 | Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Raymond Thompson Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) talks with the Loudoun Times-Mirror during a recent interview. |
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Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) was first elected to the board in 1999.
He’s also served as the president of Public Advocate of the United States, a nonprofit conservative group, since 1981.
Delgaudio, 55, announced on Jan. 7 he would seek a third term as Loudoun supervisor.
The supervisor recently visited the Times-Mirror office to talk about his political career and recent controversial statements he has made. The story has been edited for length.
Q: Why should Sterling residents re-elect Eugene Delgaudio?
A: I have been attentive. I have been single-minded. I have been focused on one thing, and that is making sure that at all times Sterling is getting the most for their money from the supervisors.
Q: Where do you stand on the proposed Kincora Village development near Route 28 and Route 7?
A: I am looking at this from the 80-20 ratio. To keep the taxes down, you have to relieve the 80 percent of the revenue coming from residences, and if I’m a true conservative, if I’m a true believer in the people of Loudoun ... I have to look at all aspects of spending, cutting and revenue. Revenue is critical. If I can’t get that revenue, if I’m not relieving a percentage or two … at least every quarter, there’s no hope for this government.
Kincora represents to me using [Community Development Authorities], using Agricultural Department loans, using sports, using the symphony. It represents a vision for the future that can actually generate income and achieve that Class A market that we very rarely see actually occur in the region.
Q: What do you say to the statement that Kincora would force the county to take on a huge amount of debt?
A: I think that the debt issue is false because for a long time we have had a companion debt that no one has heard about. No one in Loudoun has ever once mentioned, factually, the [Community Development Authority] debt from Dulles Town Center.
The facts are staff is playing to the ideological liberal elite that is statist in nature and anti-prosperity and essentially wants to enslave the 80 percent that pay the residential taxes. So the residents of Loudoun will see economic slavery forever if they’re fearful of a debt that doesn’t exist.
Q: Recently, a group of residents released their own study saying the proposed Countywide Transportation Plan is fundamentally flawed. What’s your reaction to that study? A: I don’t think the plan is fundamentally flawed. If you think that driving a car is a problem, then, yes I agree with you. If you want horses, bikes and golf carts, I understand perfectly.
We do need to go in a lot of places from two to six lanes in the next 10 to 20 years, and there has to be a reserve for that to work.
Q: Do you have any ambitions of running for higher office one day?
A: I love being supervisor for Sterling. The return is great. Those who have employed me there have gotten their value, and I like returning the value back. It’s very exciting to be a local elected official where you see the results, so I really have no plans for higher office.
Q: If you’re re-elected, what are your goals for next term?
A: I think the fact that Sterling is successful as a community is critical to the existence of Loudoun County. I think the basis for the county as a government and an entity ceases to exist to the degree that they ignore Sterling.
If I’m defeated, if I’m not re-elected, the next supervisor has to take that to heart and has to demonstrate that to the Board of Supervisors to keep them focused on what Sterling needs.
The county itself is threatened by the failure or the success of Sterling. Our whole country is affected, I believe, by what happens in Sterling.
The budget itself also has to be a focus of efficiency, not reckless spending.
Q: You’ve got 19 months left in your term. Is there one thing that you’d like to get done between now and the end of next year?
A: I’ve been working very hard on teen job fairs, on SterlingFest, on Sterling beautification. These are things that you can taste, that you know are having a big impact on lives.
I would like to see improvements take place at Sterling Boulevard and Route 7, which would be a vast improvement on the turn lanes there and Potomac View.
I would also like to see the crime rate in Sterling continue to be down and that there be no significant incidents.
Q: There was an online petition started in March by some Sterling residents that calls for your removal from office, saying you’ve lost your ability to be objective. What’s your response to that?
A: I wish I could get those people to agree that I’ve been responsive. I’ll work harder. I’m sorry that I disappointed those 40 people and I’ll work harder as a result of those 40 people feeling that way.
Q: Do you think that comments you’ve made concerning immigrants and the gay and lesbian community inhibit your ability to do your job?
