Now that the redistricting process is complete, two local candidates for office have decided to test their electoral prowess in the General Assembly instead of the Board of County Supervisors.

Gainesville District Supervisor John Stirrup (R) formally announced on Monday that he is running for the 13th district of the Virginia state Senate, opting out of a run for a third term on the county board.

That came four days after Heritage Hunt resident Carl Genthner (D) announced in a press release that he was switching from challenging Stirrup in the supervisor's race to challenging Manassas Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) for his seat in the House of Delegates.

Stirrup

Stirrup is set to face declared challenger Bob FitzSimmonds (R), the deputy clerk of the circuit court, who has previously lost three races for the 29th district in western Prince William County. Former Del. Dick Black (R) of Loudoun County is also planning on joining the race once he moves within the district boundaries.

"It was a process I went through over the last several weeks with my family, some of my colleagues and some of the leaders in the community that, everything pointed in this direction for running for the state Senate," said Stirrup during a Monday phone interview. "I think I have a pretty strong record of accomplishment (to bring) to the race and I bring a high factor of electability to the race in November."

When pressed about whether FitzSimmonds or Black could be elected at all in November, Stirrup refused to speculate, saying that "voters are more confident in my ability to win in November than either my current opponent [FitzSimmonds] or my opponent [Black] that's going to move into the district."

Stirrup, known chiefly for authoring the county's controversial law intended to crack down on illegal immigration, said that if elected, he would like to introduce legislation that would establish a "sunset commission," similar to one he witnessed in the Texas legislature, that would require "every program and project" funded by the state to "come before the commission and justify their existence" every so many years.

He said the bipartisan commission would be made up of volunteers with the intention of whittling away unnecessary spending.

"(It's) certainly worthwhile pursuing," he said.

Genthner

In his press release announcing his candidacy, Stirrup stated, "In 2011, I faced no opposition for Supervisor, yet decided to give up a safe seat in order to run for the State Senate because so much is at stake."

That statement is true in that, on the day he announced his state Senate candidacy, he had not opponent and said Monday that there were multiple Republicans that spoke to him about entering the race in his absence.

However, Genthner had been running against him this year all the way until Thursday of last week when he switched to the House of Delegates race and already had another Democrat ready to take his spot on the ballot.

Rumors had been circulating among political insiders in the week prior to his switch that the retired Air Force veteran would do as much.

Genthner, who previously considered running against Marshall in 2009, said Saturday night at the Prince William County Democratic Committee's annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner that redistricting "definitely had an affect" on his race as it is now entirely based within Prince William County instead of also having portions in Loudoun County.

The 13th district to date has been the largest district in terms of population in Virginia.

"Well, frankly, Mr. Marshall, his positions on some issues I strongly disagree with and frankly I don't think it's good for democracy to have seats go unchallenged," said Genthner. "It just keeps the democratic process going."

Had Haymarket resident Ann Wheeler, the Gainesville District Representative to the Social Services Board, not have been willing to step in for Genthner in the Gainesville District race as a Democrat, he said he would not have "felt comfortable" changing races.

(Wheeler confirmed in a brief interview that she does intend to seek the Gainesville supervisor seat and plans to announce later this week.)

The fact of the matter is that neither the Gainesville supervisor seat or 13th district delegate seat are in prime pick-up territory for any local Democrat due to the demographics and voting history of western Prince William County.

Statewide federal candidates more recently, such as President Barack Obama and Sens. Mark Warner (D) and Jim Webb (D) tend to be more successful there than local Democratic candidates. Both Stirrup and Marshall dispatched of their Democratic challengers by double digits during their last races.

Still, Genthner insisted that "Bob Marshall is no (Bob) McDonnell," referring to the popular Republican governor of Virginia that carried Prince William County by 18 points in 2009.

Regarding the Republican brand as a whole, Genthner said he figured that voters nationally are "experiencing a bit of buyers' remorse," highlighting low popularity ratings of newly-elected GOP governors in various states.

"It's the Republican Party that has demonstrated their focus is not on the things they ran on," he said, citing voter registration and labor issues. "(Its) brand is view more negatively."

Ebert, Colgan

In other news from the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert (D) announced that he will be seeking his 12th four-year term in office. He lauded both Police Chief Charlie Deane and Sheriff Glen Hill (R) for working well with his office during his last term, and even said about Hill, "I can't publicly endorse anybody not in my party but I think anybody that would run against him is a fool."

Meanwhile, state Sen. Chuck Colgan (D-29th) hinted that he may be opting out of retirement despite saying previously that his current term would be he last one. He said his announcement would be forthcoming during the week ahead.

Former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) talked about Colgan as if he was running for re-election while speaking to the audience and Colgan said little to suggest that he would not, in fact, give it another go.

"Well, I've got a lot of seniority," said Colgan, the dean and president pro tempore of the upper chamber.

He later added about his work, "It becomes an obligation" to the people of Prince William County, he said. "That's what I'm struggling with."