The ballot is set for the Town of Herndon’s upcoming mayoral and town council elections.
Current council members Keven LeBlanc and Pradip Dhakal will face off on Nov. 5 to succeed Mayor Sheila Olem, who won’t seek reelection after two terms as mayor and more than a decade on the town council.
With two grandchildren now in her life, Olem says the time had come for her to step back from local government work and the extensive commitments that entails. The arrival of Metro’s Silver Line to the town in 2022 also felt like a turning point, since that project was one of the main drivers of her decision to run for town council in 2010.
“I’m ready to not have so many night meetings,” she told FFXnow. “I often have two or three-night meetings that are not in the Town of Herndon to be present on these regional committees, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Northern Virginia Regional Commission, as well as others, so I do put a lot of time into it.”
Prior to seeking elected office, Olem served on Herndon’s Board of Zoning Appeals from 2000 to 2007, and she volunteered for various Dranesville District land use committees, including a Dulles Toll Road task force in 2000 to 2001 and a 2005 Hunter Mill Task Force.
She ran to succeed longtime Herndon mayor Lisa Merkel in 2020, as the town was still preparing for Metro and grappling with the operational and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the toughest parts of the pandemic was seeing all of the events around Herndon — those hosted by the town as well as ones supported by nonprofits and community groups — come to a halt, Olem says, noting that she makes an effort to attend everything from the popular Friday Night Live concerts to the annual National Night Out celebration, which will be on Aug. 6 this year.
Though she doesn’t want to get stretched too thin, she plans to remain involved in the community and region after leaving office.
“It’s almost like [being] part of the family,” Olem said. “Whether it’s the department of public works or our police or people working in the other various departments, parks and rec, people get to know each other and they look after one another, and that’s one of the things I have found very endearing about the Town of Herndon.”
Both of Olem’s aspiring successors could make local history if elected. LeBlanc would be Herndon’s first openly gay mayor, while Dhakal says he would be the first person of color to serve as mayor in the town’s 145-year history.
Olem confirmed that she will support LeBlanc, as suggested by a statement that his campaign shared when he announced his candidacy on Feb. 6. The statement was also credited to Merkel, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko and Del. Irene Shin.
“He’s been very active in the town for a number of years and is very networked in the community, not just our community, but outside the community, and he understands the process,” Olem told FFXnow. “Being on a town council or in the senate is a process, and we do need to go through those processes to be an open, transparent government.”
Currently in his first term on the town council, LeBlanc said his priorities include increasing affordable housing and promoting “sustainable growth,” while preserving what Herndon residents “cherish most about our hometown.”
In a statement to FFXnow, LeBlanc says he’s “deeply honored and humbled” to get Olem’s endorsement.
“Mayor Olem’s dedication over 14 years of elected office and significant community involvement locally and regionally has been instrumental in shaping Herndon into the community it is today,” he said. “Mayor Olem’s decision not to seek re-election opens the door for us to build on her legacy. Together with our residents and elected officials, I will navigate the critical growth that lies ahead, ensuring our town remains a place where everyone feels valued and has the opportunity to succeed.”
When he joined the race in early February, Dhakal said he would champion diversity, affordable housing, traffic calming initaitives and a focus on the town’s overall safety and security if he becomes mayor.
Now in his third term on the council, Dhakal formally kicked off his campaign on May 18 with support from fellow council members Cesar del Aguila and Donielle Scherff, along with former mayor Michael O’Reilly, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, State Sen. Saddam Salim and Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra.
“Throughout my tenure, I have gained a deep understanding of our town’s processes and am actively committed to building a community that celebrates our diversity and intentionally fosters equity,” Dhakal said in a new statement to FFXnow. “My engagement with the diverse community of Herndon, listening to their concerns, and working tirelessly on their behalf have earned me broad support.”
In addition to confirming the final mayoral candidates, the Town of Herndon announced that nine people, including three incumbents, will compete for the 2025-2026 town council’s six seats:
- Councilmember Naila Alam
- Tamim Chowdhury
- Councilmember Cesar A. del Aguila
- Kelvin Garcia
- Vice Mayor Clark A. Hedrick
- Michael T. Lloyd
- Stevan M. Porter
- Soma Ramesh
- Alexis “Alex” Reyes
Scherff, who is in her first term as a council member, isn’t seeking reelection, according to the town.