A: Politics is a 51-49 situation. If 50 percent plus one vote for me, I get the mandate. I don’t take any vote for granted. Just because someone votes against me doesn’t mean I’m not going to work as hard for them as I should.
You’re doing something wrong coming into office. Everybody does something wrong. Somebody is going to take issue with what you’re doing.
Q: Do you think you’ve been unfairly treated?
A: I think the day that people take my fundraising letters or take my comments and put them on Comedy Central is not a bad day.
Q: Do you regret any of the statements you’ve made?
A: I think for example the comment about there’s a problem in Sterling Park [when I used the word “cesspool”] ... To get that discussion going, I said, ‘Here’s a situation and you’re doing nothing about it.’ Immigrants are getting killed. That was a turning point for Sterling. That interview on National Public Radio was a turning point. Up to that point, media thought they had no responsibility in this locality and I was holding their feet to the fire.
Q: Your concern regarding the immigrant community seems to be rooted on crime issues. What is your objection to the gay community?
A: Similar. It’s in their best interest that there not be federal legislation marking them.
As a supervisor, we passed a law that no one understands and how can they implement it? And [it’s one] that the attorney general disagrees with and that the governor himself can’t rightly use that same standard in his own government. So I think that we stick with our traditional values, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
Q: So, on a personal basis you don’t have any objection to the gay community?
A: No. It has always been policy or a law and all the other stuff that comes before Washington, that I deal with in my other job has to do with Sen. [Ted] Kennedy, Congressman [Barney] Frank proposing legislation that I disagree with. I don’t see how that affects the people of Sterling.
Q: Do you affiliate more with the Republican Party or the Tea Party movement?
A: I am an American first. I happen to be a Republican. I’m a Reaganite. I was Tea Party before Tea Party was cool.
I think I’ve been talking elements of the Tea Party for the entire time that I’ve been in public office.
Thank God the Tea Party has arrived. I need some help!
I encourage all Sterling residents to keep Supervisor DelGaudio on the Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors. I believe his statements in this article are correct, and especially his statement that “Loudoun County is threatened by the failure or the success of Sterling. Our whole country is affected, I believe, by what happens in Sterling.”
Supervisor DelGaudio needs to be re-elected if we want Sterling to continue to overcome the storms ahead. He has been faithful to our Sterling residents, bringing us the truth about what is really going on in Loudoun County government—and what it means to us, and on some issues he has stood alone fighting to save Sterling. He has been bold fighting against crime, gangs, illegal immigration, and other important issues. His commitment to Sterling residents is unmatched. It is not unusual to see him with helping on “clean up” days in Sterling, or helping to feed the many hungry in Sterling, meeting with federal authorites and working with the Loudoun Sheriff’s Department. In my eyes, Supervisor DelGaudio works 24/7 for Sterling residents. He takes his personal time walking through the Sterling area neighborhood trying to get our attention on matters that significantly affect Sterling. He has shown through his actions that he cares about what happens to us in Sterling. We need more supervisors like Eugene DelGaudio. Thank you Mr. DelGaudio.
“While (hopefully) no one cares what an anonymous poster on the WWW thinks, I do hope my character, opinion, or my motives are never openly ridiculed…”
Can’t have it both ways, aff.
You ARE an anonymous poster on the www.
Your “character, opinion and motives” can only be judged by whatever you post.
In addition, while you may have “no interest” in either publicly or privately disparaging entire areas of the county, the fact remains that you still DO.
I don’t care what you think of me, because yes, you are an anonymous poster on the internet.
Again, you can’t have it both ways.
What does your anonymity do for the credibility of your opinion over anyone else’s, even awful mine?
Why, nothing!
lol
Bronson,
You obviously misunderstood me. The “I’m glad I don’t live in Sterling” comment was in reference to Eugene, not the community as a whole. I’m merely glad I’m not directly represented by a buffoon such as Delgaudio.
From time to time we get calls from friends around the country wondering, “what the h*ll is going on in LoCo? Don’t you live there?” In times past this was usually referring to Dick “fetus” Black, but recently Eugene has put us on the map.
