By Amanda Stewart

Published: May 4, 2008

All of the candidates for the three open seats on the Dumfries Town Council said they'd like to see the town make some changes.

But they each had different views of the most important changes to be made.

Five of the six candidates for the three open seats on the council spoke to a group of about 20 people at Dumfries Town Hall on Sunday during a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Prince William County.

The six candidates running in Tuesday's election are incumbents Brenda L. Via and Stephanie M. Bradley and challengers Dorothea D. Barr, Nancy H. West, Sean Robinson and Willie J. Toney.

Robinson declined an invitation to attend Sunday's forum. In a statement read at the forum, he said that he wanted to use the time to meet with voters face-to-face, rather than in the forum setting.

The other five candidates answered questions touching on everything from the town council's relationship with county officials to summer job opportunities for teens during the forum, which lasted for about an hour and a half.

During the forum, candidates also described their visions of Dumfries in the future, and outlined some changes they think should be made.

Barr, 43, a Realtor in Stafford County, said her desire to run for council grew out of concerns she felt in her own neighborhood.

"The number one issue that motivated me [to run for council] is the blight of my neighborhood," she said. "So many homes are sitting vacant. We have so much to offer that we should have people standing in line to live in Dumfries."

Bradley, 55, a bookkeeper for a home repair business, who is running for her third term on council, said she'd also like to see greater fiscal responsibility in the town and she'd like to see the town's police department get more involved in the community.

"I think we have a problem with the police department ...  that they are not doing community-based policing," Bradley said.

Toney, 57, a juvenile probation officer, said he'd like to see the town offer more recreational and leisure activities for young people, as well as for baby boomers.

"My concern is with people. I was a sincere concern about the quality of life in this town," Toney said. "We need to address the things that effect our youth and also that effect our baby boomers. This is the part that's missing here."

Via, 46, a Department of Motor Vehicles manager who is running for her second term on the town council, said her goal is to help revitalize Main Street in Dumfries.

"We need to redevelop Main Street, bring in more shops and scenic walkways," Via said. "[If re-elected] I will continue working to create and support economic development in town."

West, 70, a retired Prince William County Public Schools attendance officer, said she'd like to see the town focus more on its history, which could bring more tourism into the town.

She said she decided to run for election after the town council denied a grant proposal from Historic Dumfries Inc. last year.

"Dumfries is the oldest continually chartered town in Virginia and we need to capitalize on that history," West said.

Other questions posed to the candidates focused on economic development, the town's budget and the Potomac landfill.

All of the candidates said they'd like to do something about the landfill in Dumfries, which has generated noise and smell complaints from town residents, but said they can't do anything to close it because the landfill is permitted and regulated by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

There are about 2,200 registered voters in Dumfries. The town's population is about 5,000.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014 or .