Town of Haymarket Community Site - Candidate Articles

Haymarket Forum Held

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:13:02 -0400

Haymarket Forum Held
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@manassasjm.com
Friday, April 21, 2006

Although Haymarket Town Council and mayoral candidates may differ on some issues, they all agree on one thing - they want to preserve the quaint, small-town character.

Eight of the 10 council candidates and both mayoral candidates showed up to address town issues at a candidate forum Thursday night.

They all addressed development, use of the Harrover property and how to handle personnel matters.

Mayoral candidate Tim Benjamin said he wants to preserve the town's historical landmarks and would like to see a municipal center at the Harrover property.

He said he'd like to see the town's police department, town hall and other municipal facilities at Harrover, in addition to green space for recreation.

Incumbent mayor Pam Stutz said she wants to continue working with Prince William County on proposed developments near the town and agreed with Benjamin's proposed uses for the Harrover property.

On personnel, Stutz proposed hiring a town manager to handle such issues.

Benjamin said he "won't stand idly by" when it comes to personnel matters and promised to be open and honest.

Many council candidates agreed on making the town more pedestrian-friendly, but some differed on....

Haymarket Forum Held

Married Pairs Not Exactly Running Mates

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:43:11 -0400

Married Pairs Not Exactly Running Mates
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Candidates Say They Can Remain Objective if Elected

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Page B05

In this year's election in Haymarket, some candidates know each other pretty well. Too well, some think.

But Haymarket's pair of husband-and-wife candidates -- Timothy and Vicki Benjamin and Susan Shuryn and Ozzie Vazquez -- in the nonpartisan May 2 race say that if elected, they know each other well enough to disagree on how to best run the Prince William County town where the speed limit is 25 mph, the annual budget is $1.5 million and the population is about 1,000.

Timothy Benjamin, who recently lost his volunteer job when the town suspended its auxiliary police officer program, is challenging Mayor Pam E. Stutz. Vicki Benjamin, Shuryn and Vazquez are vying for spots on Haymarket's six-member council. There are five council incumbents -- Robert Weir, Natasha Sikorsky, Sheila Jarboe, James Tobias and John Cole -- running for reelection along with two other newcomers, Robert A. Hoffman Jr. and Nicole M. Tessitore.

Stutz, 63, who was appointed mayor last year after the incumbent moved, said she could not believe that two married couples were running. Voters should question their objectivity, she said. "I'm not married, but if I disagreed....

Married Pairs Not Exactly Running Mates

Unfinished business, Tobias says

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:54:00 -0400

Unfinished business, Tobias says
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Saturday, April 15, 2006

Haymarket Town Council member Jay Tobias says he's running for re-election because there is some unfinished business he needs to take care of.

Tobias, 31, said he thinks the council needs to decide what to do with the current Town Hall property, as well as the four-acre Harrover property on the east end of town.

Tobias said he thinks the Harrover property would be a good place for a municipal center, where the police department could be housed, in addition to a new town hall and an open space area.

"There are ways to make the development fit the town and give kids a place to run around," he said.

Tobias said he thinks the town needs to sell either Harrover or the current Town Hall property because ....

Unfinished business, Tobias says

Benjamin runs for Haymarket mayor

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 09:51:06 -0400

Benjamin runs for Haymarket mayor
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Thursday, April 13, 2006

Tim Benjamin says he is running for Haymarket mayor "to move things along" in the half-square-mile town.

"The way the town is now, no one seems to make a decision," he said.

Benjamin, 35, has lived in the town for about 2½ years. During this time, he's served as a part-time auxiliary police officer for the town.

He said he wants to get things moving and start making decisions, such as what should be done with the four-acre Harrover property on the eastern end of town.

Debate has grown over potential uses for the property since its acquisition in June 2005, and Benjamin said .....

Benjamin runs for Haymarket mayor

Cole seeks full term

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 11:14:26 -0400

Cole seeks full term
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Thursday, April 6, 2006

Haymarket Town Council member John C. Cole is looking to be elected to his first term during the coming contest.

Cole, 45, was appointed to the council in 2005 to fill a vacancy when Pam Stutz took over for former mayor David Taylor.

If elected, he said he plans to continue focusing on development issues in and around the town.

"[The town] is riding a development wave," he said. "I think the council over the past year has worked hard to get ahead of that."

Cole, like Stutz, believes in continuity on the council and said he thinks it's important that they stick together to further the town's progress.

"My big fear is that there will be a big turnover and .....

Cole seeks full term

Shuryn says organizational skills would help council

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 13:29:21 -0400

Shuryn says organizational skills would help council
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Susan M. Shuryn says she's running for a seat on the Haymarket Town Council because she thinks the town could benefit from her skills in organizational management.
Also, much like her husband, Oswald Vazquez, who is also vying for a council seat, she thinks traffic and growth are the biggest issues facing the town.

Shuryn, 53, and her husband have lived in the half-square-mile town for about a year and a half.

She said one of the first things she noticed was the rapid growth and traffic in and around the town.

If elected, Shuryn said she'd like to focus on keeping speeds down on the town's streets and .......

Shuryn says organizational skills would help council

Vazquez wants smart growth for town

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:14:02 -0400

Vazquez wants smart growth for town
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By ROB SEAL
rseal@potomacnews.com
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Oswald Vazquez says he's running for the Haymarket Town Council in the hopes of preserving the small-town feel that first attracted him to western Prince William County.
Vazquez, 45, is one of 11 people seeking to fill six council seats up for grabs in Haymarket's May 2 election.

Vazquez and his wife Susan M. Shuryn -- who is also running for council -- moved to Haymarket from Centreville in December 2004.

"We were on our way out to Bull Run and we passed a sign for a particular house," Vazquez said. "It was the house we bought."

Vazquez, who works as a program manager and a contractor, said Haymarket needs smart growth to make sure development and traffic congestion don't erase the.....

Vazquez wants smart growth for town

Weir says council job is not done

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 00:21:19 -0400

Weir says council job is not done
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Monday, April 3, 2006

Bob Weir said he's looking to secure a second term on the Haymarket Town Council because "the job's not done."

Weir, 43, was first elected to the Town Council in 2004 and ran on a platform emphasizing land use and development decisions in and around the half-square-mile town.

He said that platform hasn't changed.

In fact, he said he thinks land use and development are the biggest issues facing the town.

Over the past two years, Weir said the council has applied a higher standard of scrutiny to the planning and development process.

Also during his time on council, the town has become more involved with.....

Weir says council job is not done

Stutz seeks full term as mayor

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 23:03:43 -0500

Stutz seeks full term as mayor
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Haymarket Mayor Pam Stutz believes in continuity, which is one of the reasons she's running for re-election.
Stutz, 62, was appointed mayor in mid-2005 after former mayor David Taylor moved out of town.

She served her first term as a Town Council member from 2000 to 2002.

She was then appointed to the council in October 2003 after mayor John R. "Jack" Kapp left town.

In 2004, she was elected to the Town Council for a second two-year term.

When speaking of continuity on the council, Stutz said several policies and procedures have been implemented while......

Stutz seeks full term as mayor