Another day, another example of the vast leadership deficit from the majority controlling Fairfax County. If it isn’t bad enough that their ineffective leadership has already stuck the Taxpayers with a $1.5 Billion liability at Tysons Corner, and their missed opportunity to use the BRAC project to revitalize the Rt. 1 Corridor, NOW we find that the incumbent Sheriff “Stan Barry” has figured out a way to “belly up” to the pig trough too. Sheriff Stan has figured out a way to cushion his retirement a little more with nearly $500,000, yes my friends almost half a million of your tax dollars, by entering into the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) that was intended for unelected county employees as an incentive to them to continue working beyond retirement age.

The DROP program allows unelected county officials to have their retirement pay held in an account while continuing to work for up to an additional 3 years, resulting in substantial payouts upon retirement. The programs’ benefit to the county is that it assists us in holding onto some of these experienced employees for a while longer and aids in planning for vacancies resulting from retirement. But Sheriff Barry maneuvered himself a way to enroll in DROP through the granting of a special waiver by the County Attorney (a fellow official in the same political party), a waiver that should have never been given to an elected official. It is especially problematic for an elected official planning to run for reelection into a term beyond his DROP date. Sheriff Stan ‘ s date is March of 2012, just three months into the new term should he win. This is where we come in. As your future Chairman I would like to ask you to help me stop this kind of self-serving, pocket lining maneuvering in its tracks. On November 8th, please go to the polls and cast your vote to DROP Stan Barry and replace him with Bill Cooper. By working together we can clean up a mess that Chairman Bulova should have never let happen on her watch.

- Michael “Spike” Williams