Candidate Profile: Kenny Boddye For Occoquan Supervisor

OCCOQUAN, VA — Kenny Boddye currently represents the Occoquan district on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

Boddye is running for reelection. This year, he is being opposed by Republican challenger Karla Justice.

Patch sent the following questionnaire to Boddye and Justice to help voters make more informed choices when they cast their ballot on Election Day.

Name

Kenny Boddye

Age

36

Town of residence

Lake Ridge

Position sought:

Occoquan District Supervisor

Party affiliation

Democratic

Family? Names, ages and any other pertinent details you wish to share

Liz Boddye, Wife; Jay, child; Asher, daughter; Xander, son; Aeryn, daughter; Cyrus, son; Miles, son; Jemison, daughter

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Government-adjacent, my wife works for Prince William County Schools.

Education Level

Bachelor's Degree

Occupation, including employer and years of experience

Assistant Vice President of Administration, Kevin Davis Insurance Services, 14 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Incumbent for the seat I'm running for

Campaign website

www.KennyBoddye.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

In 2016, I lost my mother to homelessness and substance abuse brought about due to undiagnosed mental illness. Reflecting on her life and passing signaled to me just how many people fall through the cracks in our community and the need for more diverse voices making decisions. I decided it was time for me to no longer simply support candidates that share my values and passion for service, and instead bring my own experience to serve as well. I wanted to help create the kind of community where my mother's story is less and less common, and everyone has a chance to thrive no matter where they start in life.

I'm running for re-election because the work isn't finished, the stakes are even higher for me this time. As the father of seven children - four of which have been or are currently in Prince William County Schools - I have a deep interest in ensuring that we have the strongest and safest school system in the nation. I want to ensure that all of our children can grow up in a community where they can get anywhere they need without getting stuck in traffic, that they can get a living wage job right here where they grew up, that they have access to high quality services and amenities in a safe and secure community. I want to make sure that our county is one they can also set down roots in with attainable housing and clean air, water, and energy.

Although public safety is a close second, the most pressing issue facing the Occoquan District is our school system, and grappling with the disparities and learning loss exacerbated by COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, the facilities of many of our schools need upgrading, and our teachers and other staff needed to be paid more. We needed more support for our ESL, special education, and other at-risk student populations. We also needed more wrap-around services and support personnel for our educators and students.

Despite the strides we have made in making historic investments in PWCS over the last four years, those needs are still present. The pandemic made them more acute.

We need to increase salaries for our school system employees, educators and otherwise. We need to continue modernizing HVAC systems and other vital infrastructure for our school buildings alongside increasing mental health and other support services.

As the primary funder of our school system, I intend to ensure that we continue to find ways to increase our investments in PWCS without overburdening taxpayers. I also want to reconstitute the Joint Committee on Capital between the Board of Supervisors and School Board to collaborate even closer on addressing the facility and infrastructure needs of the school division. I also want to explore ways we can provide funding for PWCS strategic needs above and beyond the revenue sharing agreement so less initiatives fall on individual school buildings to tackle.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to recent issues (i.e. the pandemic)? What if anything would you have done differently?

believe we as a Board did well when it comes to governing during the pandemic, especially given the unprecedented nature of COVID-19. Most of us - including myself - had only been in office for a few months before the onset of the pandemic, and most of our initial work pivoted to hearing directly from residents, businesses and other stakeholders on what was needed most. The school system was one of our earliest beneficiaries, as we committed $25M of our own COVID-19 relief funds to PWCS for technology for online learning as well as PPE, cleaning supplies, and other resources needed to re-open schools safely.

We also created programs to keep people in their homes, their businesses afloat, and our most vulnerable populations out of the most dangerous perils of the pandemic. We worked with our state, federal, regional and local partners to ensure delivery of testing and vaccine resources, and we made the protection of life and livelihoods the centerpiece of our governance during that time.

The only thing I would do differently in retrospect is put some of our COVID-19 emergency funds toward affordable housing programs.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

First, I have the experience of being in this office for the last four years. With that experience comes how to navigate budget season, constituent service cases, and several other key aspects of being a district Supervisor. I've also had to govern during some of the most challenging years of recent memory given the pandemic, social unrest after George Floyd's murder, economic downturn, and record inflation. Also with that experience comes four years building relationships with key community leaders, other elected officials on all levels of government, and various regional organizations to bring more resources and collaboration into our community.

Second, I am the only candidate in this race who is highlighting our school system as a key piece in my election platform. Our schools are a vital part of our community, and our children a cherished constituency. The strength and safety of our schools are a huge determinant in the trajectory of the lives of our residents, our ability to attract quality employers to our county, how we can create a robust workforce, and much more. As a Supervisor, properly funding our school system is one of my most important duties, and I will always look for ways to better support PWCS.

