Falls Church faces big challenges – on economic revitalization, school facilities, water and transportation infrastructure, fiscal management, and environmental stewardship, naming just a few.

I’m asking for a chance to help ensure that Council makes decisions on these and other important matters after consulting very closely with citizens, so government policies will truly reflect the values and concerns of our people.

During 27 years in Falls Church, I’ve worked with hundreds of dedicated citizens on an array of efforts to improve our City – addressing transportation challenges, boosting support for education, promoting economic revitalization, and engaging more people in the City’s political life.

All these activities have taught me much about our City and its people. I hope that many of you have learned about me, and will attest that I try to work in a positive, collaborative manner, bringing people together to identify and achieve shared goals. If elected to Council, I will listen carefully to all views, talk with you about how we can balance competing priorities, and act in the best interest of the whole City.

I am the only Council candidate who’s put kids all the way through our school system (Meredyth is now a senior at Swarthmore, and Tyler a freshman at West Virginia University), and my wife Leslie is a Mason alum, so we are a two-generation City Schools family. I helped establish the Falls Church Education Foundation; I chaired the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation; currently I chair the Business in Education Partnership. Some of you know me from my days as a Little League dad, or as the four-year coordinator of the George Mason Athletic Boosters mulch sale, which raised more than $25,000 for equipment benefiting GM student-athletes.

I’ve long taken a keen interest in moving the City forward on economic development, promoting this cause on the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, the City Center Task Force, and now as a member of the Economic Development Authority. More on that at www.Duncan4FC.com.

I’m making my first-ever try for elective office so I can carry our community’s terrific volunteer spirit and civic energy into government, helping it become more responsive, creative and dynamic. With our highly educated citizenry, and our Council-manager form of government, collaboration is paramount – listening, searching for points of agreement, finding common ground. That’s my nature, that’s my record, that’s how I would work for you on Council. Thanks for your consideration.