(Updated at 11:10 a.m. on 10/30/2023) The Democratic-endorsed candidate for the Fairfax County School Board’s Franconia District seat has been disqualified due to an error on her petition to get on the ballot.

The Fairfax County Office of Elections has posted a notice on its website informing voters that Marcia St. John-Cunning was disqualified yesterday (Wednesday) by a Fairfax County Circuit Court order. A judge ruled that her petition was invalid because of an error in her address on its front page.

St. John-Cunning, a former Fairfax County Public Schools interpreter and family liaison, is competing against Republican-endorsed Kevin Pinkney, a lawyer, to succeed Tamara Derenak-Kaufax, who announced in January that she wouldn’t seek reelection after 12 years on the school board.

(Correction: The spelling of Kevin Pinkney’s name has been fixed.)

Though the school board races are nonpartisan, candidates can get political party endorsements. The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) allowed registered members to vote for its endorsements for the first time this year, though St. John-Cunning’s bid for support in the Franconia District was uncontested.

The complaint that led to St. John-Cunning’s disqualification was filed by the 8th Congressional District Republican Committee and two voters in that district, who argued that Fairfax County General Registrar and Director of Elections Eric Spicer should’ve invalidated her ballot petition over the address error, Patch reported.

Judge Richard Gardiner ruled that Spicer “violated his non-discretionary ministerial duty” by not invalidating the seventh page of St. John-Cunning’s petition, according to his order.

“The pages denoted as ‘4’ in the lower right corner does not have her address on the front page,” the order said. “Therefore, this petition page and the signatures on the front and back page are invalid as a matter of law.”

Eleven signatures were deemed invalid, putting St. John-Cunning below the 125 signatures needed to get on the ballot, according to Patch.

A previous lawsuit that took issue with six signatures on her petition was dismissed.

The Fairfax County Republican Committee and an attorney for the plaintiffs praised Gardiner’s ruling as “a clear victory for the rule of law.”

“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our elections depends on the law being applied consistently to all candidates, regardless of party or position,” the attorney, Trey Mayfield, said. “It is the duty of Election Registrar and County Electoral Board to ensure that elections are managed with uniform, law-based standards. They should do so without the courts having to order them to perform those obligations.”

The FCDC, however, blasted Gardiner and the Virginia Department of Elections for disqualifying its supported candidate, stating that the ruling disenfranchises the over 3,000 Franconia District voters who’ve cast a ballot since early voting for the Nov. 7 general election began on Sept. 22. Read More

(Updated at 9:30 p.m. on 10/26/2023) Several Republicans campaigning to represent parts of Fairfax County in the General Assembly have vowed to change up Virginia’s interstate tolling system if they’re elected on Nov. 7.

With the McLean Metro station in Tysons as a backdrop, the candidates unveiled a “Tolling Equity and Relief Plan” last Friday (Oct. 20) that they argued would reduce congestion and lower the cost of using the Express Lanes on I-66 and the Capital Beltway (I-495).

Crafted by former Congressman Frank Wolf, who represented Virginia’s 10th district from 1981 to 2015, the proposal calls for frequent Express Lanes drivers to get rebates from toll and state tax revenues, lower high-occupancy vehicle requirements, and standardization of toll rates on I-66 inside and outside the Beltway.

“We are hearing many complaints about the high cost of the tolls — especially on the new I-66 express lanes but also I-495 and other toll roads, which is adding to the cost of living of Northern Virginia families,” said Ken Reid, who organized the press conference. “Government must do its part to give the region’s motorists a break.”

A former Loudoun County supervisor, Reid is vying for the State Senate District 37 seat against Saddam Azlan Salim, who won the Democratic primary in June over longtime Sen. Chap Peterson. The district includes Tysons, Vienna, Oakton, Merrifield and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.

Other candidates who endorsed the proposed legislation include:

• Mark Springman, competing for Senate District 34 against incumbent Scott Surovell
• Matt Lang, competing for Senate District 38 against Sen. Jennifer Boysko in a district reshaped by redistricting
• Kristin Lee Hoffman, competing for House District 6 against Del. Rip Sullivan
• Maxwell Fisher, competing for House District 8 against incumbent Irene Shin
• Nhan Huynh, competing for House District 9 against incumbent Karrie Delaney
• James Thomas, competing for House District 10 against incumbent Dan Helmer
• Ed McGovern, competing for House District 18 against Del. Kathy Tran

According to a press release from Reid’s campaign, the Tolling Equity and Relief plan would offer rebates to commuters who use the I-66 and/or I-495 Express Lanes more than 30 times a month, similar to a SunPass toll relief program that took effect in Florida this year.

