New year brings in new Commonwealth’s Attorney

By Audrey Carpenter

Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj’s last day in office will be Dec. 31. Eight days after last Tuesday’s election, Biberaj conceded the race to Bob Anderson yesterday afternoon in a press conference on the lawn in front of her courthouse office.

It was the closest race in Loudoun County’s history for the Commonwealth’s Attorney seat, with only 300 votes giving Anderson the win. The race was close enough to request a recall, but Biberaj stated at the press conference that a main reason she didn’t want to execute a recall was to “save taxpayers money.”

However, in a call earlier this week with Scott Pio, chair of the Loudoun County Republican Committee, he told the Blue Ridge Leader, “When a recount is called by a candidate in Loudoun County and they lose the recount then they themselves are responsible for paying the cost of the recount which costs roughly $30,000 to $40,000. The only time Loudoun taxpayers would have to pay is if the candidate actually won the recount vote.”

Biberaj has been the Commonwealth’s Attorney since 2019. At the press conference she stated one of her largest accomplishments was reducing the number of people in jail. “We decreased the average daily population from 425 to less than 250, proving that we can reduce mass incarceration without increasing recidivism and creating potential savings in excess of $14 million per year,” she said.

She concluded her press conference by stating she intends to make the transition as smooth as possible as she departs office.

Anderson, a 76-year-old Republican from Purcellville, was formerly the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney 20 years ago from 1996 to 2003. He has been the managing partner of the Law Office of Robert D. Anderson, PLLC for 45 years. He said his priority is to be tougher on prosecuting crime in the County.

His campaign literature states he plans to implement an aggressive strategy to combat violent crime, sending a clear message that career criminals will face full prosecution in Loudoun County, and rebuild the current Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office which is broken and non-functioning.