National presidential campaign brackets Republican Candidates Forum questions on Town government

With only four of 11 candidates on the November ballot present – Scott Lloyd, Joseph McFadden, Lori Cockrell (council trio) and Chris Holloway (mayor) – and those four staunch Republicans and local Committee members likely to receive endorsements anyway, the 2020 Warren County Republican Committee Front Royal Candidates Forum took on a combative tone from its outset Wednesday evening, August 19, at the Villa Avenue Community Center.

After introducing new Committee Chairman John Smith, former chairman, and current Republican State Central Committee member Steve Kurtz began his moderating of the forum by tracking the recent history of Republican Committee Town candidate forums and endorsements of what is by code a non-partisan town election.

“I always wondered why the town council didn’t have any Republicans on it, and it really didn’t. We had lots of people on there that claimed they were independents and that this race was a non-partisan race. And just common sense tells you that Front Royal is full of Republicans and the Republican voice here in Front Royal will be heard,” Kurtz told the room of about 25 mostly committee members, adding, “So, we decided eight years ago that the Republican Committee was going to endorse candidates for town council and mayor. We’ve been very successful in picking and choosing good candidates and endorsing the right ones as well.”

Former committee chairman moderates Republican Candidate Forum. Royal Examiner photos by Roger Bianchini, video by Mark Williams.

Kurtz later explained that the committee will make its endorsements after its regular meeting of August 27. However, with the stated intention of endorsing three council and one mayoral candidate, matching the number of committee member forum participants, Kurtz agreed the likelihood was high those four would be endorsed.

Following his tracing the committee’s path to its current endorsement policy in town elections, Kurtz asked the three council candidates and one mayoral candidate present: Lloyd, McFadden, and incumbents Cockrell and Holloway, the latter running for mayor while his council seat is not up for re-election, for their opening statements of introduction before launching into a round-robin questioning where each candidate responded to the same question.

Lloyd and McFadden traced their relocations to the area and past federal government work, Lloyd in the Trump Administration at the southern border in Refugee Resettlement; McFadden in streamlining cost-effectiveness at the EPA. Cockrell and Holloway noted their local roots and work, Cockrell in public education; Holloway in youth sports coaching, his past council tenure, and local construction company. More detail on those introductory statements will be provided in a forthcoming Royal Examiner story; as will queries as to the reason other candidates did not participate.

Then it was on to the questions. Kurtz explained a rotating one-minute response to questions that would be asked of all the candidates, with no rebuttals to other candidates’ answers.
It soon became apparent by the phrasing of the questions that partisanship on the national political stage, as well as how that partisanship would impact their local governmental decisions, would guide the forum. The opening question was: “Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democrats are calling for huge tax increases. This year our Front Royal Town Council (with a five of six-seat Republican majority) reduced taxes. What is your position on the Front Royal tax rates?” Kurtz asked.

The consensus response was that while some government services are necessary, tax hikes are bad and that government needed to be streamlined to prevent them.

From left, Scott Lloyd, Joseph McFadden, Lori Athey Cockrell, and Chris Holloway.

Holloway opened the responses referencing the Town’s half-cent real estate tax decrease with maintained levels of service, observing, “I have never voted for a tax increase and I never would.”

“I was really proud of that,” Cockrell said of the real estate tax decrease, adding of the process, “The way that had to happen, we really had to look at our government and where things needed to be restructured or cut back to get the best bang for our buck with town taxpayer’s money … I believe in keeping our taxes low. I don’t believe in raising taxes. Sometimes you have to look in the budget and find the fat to get rid of.”

Lloyd called “taxes at the town level” in danger of being “the most pernicious” explaining, “Because when you’re talking at the town level, you’re talking about things that sound so harmless … a glass of wine here and there, a half-cent here and there” pointing to the added fees at the local and state levels adding up.

“People are working too much to pay the government,” Lloyd observed.

McFadden cited his work on the town planning commission in reviewing some town budgetary expenditure requests, including a new SUV for “the IT Department head to drive to and from his house” that he felt could be cut. He also cited his budget-trimming work on IT issues at the EPA.

McFadden did note his vote of approval of a large budget item, the $10-million construction of a new town police headquarters – “We raised some issues with that too, but we went ahead and we spent that money,” McFadden said of the police project the sitting town council has yet to authorize assumption of its debt service on during its legal spat with the EDA.

And perhaps surprisingly there was no question concerning the Town’s hostile legal stance with its existing, co-founded with Warren County, 51-year-old Economic Development Authority; or move to fund and create its own EDA while still a partner, technically at least, of the joint EDA the county government fully funds operationally.

A crowd of about 25, socially distanced listen to the forum.

Rather, the second question continued the combative with Democrats tone, though there are no announced local Democratic Committee candidates on the town election ballot.

“We have all seen the violence, rioting and looting in the Democratic-controlled cities; and calls to defund police departments. Here in Front Royal, we have had two peaceful protests. If these protests were to turn violent and call for the defunding of the police, what would your position be?” Kurtz asked, starting with answers on Lloyd’s side of the table.

In this exclusive Royal Examiner video, hear those answers, as well as answers to other questions including: “Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, are calling for a huge, huge New Green Deal – growing bureaucracy, more regulations and trillions in spending. This year Front Royal consolidated positions in departments, reducing the size of government. What is your position on the current size of the town government? And should we continue to trend to smaller government or should we adopt the new Green approach?”

But nary a word about the Town-EDA situation and that situation’s eventual impact on Town budgetary matters from legal fees to assuming full operational funding for an EDA without any existing assets; as well as potential impacts of taking an adversarial, competitive stance against the county government and re-tooled, existing EDA in seeking and maintaining economic development in Warren County and Front Royal.