LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
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LoudounNow LAND SWAP Deal eyed for Mason campus near Metro
DREW DASHES Loudouner breaks 1-mile record
Vol. 1, No. 14
TURF WARS Students ask for field equality
loudounnow.com
February 11, 2016
Butler Tapped as Leesburg’s New Mayor BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ The Town of Leesburg has a new mayor following a special meeting Monday night. Councilman David S. Butler will slide down the Town Council dais a few seats, as he won the four votes needed to be appointed mayor. He was supported by council members Tom Dunn, Katie Hammler and Suzanne Fox. The vote comes following a debate that lasted almost a
Governor Proposes $50M to Lift Dulles
month on who would be best to fill the seat formerly occupied by Kristen C. Umstattd, who won election as the Leesburg District representative for the county Board of Supervisors in November. Her resignation became effective Dec. 31, and Vice Mayor Kelly Burk has since served as acting town mayor. The matter of appointing a mayor to fill the remainder of Umstattd’s term, which will expire on Dec. 31 of this
year, was first discussed at the council’s Jan. 11 work session. While it seemed to be the will of the majority of the council at that work session that a sitting council member be appointed to the seat, the following night no council member put forward for appointment received the necessary four votes. Another try at a vote was anticipated for two weeks later, but the meetings were cancelled due to the winter storm. Butler and Fox were the ones
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now David S. Butler is sworn in as Leesburg’s new mayor Monday, following a month-long stalemate among council members over who should serve the remainder of former mayor Kristen C. Umstattd’s term.
to call for Monday’s special meeting. The meeting began much the way the Jan. 11 meeting ended. Several motions put forward
deadlocked. Burk introduced an initial motion to advertise for residents interested in beNEW MAYOR continues on page 15
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
BY RENSS GREENE Governor Terry McAuliffe’s proposed budget includes $50 million over two years to help Loudoun County’s largest employment center. The $25 million-per-year supplement, McAuliffe said, will help Dulles Airport push down ticket prices as it struggles to compete with other major airports—and
State funding could buy down ticket prices. Dulles Airport has the second-highest cost-per-passenger to airlines in the country, behind only Newark. local leaders say that includes its sister airport in the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Reagan National Airport. “Dulles Airport is one of Virginia’s premier economic assets, and this critical investment will
make it even stronger,” McAuliffe stated. “This funding will help support 45,000 direct and indirect jobs related to the United [Air Lines] Hub at Dulles and encourage other carriers to provide enhanced air travel offerings.”
Leaders of every political leaning and at every level of government agree that Dulles is essential to Loudoun County and the region. “This airport has to survive,” U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R10) said. “Failure is not an option.” “It’s a fundamentally important economic agent in Loudoun DULLES AID continues on page 30
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OPINION
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