Robert B. Weir runs for Haymarket Council

By Abe Nelson

Published: April 9, 2008

Robert B. Weir said it takes vigilance to control growth, and he plans to be vigilant if he is re-elected to the Hay-market Town Council.

Weir said growth has to be considered responsibly and with caution.

"If you don't have the infrastructure you don't do it. If you don't have a plan in place to improve it, you don't do it," the 45-year-old Weir said of development.

In his understanding, Weir said, the people of Haymarket don't want "strip malls behind houses, check cashing establishments around the corner and wall-to-wall traffic."

"You don't create ...  Centreville in Haymarket," he said.

Weir, who has served one term on the town council, said if he's re-elected on May 6 he will work to make government more transparent.

Weir said he decided to run again because he doesn't think the people of the town trust the council. He said some of his neighbors told him so. He also said that people tell him that they don't think their voices are being heard.

"When you start taking shortcuts and you stop being transparent, you call into question the efficacy of all the efforts of the council," said Weir, a patents, trademarks and copyrights researcher.

"As part of that council, that means they don't trust me and I don't like that," he said.

Government could be made transparent by simply following the rules, Weir said.

"You don't step on process. You don't step on procedure," Weir said. "It's there to protect the residents, the town and the applicant."

Weir, who once resigned from the council and later returned at the request of residents and other council members, said he thinks his four years in office have prepared him for another term.

He said he understands town government, and the 879 registered voters of Haymarket know what they'll get if they return him to office.

"What you see is what you get. I've got a track record," Weir said. "Everybody knows where I stand on things."

The fact that he won't have to go through a "learning curve" also works to his advantage, Weir said.

"I've got an understanding of the fiscal processes of the town. I've got an understanding of the budget processes and I've got an understanding of the stream of revenue and what outstanding issues still haven't been addressed and need to be addressed," said Weir, who describes himself as "very conservative fiscally."

John C. Cole, Susan E. Edwards, Bryan A. Garcia, Christopher A. Johnson, Charles F. King, Jr.,David M. Leake, Sean Roberts, Susan M. Shuryn, James E. "Jay" Tobias, Oswald Vazquez are also in the race for six council seats representing roughly 1,400 residents.

Council members are paid $100 per meeting and the council meets about once a month.

Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.