I am an informed voter raised here in McLean who cares deeply about my country and my little corner of Virginia. Our Commonwealth lost a great deal of clout when Rep. Frank Wolf retired, and is again losing a lot of experience this year with three more Virginia House members departing and the possibility of our junior senator ascending to the vice presidency. These departures are not just bad for Northern Virginia, but the entire Metropolitan Washington Region.

If not for Comstock and her allies in Congress, we would have lost the $150 million federal share of Metro funding. Federal employees would have been targeted for pay freezes, attrition, and unjust terminations. And we would have lost a critical battle to stop other representatives from altering rules governing Dulles and Reagan Airports, which would have threatened Dulles’ long-term financial viability.

Luann Bennett, as a freshman member in the minority, would not have the know-how or the clout to be able to secure our district’s priorities, whereas Comstock has already done so. I ask that my fellow McLean residents to put aside ideological and emotional tendencies, think pragmatically, and vote for Comstock.

Nikhil Verma

McLean