Manassas council's Aveni, Harrover to run again

Manassas City Councilman Marc T. Aveni and Vice Mayor Andrew L. "Andy" Harrover are running again as a team for two seats on the council.

The two Republicans teamed up four years ago to make a successful run for the council.

They like the idea.

"Over the years Marc and I have worked together very well. It seems at first a very odd combination, but we have a lot of stuff in common," Harrover said when he and Aveni announced the run for the second term.

"It's a pleasure for me to run with Andy. Andy is creative. Andy is a doer. Andy has a lot of great ideas," Aveni said.

Harrover said he values Aveni's opinion.

"He's a good sounding board. He's a fiscally conservative guy," Harrover said.

In their first term, the men collaborated on "Manassas First," a concept they believe makes Manassas a better place to live.

Instituting the concept -- and getting the rest of the council to go along with it -- included building a science and technology program into the city schools and creating an employee housing program to help city employees buy foreclosed homes.

They also managed to get Battle Street revamped.

The two hold up those things as first-term accomplishments.

Aveni said his goals for a second term remain the same.

"I want to keep Manassas family friendly, to make it a community where people want to live and want to raise their children," said the 48-year-old father of six who has lived in Manassas for 20 years. "I think we've kept taxes low and services pretty high."

Aveni, who also serves on the utilities committee and serves as finance committee chairman, holds up voter satisfac-tion as proof that their first term was successful.

"The general happiness of the public ... I think we've been able to achieve that, which is no small task given the situation we find ourselves in these days," Aveni said.

Harrover acknowledged that if they are elected, the next term won't be as easy as their first.

"I like to do things. I like to see things happen. I like to plan. There's going to be less and less of that. We're going to have to be smarter and smarter with our bucks," said the 43-year-old Harrover, who was born in Manassas.

Harrover, who also serves on the airport, land use and museum committees, said the next term would prove crucial to the city.

"The priority for the next several years is to plan and carefully figure out how to address the budget problems we have, so that when the sun does shine again -- and it will -- that Manassas is poised to be successful. That's our challenge," said Harrover, the father of one.

"We can do it," Aveni said.

Councilman J. Steven Randolph, a "proud independent," is also up for election in May. He said he would announce his campaign in January, as is his custom. Randolph will conclude 24 years as city councilman at the end of this term.

The remaining council members' terms run until 2012.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.