If he’s reelected to the Herndon Town Council, Kelvin Garcia has no intention of becoming complacent.
The former law enforcement officer is proud of his accomplishments from his first two years on the council, including the creation of a youth advisory committee and his support of collective bargaining for the town’s police department. But he believes he still has more work to do.
“I profess myself as a doer on the council, because I do things,” Garcia told FFXnow in a recent interview. “So, I bring initiatives, I bring things to the table. I don’t sit back and just let the town employees dictate what we want. No, I go out and get it, right? That’s just my spirit.”
To secure one of the council’s six seats, however, Garcia will need to fend off a crowded field with 11 other candidates, including his current colleagues Cesar del Aguila, Vice Mayor Clark Hedrick, Alex Reyes and Michael Lloyd. Challenging the incumbents are:
- U.S. Space Force veteran Sabrina Bruce
- County government worker Yasmin Shafiq
- Herndon Planning Commission Vice Chair Meron Yohannes
- Nurse Doug Mejia
- Community activist Josif Ezekilov
- Information technology professional Stevan Michael Porter
- Local business owner Justin Britt
Early voting is now underway for the Nov. 3 election. All Herndon Town Council candidates are expected to participate in a forum hosted by the Reston nonprofit Cornerstones tomorrow (Oct. 15) from 7-9 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church (432 Van Buren Street).
From D.C. police to Herndon’s town council
Elected to the Herndon Town Council in 2024, Garcia made his first foray into politics a year earlier as a Democratic challenger to Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. Though Kincaid won the primary and subsequent general election, Garcia received approximately a quarter of the votes — a margin he found encouraging, given the limited time and resources he had for his campaign.
Garcia says running for sheriff was a natural fit for him based on his background in law enforcement. In addition to serving as an officer for the Metropolitan Police Department for a decade, he has worked as a legal clerk and is now a traffic judge in D.C.
After moving from Fairfax County south of Herndon to the town in 2024, he saw an opportunity to broaden the types of issues he could focus on as a council member.
“Law enforcement is near and dear to my heart, but being able to serve on a magnitude that’s bigger, helping more — it’s a great thing,” he said.
Among the community members who Garcia can say he helped during his first and so far only term on the town council are the 12 Herndon and Langley high school students who participated in his inaugural youth advisory committee last year. Open to any teens living in the town, the committee has now grown to 25 members, he told FFXnow.
Building on his experience as a high school athletics coach, previously for Herndon High School’s freshman football team and currently for South Lakes High School’s girls’ basketball, Garcia says the committee’s goal is to give a new generation an opportunity to share their thoughts and priorities, and to encourage their political engagement at the local level and beyond.
He noted that students on the committee attended Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration in January and had a chance to meet with Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi. In addition, all of the original seniors on the committee graduated from high school and are now attending college.
“I think my program is very special because I’m getting these kids to matriculate, to go to college,” Garcia said. “That’s like an added bonus, and also, I get them to have a seat at the table with politicians.”
Garcia has also leaned on his law enforcement experience to champion initiatives like the authorization of a collective bargaining process for police officers to negotiate their pay, benefits and working conditions, along with a plan to install red light cameras at select intersections in Herndon.
The Herndon Police Department hasn’t officially launched a red-light camera program yet following the town council’s approval of an ordinance allowing 10 cameras in February. But Garcia says he supports evaluating the use of automated technology to address traffic violations, such as speeding or drivers ignoring red lights and stop signs.
“I support a comprehensive and data-driven approach to traffic calming that prioritizes pedestrian safety, protects residential neighborhoods, and ensures that our roadways function safely and efficiently,” he said, adding that he also has concerns about a trend of people riding electric or motorized bicycles without helmets.
“The e-bikes, they’re causing havoc on our streets. I don’t want to see people get hurt or worse,” Garcia said.
Economic development cited as a priority
Looking ahead to a potential second term, Garcia says he would like to bring back at least one seasonal bulk trash collection — a service previously provided to residents every fall and spring that was eliminated by the fiscal year 2026 budget.
He would also prioritize economic development, finding ways to attract businesses and expand the town’s commercial base to ease the tax burden on residents.
“I want to fix the debacle that is Comstock,” Garcia said, referring to the Reston-based developer’s nixed downtown redevelopment project. “That’s very important, because the town residents, they deserve to have a good downtown. We deserve something that looks better than Reston.”
The Town of Herndon’s options for moving forward with the nearly 5-acre site are currently limited after a circuit court judge ruled last month that Comstock could retain ownership of the property. The town filed an objection to the ruling, indicating that it intends to appeal.
Outside of the historic downtown, though, Garcia sees plenty of opportunity for new businesses and development in the Herndon Parkway corridor closer to the Metro station.
While some development projects, mostly multifamily residences, have been approved or started construction near the Herndon Metro, the area still has “a bunch of empty spaces that’s not generating any money for the town,” according to Garcia.
He believes the town could support a major mixed-use development like the Wharf in D.C., “but without the water,” picturing a convention center, concert hall or another destination venue surrounded by apartments and retail that attracts both residents and visitors.
“I think that we’re the best town in America,” Garcia said. “And once we get over this hump, over the Comstock deal, we could literally start putting that into motion, because again, we have a lot to offer.”
