Democrats David Fiske and Jimmy Bierman, who are seeking the Democratic nomination June 20 to run in the Nov. 7 election for Dranesville District supervisor, touted their talking points and took rhetorical swings at each other during a June 15 debate at the McLean Community Center.
Bierman questioned Fiske’s fealty to the Democratic Party, saying he earlier had sought to run as a Republican. Bierman said he supported traditional Democratic beliefs on workers, science, infrastructure, public education and police accountability.
“I’m running as a Democrat because these are the values I’ve always had,” Bierman said. “My opponent wrote on his Website that values aren’t enough. I’m sorry, folks, but values are everything.”
Fiske said he had considered running as an independent, but that he shared the Democratic Party’s values, including equality, justice and environmental protection. He also held up a mailer he had received from Bierman, citing it as proof his opponent does consider him a Democrat.
“Apparently, Jimmy Bierman thinks that I am a Democrat when he wants someone to vote, but for some reason he thinks that when I want to run, I’m not,” Fiske said.
The forum, hosted during the Dranesville District Democratic Committee’s meeting, drew scores of people and gave voters their only chance to compare the candidates in person before this coming Tuesday’s primary.
Fiske briefly touched on the amount of out-of-state financing for Bierman’s campaign, but the issue did not arise again later in the debate’s question-and-answer session.
Bierman said he had met with all Democratic members of the Board of Supervisors and questioned why Fiske had not.
“I’m ready to go to work on Day 1 with this Board of Supervisors,” Bierman said.
Fiske said if elected he would seek to have the Board of Supervisors and School Board jointly address school overcrowding, using standardized metrics and targeted proffers from developers. He also would work for transportation improvements and more public-safety resources, including for the police department’s co-responder program, which brings in mental-health professionals in some cases to assist officers.
Bierman said he would endeavor to continue constituent services seamlessly from departing Supervisor John Foust’s office, mitigate environmental impacts using “smart development,” expand and preserve affordable housing, offer more transportation connections and implement firearm-safety measures, including gun buybacks and provision of gun locks.
Both candidates touted their community and professional credentials.
Fiske, a physicist who runs a consulting firm, is a former McLean Citizens Association board member, belongs to the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce, is a Cub Scout pack leader, a PTA member at two local elementary schools and former president of the Brookhaven-Forest Villa Civic Association. He has coached youth sports teams and been a board member and vice president with McLean Little League.
Bierman, a McLean native and attorney, formerly worked as a healthcare reform advocate with Families USA, a clerk to a federal appeals judge, a private litigator and an attorney adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He currently works part-time at a small law firm. Bierman previously was chairman of the Dranesville District Democratic Committee and served on the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel, including as its chairman between March 2021 and February 2022.
“I believe that having highly accountable policing is a recruiting tool for the police force,” Bierman said, adding that the department recently welcomed its biggest recruit class.
Fiske doubted Bierman’s assertion that county police supported the Civilian Review Panel’s efforts and said county police still are struggling to recover from recent staffing woes that resulted in mandatory overtime.
“I don’t get the sense that police feel appreciated right now,” he said.
Asked how their perspectives had changed from interacting with voters, Bierman said he local residents are most desire high-quality and safe schools, affordable housing, firearm safety and environmental protection, especially regarding trees.
Fiske said constituents, especially those on fixed incomes, were worried about being taxed out of their homes. He also heard from firefighters who were concerned about toxins in their gear.
Both candidates favored more bike lanes, protecting the rights of LBGTQ and transgender people, and possibly implementing a meals tax – something county voters previously have rejected by wide margins in two referendums. The candidates also backed women’s reproductive rights and Bierman added he would like to see Planned Parenthood open a facility in the county.
Bierman fended off an audience member’s assertions that he, while serving as Dranesville District Democratic Committee chairman last year, had acted heavy-handily regarding the McLean Community Center’s Governing Board election, calling the allegation a “bald-faced lie.”
Fiske said there was more to the story and worried that partisan interference from both parties could lead the McLean community to lose control of the Governing Board.
The Democratic nominee in the Dranesville District supervisor race will face Republican opponent Puneet Ahluwalia in the Nov. 7 election.
