Chris Koerner, Gerald Peters and Monica Billger were endorsed for Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District director by Fairfax County Democratic Committee on Tuesday night, May 21.
The three candidates, in the order above, were the top vote-getters in a poll among FCDC members, easing out Richard Clayton. A total of 1,337 members voted through early voting and at the meeting itself, held at Lake Braddock Secondary School.
The candidates are running for three at-large director slots to be elected at the general election on Nov. 5.
All four candidates have relevant experience. As Peters, currently a director, told the FCDC membership while votes were being cast and counted, “You can’t go wrong with your vote.”
Koerner is an environmental scientist and a professional engineer. He worked for 35 years cleaning up toxic waste sites in the USA and abroad. Closer to home, he chairs the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Committee.
Peters spent 30 years as an environmental consultant doing mostly federal contracting with engineering firms to prepare environmental impact assessments. He was elected as a director in 2015.
Billger was a nurse for 10 years and spent an additional 15 years advocating at a federal level for patients and individuals in the healthcare arena. She is deeply concerned about the impact of the environment, especially water safety, on health.
Clayton is an economist and an environmentalist. He chairs the Environmental Task Force of state Del. Kaye Kory (D- 38) and is a member of a Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy and Zero Carbon Virginia.
The mission of the Soil and Water Conservation District is to promote sustainable activities to conserve soil, water, air, plants, and animal resources in Fairfax County, as these are vital components of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. It provides conservation information, technical services, educational programs and volunteer opportunities.
L-R Chris Koerner, Gerald Peters and Monica Billger at the endorsement meeting of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee on May 21