Again, I have no interest in publicly (or privately) disparaging the Sterling community ...... Babs is another story completely.
While (hopefully) no one cares what an anonymous poster on the WWW thinks, I do hope my character, opinion, or my motives are never openly ridiculed to the extent that Barbara Munsey’s and Eugene Delgaudio’s are daily.
Good people stay out of public service when the freaks run the carnival.
AFF, Thank you for correcting me. By no means do I think that I am perfect and I’m glad to know that you also value the service of our fellow Americans, both past and presently with us. I practice being an American everyday, sometimes holidays can get mixed up. However, in honoring Americans through holidays, while bad mouthing communities through message boards, you come off as a celebratory American as opposed to a true American, loyal to all others. But I don’t want to come off too melodramatic. All in all, Barbara is right and perception is based on the facts that you follow and listen to. Let’s just try and show some support for fellow LoCo citizens who really try and make a difference, even if they have to deal with unwanted elected officals until the next election.
aff, I doubt all of Sterling cares if an anonmyous poster on the internet declares that the whole nation is laughing at them.
Sounds like a bit of a feudal insult.
As for national attention on Sterling, if the Dems would like to see it stop, then maybe (future candidate?) Mrs. Miller, wife of (perennial candidate) Supervisor Miller, shouldn’t facebook things about Loudoun to her high school buddy on the staff at the Daily Show?
And then have her husband give interviews in which he moans about Loudoun being on the show?
lol
It’s ALL political theatre on both sides.
Dear Bronson,
Memorial Day is about honoring our war dead. The day we spend “honoring those who have served our country” is called Veteran’s Day and falls in November, specifically November 11th.
Ironically, I spent the morning hours yesterday WITH a veteran, before set about “displacing negativity” about our esteemed LoCo supervisor. Perhaps you could try and do something about your local representation, as it only serves to further marginalize your community, of which you seem to like.
Sterling needs all the help it can get- it doesn’t need the nation laughing at it
p springs, step back from the brink:
“secret unreported votes by the Board of Supervisors” are illegal, and would mean the entire Board had broken the law if one had occurred, no matter HOW each member voted.
The vote to co-brand with the Redskins occurred in the open, over a year ago.
The vote you may wish to challenge was the giveaway to Hallowed Ground that preceded it, which proposal had not even been through staff or process, that Ms. McGimsey pushed forward (and got a majority on) because things that are so “good” like that don’t even need a process.
That’s the EDC/TOT vote that stank.
If he gets beat, Delgaudio could always get a job with the Redskins after voting to give Danny Snyder $250,000 in a secret unreported vote by the Board of Supervisors.
Hey AFF, we’re glad you don’t live in Sterling. ALthough many of us don’t approve of Mr. Delgaudio’s beliefs or attempted legislation, we still take proud in our town. How did you spend your memorial day? In Sterling we spent it honoring those who have served our country. It looks like you spent it trolling the loudoun times waters and looking for places to displace negativity!
I get a huge kick out of “the day that people take my fundraising letters or take my comments and put them on Comedy Central is not a bad day”...... because we all aspire to be mocked and ridiculed in a national forum.
Thank god I don’t live in Sterling
This politician was skillfully interviewed, pushing on the hot button issues and using silence to allow the man to show his colors. And colorful he is. Nice work on behalf of the reporters.
Hi Eugene! You still worried about “radical homosexuals” thwarting “God’s will.”?
I bet you are kinda glad about Cuccinelli and McDonnell coming on the scene to take the ‘Virginia’s Embarrassment’ spotlight off you for a time.
Good luck with your re-election.
How’s your brother’s photography hobby going these days? Is he still fundraising for you? Gee, he sort of fell off the grid too.
I know who I’m NOT voting for next year.
What an embarrassment for this county. This man has such hateful and bigoted views about people that he’s been mocked on national TV. Very few county officials can rise to the that level of stupidity and near universal derision. Congrats Eugene, America is laughing at you!
