Five Minutes With Marion Stillson

Marion Stillson's term as president of the Reston Citizens Association ends later this month.

Elections are ongoing now for new RCA officers, and votes will be tallied next week.  For voting info,

Stillson has been involved with the RCA since 2004 and has served as its president for 3 1/2 years. Even though she is not running for re-election, she says she still plans to have a large involvement with the organization's board of directors to serve the residents of Reston.

Reston Patch spent five minutes with Stillson recently.

Reston Patch: What are you planning to do now that you will not be the president of RCA?

Marion Stillson: I am still going to be involved. I am staying on as a regular committee member of Reston2020. I am going to be heavily involved in getting the Reston license plate. I feel a responsibility for that as we have had some people's deposit money for years. We have about $1,000, so we have an implied promise for the license plates.

RP: Why do Restonians need a license plate?

MS: For community spirit. Once the license plates are made, it will ID people as Restonians and everyone will want one. But we have to pass the hurdle of getting it approved [by the state]. You used to need 350 signatures; now you need 450 signatures and deposit money.

RP: In what area do you think you have had the biggest impact on RCA?

MS: I set up three committees under my leadership: The Reston Accessibility Committee, for which Ken Fredgren has won two awards this year; Reston2020, which monitors the Reston Master Special Study Task Force. We've reported on every meeting of the task force, and we are providing a unique public service; and the Environmental Committee, which about 18 months ago broke off and became Sustainable Reston.

RP: As we head towards some major new developments in Reston such as the Metro opening (in 2013), why is it important that the citizens have a voice?

MS: It is more important than ever. Everyone's got an ax to grind. We start with Robert E. Simon's goals for Reston - sometimes he doesn't even seem to be following them.

The county . That is going to set a precendent. This is the first redevelopment plan of an existing neighborhood. The way it goes so may 20 or 30 others.

RCA is still against Fairway. Do you remember when there was a wave of condo conversions about 10 years ago? We lost a lot of affordable housing then. Redeveloping places like Fairway is going to be akin to that. 

RP: What about the Silver Line? What happens if parties cannot get Phase 2 worked out?

MS: It is my hope that the various levels of government will do right and not let the terminus be Wiehle Avenue. That would be an absolute disaster for Reston and would be the end of all aspirations as a planned community and it would kill the good things we already have.

Another issue on the horizon are toll road rates that could climb so high. People will do anything to avoid paying the toll, so they will start using other roads, and we will have a spiraling catastrophe.