Successes
1. VRE Commuter Rail Expansion
Leading and managing the successful campaign to expand and extend the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail service from Washington, DC further south to Spotsylvania County, VA is one of my proudest achievements, accomplished after 20 years of political opposition to county VRE membership and after 20 years of failed votes to extend the service.
​
I partnered with commuter rail interest groups and two pro-VRE supervisors in that county to orchestrate an all-encompassing campaign to educate the public and media, increase community support and secure the additional governing votes needed to make VRE expansion a reality.
The multifaceted campaign and public relations effort involved identifying the largest success obstacle (political opposition to an associated two-percent gas tax), conducting the research needed to confront and overcome this obstacle and then utilizing that research to change minds and public opinion enough to earn the support of the additional county supervisors needed to approve membership.
I utilized statistical and independently-published gas price data in a marketing campaign to prove Spotsylvania residents were, on average, already paying the same price per gallon as the neighboring VRE member jurisdictions within the same metropolitan area. This critical fact proved residents (voters) were effectively paying the associated VRE gas tax regardless of membership and without receiving any of the public benefit in exchange.
​
Spotsylvania County is one of the most conservative, anti-tax localities in Virginia (and America). Even so, my creative marketing campaign included a bold, “pro-tax” message that resonated within even this demographic. It worked; VRE now runs daily from Spotsylvania to Washington, DC.
More impressively, it has served as an economic development catalyst and nets this Virginia county — above and beyond the “cost” of VRE membership — millions of dollars in new revenue each and every year for additional transportation needs. It is now regarded and widely recognized as one of the greatest accomplishments of the past 100 years of the county’s storied history.
2. Farm-to-Power
RenUSA is one of the leading, multifaceted consulting organizations that represent energy companies working to get new renewable energy infrastructure projects approved.
An ongoing, industry-wide challenge now exists to engage and earn support from the often skeptical, agricultural constituencies located where generating clean electricity is most conducive.
​
At this unprecedented time in history when demand for electricity is increasing exponentially, the historic investments in rural-based infrastructure can create new wealth for American farmers and ranchers.
Original 8 sec., Farm-to-Power homepage background video.
To meet this challenge, I conceived, created, developed and built the not-for-profit, Farm-to-Power 501(c)(3) entity for RenUSA. This entity was created to advance and promote the historic federal investments recently made in renewable energy and the now consequential, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities presented for individual farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
Launched in late 2023 / early 2024, Farm-to-Power is already “deployed,” growing and helping to advance all these new economic opportunities in rural America.
3. L3Harris vs. Motorola
“Without question, Tom made it happen.” So says Wayne Duff, then the area sales manager with Harris Corporation’s RF Communications division (now L3Harris Technologies).
​
Harris Corp. and Motorola, the nation’s two largest suppliers of public safety communications systems and radios, responded to a request for proposals (RFP) from Spotsylvania County, Virginia and competed to win a $19 million contract to build/rebuild a new, state-of-the-art public safety communications system in this fast growing exurb of Washington, DC.
​
I was retained by L3Harris. The "Motorola versus Harris" consideration came during an election for sheriff in which the incumbent sheriff backed the Motorola proposal.
As a matter of strategic prudence, I managed the campaign of a third, underdog candidate who supported and saw advantages in the L3Harris proposal. The candidate I represented became Sheriff (a popular one now in his third subsequent term) and the county board of supervisors chose to award L3Harris the contract. The county now has among the best, most advanced public safety communications systems available.
4. Spotsylvania, VA's First PPTA
On behalf of my then client, a special purpose Virginia entity created by Shirley Contracting Company (a division of Clark Construction Group) and W.C. English, Inc., I engaged with Spotsylvania County, Virginia elected officials and county administration leaders to help create the municipality’s first ever public-private partnership.
​
I was engaged to get the county’s elected officials behind the initiative and to 1) ensure local government successfully adopted the Virginia Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA) guidelines required of Virginia jurisdictions pursuing public-private solutions for major capital improvement projects, and 2) ensure the county’s board of supervisors voted to accept their PPTA proposal of nine road improvement projects in the amount of nearly $90 million.
I represented my client throughout the guidelines initiative, the PPTA submission and through the subsequent votes to approve both. The county then entered into a comprehensive agreement with my client to complete the design and construction of all nine projects. The initiative served as a catalyst for neighboring jurisdictions to establish their own such partnerships.
5. Skinner 4 Supervisor I, II, III, IV
I have managed the campaigns and led the strategies for election in more than two-dozen winning political campaigns (Republican, Democrat and Independent). I have also delivered victory in dozens of corporate, business and advocacy campaigns.
​
While working as a consultant, I recruited former U.S. Marine and then county school board member Gary Skinner to run for an occupied seat on the county’s board of supervisors. I approached Mr. Skinner with a plan to unseat the incumbent and he won the election in a landslide victory, securing a double-digit 18-point margin of victory.
​
Mr. Skinner ran as an Independent in a solidly conservative county, leading to three subsequent and highly-organized party efforts to unseat him; all failed. I managed all four campaigns Mr. Skinner mounted for supervisor, with his second campaign and that of a fellow supervisor (whose campaign I also managed) serving as what the local media then described as “a de facto referendum on the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) expansion question.”
​
This “referendum” election too was a landslide victory for the candidates I represented. Having formulated the strategies behind all of his campaign wins, with zero losses, Supervisor Skinner is on the record saying, “Byrnes is a strategy mastermind.”
Sample mailer from creative portfolio.
Sample half-page newspaper ad from creative portfolio