In their own words, at-large candidates for Fairfax County School Board say what motivates them to seek a seat on the board, why they are qualified, and their plans to lift up all students. They made their comments at a recent forum. The FCDC Endorsement Vote is at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Tuesday, May 21, at Lake Braddock Secondary School, 9200 Burke…
By Benjamin Tribbett: Recently The Blue View published a story about the controversy surrounding “bullet voting” in the race for Fairfax County School Board. There seem to be a number of misconceptions about how this process works, so I wanted to take this opportunity to make the statistics behind an election like this easier for people to understand. Campaigns in…
By Brad Swanson: School board members have great power in Fairfax County, the 10th largest school district in the country, with a budget of almost $3 billion. And candidates – who are technically non-partisan — avidly seek the endorsement of the Democratic Party to gain advantage in this increasingly blue region. But who decides which candidates will get the Democratic…
By Brad Swanson: It’s unusual for an ex-governor of national stature to endorse local candidates in primaries, but as Terry McAuliffe acknowledged in a recent interview with The Blue View, “These are special circumstances.” The popular former governor, who served in Richmond 2014-18, has put his seal of approval on three candidates in northern Virginia’s upcoming Democratic primaries on June…
By Karen Kirk: School safety, diversity and challenges facing Fairfax County Schools were the top issues at a forum Saturday featuring at-large candidates for the Fairfax County School Board. The forum was held at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church and early voting followed. Here are the four candidates’ views: Safety in schools in an era of mass shootings:…
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: After this year’s elections, Fairfax County may finally have a board of supervisors ready to stop voluntary cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has made our region a national leader in deportations. This would benefit not only immigrant families, but our community as a whole, as crime is statistically significantly lower in jurisdictions…
Affordable housing and social and racial equity are the most important issues facing Fairfax County, according to the Democratic candidates for chair of the county Board of Supervisors. The four candidates, who will face off in a primary on June 11, met at a forum sponsored by the Fairfax County NAACP on May 11 at the Heritage Fellowship Church in…
To the Editor of The Blue View: Stop us if you’ve heard this before: “This election is the most consequential of our lifetimes.” We say it every November – and we’re proven right time and time again. After last year’s midterm elections, the House of Representatives is finally providing the much-needed check that President Trump’s White House has been lacking.…
By Karen Kirk: Melanie Meren won the endorsement of the Hunter Mill Democratic Committee for the district’s Fairfax County School Board seat Wednesday night surpassing candidate Andy Sigle. Voting took place after each candidate had a chance to address committee members at Lake Anne Elementary School in Reston. During the well-attended committee meeting, Meren told members that her whole career…
By Erika Yalowitz: Growing up in Colombia during war years, my goal was to one day become president and change my corner of the world. I saw so much pain and destruction caused by violence and the lack of opportunities for a better future. I knew there had to be a better way. Through hard work, I was able attend university…
Laura Jane Cohen was endorsed overwhelmingly on Apr. 27 by Springfield District Democratic Committee for the district’s Fairfax County School Board seat. Cohen, a teacher and PTA president, will face incumbent Elizabeth Schultz, a Republican, in the general election on Nov. 5. “This is the beginning of a longer adventure,” said Cohen shortly after the endorsement win. “ I feel…
By Susan Laume: Linda Sperling knows first-hand how ordinary citizens can strengthen democracy by serving on one or more of the 85 advisory groups run by Fairfax County government. Sperling, a candidate for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from Springfield District, knows this because she has been a member of the Transportation Advisory Commission since 2017. As a Commission member,…
Dr. Ricardy Anderson, a long-time professional educator, won the Mason District Democratic Committee endorsement vote for the district’s member on the Fairfax County School Board on April 24. Anderson served as classroom teacher and worked her way up to principal of several public schools in California and Virginia as well as director of teaching and learning for District of Columbia Public…
Karl Frisch was endorsed by the Providence District Democratic Committee (PDDC) on April 23 as candidate for that district’s Fairfax County School Board seat. It was the first contested Democratic district school board vote in the 2019 election season. Frisch, who is executive director of the non-profit organization Allied Progress, won by a wide margin – 62% — over Jung…