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…
U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton (VA-10) received a Hope Award from Calvary Women’s Services Wednesday night for her work to end domestic violence and addiction at the organization’s 18th Annual Hope Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. The event honors leaders who uplift and empower women and celebrates the success of women at Calvary who are achieving their goals and moving out of homelessness.…
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…
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…
By Chap Petersen: One of the things I’ve learned from twenty plus years in elected office is that ordinary voters are smarter than politicians. This reality was never better illustrated than in the 2019 General Assembly session, when the Commonwealth and, more specifically, the Democratic Party, was rocked by a series of scandals which attached to our highest state office…
By Alicia Plerhoples: I often tell my daughters that they are not growing up like I grew up. As a child, I experienced housing instability and food insecurity, just as many hardworking Fairfax County families do today. I was 9 when my father lost his job. Without his income, we were evicted from our home. I spent much of my…
Beto O’Rourke barnstormed through northern Virginia yesterday in a minivan, making several stops to address enthusiastic crowds. Our correspondent caught up with him in the backyard of Fairfax County School Board Member Tammy Kaufax (Lee District), where he presented his presidential vision to about 100 supporters. O’Rourke, a former congressperson from El Paso, Tx., highlighted inequities to minorities under the…
By Karl Frisch: My partner, Evan, and I have 150 kids in Fairfax County Public Schools–he’s a teacher. When you love a teacher, you share your life together with their students. The challenges they face are your challenges, too. I have spoken with parents about the overcrowded classrooms and trailers their kids sit in all day, and educators who left…
By Karen Keys-Gamarra: It’s that time again in Fairfax County when every local elected official will be on the ballot. This ballot that covers elections from supervisors to the Soil and Water Conservation District board is expansive and contains more parties than a chess board has pieces, but each office is essential to the process of democracy. I’m Karen Keys-Gamarra,…