Manassas just elected its first Democrat mayor in like 100 years, for what it’s worth. The area isn’t as prosperous as the rest of NoVA but it’s kind of being forced to stop being looked at as a slum. Home prices YoY led the entire state this past year with the growth of remote employment. I know plenty of people still call it a NoVA ghetto similar to Herndon, but I’m happy to not be shielded from day to day reality for people that don’t have white collar jobs when I look outside my windows.
I can’t say much about law enforcement honestly one way or the other. Danica Roem won multiple elections here for focusing upon fixing the terrible traffic on 28, and it’s proof that local economic issues matter more than social issues now. The problems with that road have kept economic development from going to an otherwise welcoming community, and I blame that upon a laisse-faire style leadership for many decades that’s ironically impeded growth for the community long-term as AWS grew just down the road.
I ought to note that I grew up and lived in Lorton until the late 80s. Even with that experience, I found Manassas to be a difficult place to live.
I never considered Manassas to be a slum or ghetto. In the early 90's, I found it to be a stifling place dominated by people who seemed resigned to live in a very small world.
I can’t say much about law enforcement honestly one way or the other. Danica Roem won multiple elections here for focusing upon fixing the terrible traffic on 28, and it’s proof that local economic issues matter more than social issues now. The problems with that road have kept economic development from going to an otherwise welcoming community, and I blame that upon a laisse-faire style leadership for many decades that’s ironically impeded growth for the community long-term as AWS grew just down the road.