| Ken Reid's swearing in speech, July 1, 2006
Good morning
My name is Ken Reid. I live in Tavistock Farms and I own a business on South King street.
For three years, this is how I have come to introduce myself at various Town Council meetings , prior to speaking out on a variety of issues of concern to me and other residents. But today, and for the next four years, I will be known as Ken Reid, a member of the Leesburg Town Council.
I also am a very, very proud father of two beautiful 9-year-old twins, my son Jamie, and my daughter Lara, and the proud husband of my wonderful and beautiful wife, Dr. Lynn Reid, who sit with us here today. My brother, Dr. Bob Reid and his family are here today, as are so many other friends and folks who helped my underdog outsider campaign. And, in particular I wish to thank the hundreds of resident of the Southeast part of town, who for so long have never had one of their own on council, for pushing me over the top in the recent elections.
I cannot begin to tell you what an honor and privilege it to serve on the town council. Since Lynn and I moved here exactly four years ago today, we have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends and neighbors. The people of Leesburg, in particular, the residents of Tavistock Farms, Kincaid Forest, Stratford, Breckenidge and Beauregard, have welcomed us with warmth and kindness, and so it is for this reason that it is honor to "give back" to this town to serve you on the town council.
Living in Leesburg is a dream for all of us, and it is my intent to preserve the Leesburg Dream for all of us. It just takes some Common Sense Leadership to make it happen.
I plan to start work today to address the issues I put forth in the recent campaign. Taxes, trade, tackling crime and traffic – the 4 t’s.
I pledge to all of you now that I am going to work hard NOT just to keep taxes low, but to shift more of the burden to business, and to make this town friendlier to new businesses, including new developments that will offload the tax burden from residences. We need less red tape and regulations so get have more jobs here, not more costly tract housing developments. We have ambitious plans for parks, recreation, transportation and such in this town, but not the financial means to do it. And, we get very little help from Richmond, though Senator Herring and our other local delegates are trying.
I will be working with the mayor and council to tackle crime.. To make this town unfriendly to gangs, criminals and speeding cars and unsafe drivers.
And that’s a good segue into the fourth "t" – traffic. This was my main impetus for running. I am firmly committed to being the transportation advocate on this Council and for the citizens of Leesburg, the way I have advocate for better highways and mass transit and speeded reduction efforts over the last 10 years
In fact, I may have a Biblical mandate to deal with the traffic mess here. Old Testament , of course.
Isaiah 59:14 reads: "The Lord says Build up, build up a highway. Clear a road ! Remove the obstacles of my people!"
Well, I think Isaiah had a different idea when he wrote that, but I believe I have a mandate from the voters to be the transportation advocate on this council. I give you my solemn promise that this going to be Job One for me – along with dealing with the need for more bike paths, trails and better pedestrian amenities.
We have some serious traffic congestion and safety problems on our hands. Here we are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Interstate Highway system and Loudoun County is the only county in the entire Washington area not serviced by an interstate-numbered highway.
Just look at the recent incident on the bypass when a truck knocked down a power line. It created absolute havoc in this town. We are starting to see her the kinds of incidents my family and I saw in Maryland, which gave us cause to move to Leesburg.
So, in conclusion, I truly hope the good citizens of this town will keep watch over us, and give us ideas and input.
But it does us no good when folks come to the council or criticize us after the fact . We need to be there ahead of the curve. Don’t just come to meetings of the council when you’re against something being built near you, or whatnot. We need your proactive comments to cut taxes, ensure government spending doesn’t get out of control, to support needed transportation projects and their funding, and to keep us informed of problems.
We also need you to keep us focused on what’s needed and not allow us to dwell on to petty and arcane matters and waste time and energy on these things. I intend to implement what folks told me they wanted in the recent campaign. I have a pretty good idea what folks want, but like any person, you need to remind us what we were elected to do and keep our feet to the fire.
Again, thanks so much for the honor and privilege of electing me and allowing me to serve this great community.
Thank you.
Please email your concerns to Ken at
Councilmanreid@FDAINFO.com |