EDITORIAL: Keep your eye on the county, Stewart

When will Corey Stewart stop giving the impression that he is running for the next office and focus on the business of the county?

Recently Stewart, the head of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, announced that he will put forward a resolution to prevent county employees from implementing new Medicaid regulations when they take effect in 2014.

While this may score him political points with the Republicans whose support he might need next time he tries to step to higher office, it doesn't do much for county residents -- the people Stewart is actually supposed to be serving.

Stewart said the new regulations -- which are part of the national health care reform legislation -- will be costly and won't survive any real legal challenge.

Stewart also said, "I don't think the county should be responsible for administering a federal program."

Perhaps the new Medicaid regulations aren't legal, but that is not something for the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to decide.

And they could be costly. Of course, the legal battles that could result from the county's refusal to follow federal law would probably also drain the taxpayer's wallet.

As for whether the county should be responsible for administering a federal program, it is interesting Stewart did not hold to this line of thought when he decided the county should take charge of enforcing federal law on illegal immigration. Sounds less like a principled stance and more like political opportunism to us.

We are all for Stewart being a strong county leader. We just wish that his strength could be focused more narrowly on local matters and less on attention-grabbing issues.

It does the county no good to constantly be in the headlines for the radical actions of some of its supervisors. The only people that benefit are people like Stewart, who garner press while the county's reputation suffers.

The county can address the local impact of things like illegal immigration and the new Medicaid regulations, but it can do so in ways that do not damage our home or end up in court. The problem with Stewart has never been that he doesn't fight for the county, it's been that he serves the county second and his ego first.

It is one thing for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to challenge health care reform -- he is, after all, the state's lawyer -- but Stewart's realm of power is Prince William County and his duty is governing. That's where his attention should stay.