Fairfax officials oppose D.C. tax

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Fairfax County government officials said yesterday that they oppose a D.C.-government-proposed commuter tax and demanded an apology from a D.C. Council member who last week called Virginians "backward" and "greedy" for not supporting the levy.

At its meeting, the Board of Supervisors passed a unanimous resolution directing County Attorney David Bobzien to take "any action necessary" to oppose the tax. That means the county could intervene in a lawsuit on the side of the federal government, which would be the defendant in the case.

"Our neighbors to the north intend to exact a new source of revenue out of the pockets of thousands of Fairfax County residents employed in the nation's capital in order to compensate for their own financial mismanagement," Supervisors Michael R. Frey and Stuart Mendelsohn, Sully and Dranesville Republicans, said in a joint written statement.

In the same resolution, the board called on D.C. Council member Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, to apologize for making comments that several board members said constituted a setback for regional cooperation.

Mr. Evans said in an interview with The Washington Post last week that Virginians, by opposing the tax, were "living up to their reputation of being narrow-minded."

Mr. Evans was out of town on vacation yesterday and did not comment through a spokesman.

Mr. Frey and Mr. Mendelsohn denounced Mr. Evans' remarks as "ludicrous and offensive." "It is shameful that a servant of the public would stoop to such foolish behavior and name-calling," they said.

However, the county board stopped short of calling on Congress to "continue its efforts to encourage better financial management within the District."

D.C. government and public school officials recently came under fire for mismanaging employee credit cards.