Vienna Town Council Candidate: Howard Springsteen

Howard Springsteen is one of three current Vienna Town Council members running for reelection in May against a new opponent.

Along with incumbents Lori DiRocco and Carey Sienicki, Springsteen will face Ryan Thomas, a 32-year-old certified public accountant in Tysons Corner.

Springsteen, 57, currently serves as Vienna’s Vice Mayor after first being elected in 2009 and successfully reelected in 2011. In an interview with Patch, Springsteen said there was much he was proud of and much more he hoped to accomplish during two more years.

Springsteen cited the Maple Avenue Vision, a revitalization plan to bring business and mixed-use development to the town’s main thoroughfare, as a major win for the whole council.

“We’re trying to help Maple Avenue develop successfully,” Springsteen said. “That’s going to take a while.”

A resident of Vienna since 1997, Springsteen also said the town’s new contract with Fairfax Water, signed in September 2012, was a success, as were the negotiations on a new parking garage on Church Street.

These were all collective victories for the council and the entire town, Springsteen said.

“Everyone on the council is heavily involved in Vienna,” Springsteen said. “I just think the council works together and we try to maintain a Vienna sense of community.”

Springsteen wants Vienna to be more walkable and hopes to continue to make sidewalks a priority.

“We’ve been pushing a lot of sidewalk projects, trying to make Vienna much more walkable from downtown,” he said, noting the council was looking into state grant funding and feasibility studies. “As some of the funding frees up and if some of the neighborhoods want them, then we’ll put sidewalks down.”

While Vienna may have other priorities, Springsteen wants to continue exploring ways to find the money.

“I would be happy to have a sidewalk on at least one side of every street in Vienna,” he said.

Springsteen was happy with the town’s new and improved trash and recycling pickup process, which allows residents to dispose of items like old furniture without waiting for two special pickups.

“Now you can put these household items out on your local trash day and nobody’s abusing it, and it makes it a lot easier,” he said.

Springsteen is a 22-year employee of Fairfax County and works as a logistics manager for its Department of Vehicle Services. He is also the former president of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.

“If you look around, most people are pretty happy with the way things are going in Vienna,” he said. “I just want to continue that in the next two years.”