Rust, Miller Battle Over Roads, Taxes, Autism Coverage

“When he had an opportunity to fight for the bill, he voted no,” said Democrat Stevens Miller, casting a political boulder toward Republican Del. Tom Rust (86th) at a debate in Sterling Park Oct. 13.

The bill in question was one Rust had his name attached to that would have mandated insurance coverage for children and adults under 21 with autism. Its eventual failure earlier this year is something Miller has hammered Rust on in print ads and in television spots. In response, Rust said the bill never made it out of committee for a vote in the General Assembly.

“I don’t know how I can make this any clearer: The bill was never voted on,” Rust said. “This is being painted like I am the only one down there.”

The two are pitted against one another for a chance to represent Herndon and parts of Sterling in Virginia’s House of Delegates. For Rust, a win would mean an extension of his current job, as he is the incumbent. He was first elected to the House in 2002 after serving nearly two decades as mayor of Herndon.

Miller, on the other hand, is a political neophyte at the state level. However, he is not new to campaigning. In 2007, he beat out controversial figure Steve Snow for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, something he would have to give up if elected in November.

In front of a crowd of 60 or 70 people at Park View High School, the two debated a wide range of issues, from whether they support a meals tax in Loudoun to what the state can do to prop up a struggling Sterling Park. However, as is the case in campaigns throughout Northern Virginia, fixes to the region’s maddening traffic problems dominated the evening.

Both men agreed more sources of funding are needed to address transportation, such as using toll revenues and raising the state’s gas tax.

“A gas tax has to be looked at,” Rust acknowledged, adding that just a one-cent tax on gas can raise $50 million annually for transportation. Rust also touted his help in creating a regional set of taxes and fees that would have raised hundreds of millions annually for road projects in this region. However, the plan was eventually ruled unconstitutional and terminated in court in 2008.

Miller took the opportunity to tie Rust to the failed measure, and the widely unpopular abusive drivers fee, which Miller called “the worst idea of all time, adding that “[Rust’s] plan is to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

On addressing gang and quality-of-life issues in Sterling Park, Miller said he would fight for more state funding to hire additional deputies. While not giving details, he also said economic development was needed in Sterling Park to discourage problems like overcrowded homes and cars on lawns.

For his part, Rust touted his efforts to combat gangs in the area, which included a recent gang summit. But Miller seized on this, accusing Rust of refusing to invite any Democrats to the event. “What could have been a useful dialogue,” Miller said, “instead became a campaign event.”

Miller also attacked Rust for introducing legislation in 2008 to firm up some of the powers afforded the chairman of Loudoun’s Board of Supervisors. The measure was in response to Republican supervisors stripping away some of Chairman Scott York’s authorities in 2004.

Miller questioned why Rust didn’t introduce the legislation in 2007, when Republicans dominated the board. “He could have done that the year before, but he didn’t,” Miller said. “…it was political.”

To that, Rust said he introduced the bill because York asked him to. “I had not been asked to do that before,” he said with a grin.

And while Miller was the aggressor most the evening, Rust was not without his own barbs.

Concerning a question posed to Miller on why he wanted to give up his supervisor job, Miller said he wanted to unclog gridlock concerning local matters at the state level. As an example, Miller brought up Loudoun’s fight to regulate alternative septic systems, which are common in rural sections of Loudoun.

However, looking out over the suburban crowd, Rust speculated: “Septic systems are probably something that don’t interest anyone in here.”

Finally, on the General Assembly granting Loudoun permission to tax food and beverages sold at restaurants without a voter referendum, Miller -- if still a member of the board -- said he would vote against imposing a meals tax since voters rejected it three times in the past.

Rust lives in Herndon, which has a meals tax, and said he has seen no evidence that such a tax hurts sales at food establishments. “There has been no impact on businesses in Herndon,” he said.

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County organized the debate. Election Day is Nov. 3.

To learn more, see www.tomrust.org and www.stevensmiller.com.