Mark Sickles was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, 43rd District, in November 2003. He currently serves on the Commerce and Labor Committee, the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, and the Privileges and Elections Committee. Last year, Attorney General Robert McDonald appointed Mark to his Health Care Regulatory Task Force. This year, he was appointed by the Speaker of the House to two joint study committees; the first on childhood obesity in our schools; and the second on potential liability protection for heath care providers responding to a state or local emergencies.

A resident of the district since 1987, Mark moved to Franconia to be close to Fort Belvoir, where he worked at the time for the U.S. Army. He purchased his first home in the Manchester Lakes development and currently lives in Kingstowne. Mark has two masters degrees from Georgia Tech and a B.S. from Clemson University. As a part time legislator, he works full time for a national marine construction company and federal government contractor. He attends the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria.

In seeking a third term this fall, and after having participated in an extremely eventful and important four years for the Commonwealth, Mark wants to continue helping to make a difference in our community. Over the past four years, the General Assembly has been able to return fiscal responsibility to the state budget, made historic investments in K-12 education, higher education, corrections, the environment, and, with the 2007 session, authorized the collection of substantial local funds for transportation in Northern Virginia. A complicated piece of legislation, the transportation package could potentially make a significant difference in Northern Virginia. The legislation includes Mark’s bill to automatically use the year-end cash surplus for transportation. His original bill would have dedicated 75 percent of the surplus—the final legislation uses 67 percent of the surplus for transportation. While the bill will hopefully provide substantial construction funds for Northern Virginia, the statewide shortage of dedicated funds for road maintenance (and median grass mowing!), was only partially addressed by the bill.

Mark began his public service as a volunteer in the local political and civic life of Lee District. He worked on several campaigns, including those of former Delegate Gladys Keating and former State Senator Joe Gartlan. He was a volunteer legislative assistant for Del. Keating for parts of three legislative sessions when she served as the first woman Chair of the Corporations, Insurance and Banking Committee (now Commerce and Labor). In 1993, former Supervisor Joe Alexander appointed Mark to serve as the Lee District Trustee on the Fairfax County Public Library Board. On the Board for eleven years, he stepped down in December 2003 before being sworn in to his first term in the House of Delegates in January 2004.

In his two years as Chair of the Library Board (1998-2000), Mark oversaw the opening of a new library in Kingstowne (a developer’s 20-year proffer and continuing public-private partnership), worked to secure funds for a wide-ranging upgrade of electronic resources and advances in automation, won additional funding for books and materials, initiated a statewide review of Virginia’s library funding formula, and oversaw the development of a ten-year capital improvement plan that resulted in the acquisition of over seven acres for the future development of a regional library on Beulah Street near Manchester Boulevard and just north of Lane Elementary School. The new regional library, the first library to be open on Sundays in Lee District, will replace the current temporary facility in the Landsdowne Shopping Center. (Note: Due to county-wide priorities, and our current service levels at the Kingstowne, John Marshall, and Richard Byrd community branches, the new regional library was not included in the last library bond package, but will be included in the next library bond referendum for construction--construction that will likely occur halfway through the next decade. However, a private-public plan is now being discussed and reviewed for the site. In this private sector offer, work force housing and senior multi-family housing would share the site and help finance the new building now.) In Richmond, Mark has led the effort to obtain the funding for the Fairfax County Public Library that is normally not secured due to a discriminatory funding formula.

For six years, Mark also served on the Board of United Community Ministries, a non-profit social service agency with a focus helping the working poor in Southern Fairfax County. UCM has an employment training program, an emergency food pantry, operates the Healthy Families program for at risk mothers, provides some transitional housing and operates a first class day care facility called the Bryant Early Learning Center. Mark served as President of UCM in the year 2000.

Due to the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) and the implications for Ft. Belvoir, Mark was appointed to the Virginia Commission on Military Bases by Governor Mark Warner. Serving on the Commission provided the opportunity to help fortify Virginia’s military bases in light of the most serious base closing initiative to date. After the BRAC recommendations were adopted by Congress (over the objection of our own Congressional delegation) the Commission was disbanded and replaced by a private sector transitional adjustment committee. While further growth at Ft. Belvoir is inevitable, we must ensure that adequate infrastructure is built before the arrival of additional traffic. In May 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation requiring infrastructure to be in place before the transferred jobs, now located in leased space, are moved to new buildings at Ft. Belvoir and the Engineer Proving Ground. The Senate has yet to consider the provision this year. If you agree with the House-passed bill, please contact your two U.S. senators.