James Burgess · Ashburn City Council
The Ashburn Comeback Plan
Building Our Community From the Inside Out. 52 commitments across 8 areas — every one with a how attached, because a what without a how is just a wish.
How to read this
A city councilman is one vote out of several. He has no budget of his own, cannot hire or fire, and cannot make the school system do anything. So every commitment says who has to say yes — and be suspicious of any plan that doesn't.
I can do this alone · 20
No permission needed
Reading, asking, showing up, and publishing what I find.
Needs a council vote · 23
I bring it, the body decides
I can put it on the table. I can't promise the outcome — and I'll tell you when I lose.
Needs a partner · 9
Somebody outside City Hall
The county, the schools, the churches, the Regional Commission, a business.
Commitments are numbered by area. 3.4 is the fourth commitment in the third area. So you can point at one and I'll know exactly which you mean.
Two more things. Where a commitment is an audit or a list, it says what that document unlocks — no counting for its own sake. And where something is countable, it carries a hold me to this line. Not outcomes I can't control. Things I either did or didn't do.
This plan is longer than one term, on purpose. Could one councilman, as one vote, finish 52 commitments in four years? No. Pretending otherwise would be the same overpromising this plan exists to avoid. See the roadmap.
The 8 areas
Economic development normally starts the conversation. Here it finishes it, on purpose. Community development is where economic development begins.
Area 1 · 1.1–1.7
Know Your City
You can't hold anybody accountable to a system nobody explained.
Area 2 · 2.1–2.5
Our Young People
A building is not the same as a resource.
Area 3 · 3.1–3.8
Our Neighborhoods
What people actually call City Hall about.
Area 4 · 4.1–4.9
Parks, Health, and Recreation
Six parks sitting quiet. And the sidewalk runs out.
Area 5 · 5.1–5.4
Our Elders and Veterans
They shouldn't feel forgotten in a city they built.
Area 6 · 6.1–6.4
Public Safety
Whether somebody comes when you call.
Area 7 · 7.1–7.9
How City Hall Works
You will know what is going on in your city.
Area 8 · 8.1–8.6
Business, Downtown, and I-75
Interstate access gets you on a list. The drive-in decides.
What this plan does not promise
I'm not going to tell you I'll lower your taxes, bring a factory, bring back a hospital, or fix the streets in a year. A councilman who promises those things is either misinformed about the job or counting on you being misinformed about it.
I'm also not promising I'll win every vote. I'll bring things to the table and some will fail. When they do, you'll hear it from me — including the part where I lost. That's commitment 1.4.
What I am promising is that the work gets done in the open, on a schedule, with dates you can check.