The Machine Marches On

From the Fairfax Times:

Last year, Vienna's Town Council elections were contentious, expensive, and filled with drama, complete with election day irregularities and a dismissed poll worker. This May, three town council seats and the post of mayor are up for election, but sitting incumbents Michael Polychrones, Edythe Kelleher, Laurie Cole, and Mayor Jane Seeman are all running unopposed. "I like to think it's because we've been doing a great job," said Cole. Despite the lack of competition, the Fairfax County office of elections says it will still be keeping a close eye on Vienna's town election this year, to prevent a repeat of 2007. On May 2 last year, a poll worker at the Vienna community center was accused of misinforming voters about their choices, and reportedly filled in voters' ballots for them. The scandal has caused a change in the way Vienna's poll workers are selected. In previous years they were chosen from a list created by the sitting town council, but now they will be entirely chosen by the Fairfax Board of Elections. "Our office will be cracking down a little on the people in the polling place," said Judy Flaig, of the Office of Elections. According to Flaig, the training of Vienna's poll workers will also be emphasized. In an uncontested election, it can be hard to determine what issues are most important to voters. Virtually all of the running incumbents seemed to agree that the two most important issues were Vienna's budget and growth in Tysons Corner. The four candidates for Vienna's election are also the only four members of town council to join the newly formed Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, an organization formed to monitor the Tysons Land use taskforce. "What happens there affects us," said Polychrones. Vienna's budget, affected by falling real estate prices and rising fuel costs like the rest of Virginia, is expected to be the focus of a lot of attention in coming weeks. "It's going to be very hard," said Kelleher.