. metropolitan area.

With the Falls Church City Council election Tuesday comes a great responsibility on the shoulders of Falls Church voters. The City is in unusually great need of continued strong and savvy leadership. It is no time for angry protest votes or for falling sway to sloganeering and fear-mongering. Look for those candidates who have real facts, have a real track record and an appreciation for the nuanced facets of important decision making at the municipal level.

As we indicated in this space last week, we feel it is important at this juncture to stay the course with the direction the current City Council has taken. That means that we support the re-election of Robin Gardner and Lindy Hockenberry and their colleague who has campaigned in support for the current Council course, David Chavern.

The three other candidates – Joseph Bodmer, Greg Brown and Lou Mauro – are our neighbors and friends and have brought good points to the campaign. But they're all saying there should be a diversion from the present course, and we do not agree with them.

This does not suggest that we support unbridled development in the City's commercially-zoned corridors. It has been critically important for Falls Church that the three mixed-use projects were approved by the present Council in the last two years. This has jump-started the City's economic revival. From now on, it gets harder. Market forces are always changing, and the City will need to be ever more discriminating, while continuing to encourage investment in development here.

But this Council and the excellent staff it has assembled at City Hall has a proven track record of being able to carry such processes forward in a constructive way. With vital decisions coming in the period ahead, it is no time and there are no grounds for exhibiting doubt in our current leadership. It has met the challenges of fiscal responsibility while bringing in new development and accommodating to the needs of the schools, and deserves the opportunity to continue its course.