Finally, I have a track record of advocacy far longer than my time seeking elected office; my involvement in local politics reaches beyond my own financial interests. Long before even being a candidate, I participated in local and state level issues, advocating for healthcare reform, housing affordability, criminal justice reform, climate justice, and a whole host of other issues as part of various organizations.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Community Safety - continuing the work we did this year when we gave historic raises to our first responders by supporting the staffing plans for police, fire, sheriff and other public safety agencies. Supporting the implementation of the community safety initiative to combat crime, drug and gang challenges, traffic safety, and other aspects of reinforcing a safe and secure community. This also includes a deep dive into our support personnel, such as our Adult Detention Center nurses, public safety communication specialists, and others, that may not be sworn but serve important functions within our public safety agencies.

Transportation and Transit - seeing the various transportation projects we have in-progress on Old Bridge Road and elsewhere to fruition to alleviate our traffic congestion and safety challenges. Supporting the buildout of our transit (buses and trains) and non-vehicular transportation network (such as the Occoquan Greenway and other trails) to give residents more options beyond cars.

Jobs and Economic Development - continuing to attract quality employers to the county who provide living wage jobs to our residents, and providing existing businesses the resources they need to expand and thrive. This includes making permanent some of our most successful grant and incentive programs that kept doors open and made businesses more resilient during the pandemic. This also includes working with the business community to reform our permitting process to make it easier to establish and maintain a business in Prince William County.

Housing Affordability - continuing to work with non-profits, local government, and the building industry to create more opportunities for attainable housing in all parts of the county. This includes more inclusionary zoning policies, tiny houses, a funded affordable housing trust fund, missing middle housing options, workforce housing and programs to help our educators and first responders live in the same communities they serve.

Mental Health and Human Services - bringing the establishment of our Mental Health Crisis Receiving Center through to fruition, and expanding it to offer even more capacity to serve our at-risk adult and youth populations. This also includes supporting the expansion of our Homeless Shelter into a Homeless Navigation Center for additional wrap-around services, along with additional investments into mental health clinicians, substance abuse peer support specialists, child advocacy center staff, and other personnel who provide support to our most vulnerable residents.

Environmental Protection and Sustainability - implementing various land use policies to realize the potential of the Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area we approved back in December. This also includes my continued work as part of the Washington Council of Governments' Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee, Air Quality Control Committee, and FARM Committee on a whole host of regional environmental initiatives. It also includes working toward implementation of our Community Energy Sustainability Master Plan which we are looking to adopt sometime later this year, so we can combat the climate crisis head-on.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

- Supported the largest pay raise for first responders in PWC History, raising officer salaries by 20.5%
- Provided Police Department with resources to reduce staffing shortfalls
- Established a Public Defenders Office
- Pushed creation of an Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance
- Established a permanent Co-Responder Unit, pairing police and counselors to respond to mental health emergencies
- Championed creation of a Crisis Receiving Center, a permanent home for crisis services in the Occoquan District
- Made neighborhood roads safer through traffic calming measures
- Authored Climate Sustainability and Resiliency goals for PWC
- Created Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program to preserve open space on parcels 20 acres and larger
- Safeguarded our drinking water through creating of the Occoquan Reservoir Protection Overlay
- Supported historic investments in our schools
- Created Office of Sustainability
- Championed Prince William opening its first Child Advocacy Center to better serve children experiencing abuse
- Supported COVID-19 Emergency Housing Programs
- Made deep investments in Community Services
- Brought Streetlights to our neighborhoods to improve traffic safety and help combat crime.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

To never forget my "why." In other words, I decided to get into public service because I have seen firsthand what happens when society fails our loved ones and when not enough of the right voices are at the decision-making table. I am reminded that I decided to run for this office - and again for re-election to it - because of what I want to accomplish rather than how it may benefit me personally.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

As someone from a low income background where I was lucky to "get out," I have experienced some of the toughest challenges that life can present. Having great mentors and being able to graduate from Georgetown University, opened doors that would have otherwise been shut to me, and that I would like to ensure we live in a community where luck doesn't determine your life trajectory.

Ever since graduating from college, I dedicated myself to serving my community in a wide variety of roles and organizations, all aimed and improving the quality of life for those around us. My track record of advocacy has always centered around the kitchen table issues that impact us every single day - schools, traffic, jobs, healthcare, justice reform, and our environment.

My life has changed drastically over the last four years. Getting married in 2021 instantly made me a father of six in an already-blended family overnight, and my wife - an Army veteran - and I have had two additional children together since. My lived experience has only deepened as a result of these changes in my life, and I feel even more connected to our community because of it.

As a proud father of seven, I'm driven by a desire to ensure that every single person in Prince William County can live up to their full potential and thrive. I want this community to be one where all of our children will want to stay and establish roots of their own if they so choose.