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Political alliance hopes to change Herndon
A political action committee of sorts has emerged in Herndon and is prepared to back candidates to challenge the town's incumbent council in 2010.The Alliance for Herndon's Future, LLC, has registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and as such, has named two former mayors, a former town councilman, a former planning commissioner and a professional political organizer to their board of managers.
Because Herndon's population is less than 25,000 however, the alliance is not required to register with the Virginia State Board of Elections as a political action committee or required in any way to disclose its financial sources.
"We are a group of concerned citizens that want to change the direction of the town," said Reston resident Don Owens, co-owner of Herndon business Griffin-Owens and Associates, and one of the group's founders.
"The last town election made us realize that we needed to be more organized if we want Herndon to be the town we all envision," added Chris Griffin, Owens' wife and business partner. "Most of the people in this group want the town to be more family and business friendly."
The group has been meeting since June but only recently incorporated and activated a Web site and blog. Members are now organizing committees to achieve a political platform that future candidates can support. The group is working toward achieving nonprofit status, and engaging in local fundraising. It then plans to give financial support to candidates.
"There was an organized platform to put the current group in power," Griffin said. "And we can prove that."
"Two elections in a row now, a group of people feel that the leaders aren't representing everyone in the community," Owens said.
The alliance has engaged the help of Juan Carlos Ruiz, a political organizer who helped mobilize the Latino vote for Democratic Senator Jim Webb in 2006. Ruiz is listed as a member of the group's board of managers, but Owens says Ruiz is simply a political consultant.
"[Ruiz] helped to register Latinos in the last [Herndon] election," Owens said.
Griffin says that “smart growth” is one of the alliance's goals. She defines the term as developing a downtown that can be a “destination."
"We don't have to be a Reston Town Center but we can be a mini version," Owens added.
The group's members all supported the original Diamond Properties hotel proposal that encountered repeated friction from the current town council. "Most of us were also upset about the closing of the day labor center," Griffin said.
“We are shooting to have a process to have candidates who can be vetted by the public and who stand for certain things, and establish support for them," Owens said. "We also want to educate the public about how important local issues are and how much they impact their lives."
The alliance will elect its directors on Nov. 16.
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