I hope that Sterling residents can end this embarrassment and send this homophobe packing.
Anyone who has followed the Board of Supervisors the past several years knows, without a doubt, this guy is INCOMPETENT. He’s a skilled “politician” who takes every opportunity to promote himself in scripted sound bites and staged photo ops - The problem is he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This man is an unabashed bigot and a hypocrit beyond belief. I have observed him distort the truth for his own gain more times than I can stomach…and yet the voters of Sterling continue vote him in. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ELECTORATE DOESN’T PAY ATTENTION! WAKE UP Sterling and VOTE THIS GUY OUT!!
“The facts are staff is playing to the ideological liberal elite that is statist in nature and anti-prosperity and essentially wants to enslave the 80 percent that pay the residential taxes. So the residents of Loudoun will see economic slavery forever if they’re fearful of a debt that doesn’t exist.” HUH are we in America? This sounds something from Lenin!
Yeh, Mike’s got the right idea: you can praise an elected official in another district just because you think he’s a nice guy, but God forbid you criticize your own supervisor for doing a horrible job any misrepresenting his record. Only people who run for office are allowed to say anything negative about the guy currently in office.
Wait a minute…what country is this again?
He’s a fraud and he is NOT a fiscal conservative. Just look at his weird answer to the Kincora question: he says it’s OK to take on that debt because “no one in Loudoun has ever once mentioned, factually, the debt from Dulles Town Center.”
What a load of gibberish. What do the two have to do with each other and how on earth does having one debt justify taking on another?
The man is a fraud and a fool.
Mr. Delgaudio is not the supervisor of my district, but I have had a chance over the years to observe his contributions to Loudoun County at BOS meetings and at other gatherings, and if I could, I would vote for him to continue in his role because of the following reasons:
1. I believe he has continually tried to convince the other members of the BOS to at least think about their spending habits. I am impressed by his perseverance in trying to reduce my tax bill and to ensure that all of our tax dollars are spent wisely.
2. I believe he is a genuinely nice guy who demonstrates true concern for his constituents. To the others who have posted their scurrilous comments about Mr. Delgaudio on this website, I respect your right to your opinion, but I would also ask you if you have taken an opportunity to talk to Mr. Delgaudio in person. If you haven’t, I suggest that you please do so.
3. I realize he may have made some comments in the past that have disturbed some folks, but all of us have probably said things over the years that we perhaps would say differently. However, thanks to our Founding Fathers and Mothers, we all have a right to speak our opinions, and so does Mr. Delgaudio.
4. Finally, the most compelling reason I support Mr. Delgaudio is that, unlike most of us, he has taken the initiative to jump into the arena to serve us citizens of Loudoun County. Before you criticize him, I suggest that you consider the words of President Theodore Roosevelt who said, “It is not the critic who counts: Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
If you think my points are a crock of bull, then I suggest that you run for the job of supervisor yourself and show us how you would do things better than Mr. Delgaudio has.
Eugene DelGaudio is an outstanding public servant and has done well for the Sterling area for years. His conservatism is a breath of fresh air and we need that not only in Loudoun County but the state and country as well. All of you who think differently can pack your bags and move across the river to the Peoples Republic of Montgomery County, Maryland.
He can’t articulate his positions clearly and succinctly because it would piss off three fourths of his consituents. So, he rambles on and on using words I suspect he doesn’t even know what they mean.
This guy needs to be sent packing.
Truth- even bad news is good news with this polarizing politician.
Mr Delgaudio talks of working hard on such thinsgs as Sterlingfest. His hard work on any event or group stens to be just showing up and passing out liturature fo his biased opinions.
Thanks SO much for wasting time and screen space on this homophobic, economically illiterate, deliberately inflammatory and yes, paranoid example of what politics should NOT be. One can only pray for Sterling to regain some sanity and toss him out.
Why did it take two people to interview an idiot??
Delgaudio is such a whack-job. His answer to the third question makes no sense at all, it’s just nonsense, and it displays a kind of paranoia that is just frightening. He ought to be in a mental ward, not the government center.
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