The plan would also reinstate HOV-2 “at certain hours” on both interstates. Drivers were able to use the I-66 Express Lanes for free if they had at least two passengers until last December, when the Virginia Department of Transportation raised the requirement to HOV-3.

Per the press release, the plan would allocate toll revenue to widening I-66 to three lanes in each direction from the Dulles Access Road in Pimmit Hills to the Nash Street tunnel in Rosslyn.

“No funds would go to bike trails or other modes of transit until that project is done,” Reid’s campaign said.

Virginia currently uses I-66 and I-395/95 toll revenue for a Commuter Choice grant program that supports road and public transit improvement projects in those corridors. Recently funded projects include a north entrance for the McLean Metro station and Fairfax City’s first Capital Bikeshare stations. Read More

(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) Former speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn announced Wednesday she will seek Virginia’s 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives next year.

The 10th District is currently represented by Democrat Jennifer Wexton, but she announced in September she will retire at the end of her current term after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.

Filler-Corn, a Democrat, does not live in the 10th District, which consists of all of Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties, western Prince William County, the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, and Clifton in Fairfax County. She currently represents the 41st District in the House of Delegates, which generally consists of the Burke and Burke Centre areas of central Fairfax County.

While members of the Virginia General Assembly must live in the districts they represent, U.S. House members are not required to do so.  Rep. Abigail Spanberger won reelection in the 7th District last year even though the district’s boundaries were moved to Northern Virginia from the Richmond area.

Filler-Corn was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2009. After Democrats won control of the House of Delegates in the 2019 election, she served as speaker during the 2020 and 2021 General Assembly sessions. She was the first woman and the first Jewish person elected to that position. She decided not to run for reelection to her House seat this fall after redistricting placed her into a district with another Democratic delegate.

Filler-Corn had been considered a potential candidate for governor in 2025.  Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot run for reelection.

Filler-Corn said in a statement that Democrats in the 10th District encouraged her to run for the seat. “As a Jewish American, I have deeply felt the tragedies of the past few weeks. Congress has been left rudderless at a time of global uncertainty. The American people and our allies abroad deserve better than this.”

Other potential Democratic candidates mentioned for the 10th District seat include Phyllis Randall, who is seeking reelection this fall to a third term as chair of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, and current Del. David Reid of Loudoun.

Wexton first won the 10th District seat by ousting Republican Barbara Comstock in 2018, but the seat became slightly more conservative in redistricting after the 2020 Census. In last fall’s election, she held off a challenge from Republican Hung Cao by about 6 percentage points.

Meanwhile, Spanberger, whose 7th District includes eastern Prince William and all of Stafford County, is also eying a run for governor in 2025, which would leave both the 7th and 10th district seats without incumbents heading into the 2024 congressional elections. Spanberger defeated Republican Yesli Vega, a Prince William supervisor, by about 5 percentage points last fall.

This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.

A pair of upcoming candidate forums will give McLean and Vienna residents a chance to get to know the people aspiring to represent them.

First up, the McLean Citizens Association is hosting a debate at 7:30 p.m. today (Thursday) between candidates for the Dranesville District’s supervisor and school board seats.

Former Dranesville District Democratic Committee chair Jimmy Bierman, who won his party’s nomination in a June primary, and Fairfax County Republican Committee first vice chair Puneet Ahluwalia are seeking to succeed Supervisor John Foust, who’s retiring after 16 years in office.

With incumbent Elaine Tholen not seeking reelection, the school board race features Robyn Lady — a retired Fairfax County Public Schools counselor endorsed by the Fairfax County Democratic Committee — and Paul Bartkowski, a Republican-endorsed lawyer who says he represented plaintiffs in a legal challenge to FCPS’ mask requirements during the pandemic.

The MCA will host the debate in person at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue), but it will also be live-streamed via Zoom.

Vienna Town Council candidates forum coming

The Northeast Vienna Citizens Association (NEVCA) will host a “Meet the Candidates” event at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street) at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday).

While Mayor Linda Colbert is unopposed in her bid for reelection, the Vienna Town Council race has seven candidates vying for six seats:

• Sandra Allen, a mother and volunteer who previously ran for school board
• Chuck Anderson (incumbent)
• Roy James Baldwin, a lawyer and Vienna Board of Architectural Review chairman
• Ray Brill (incumbent)
• Shelley Mountjoy, a former community college professor and web developer
• Jessica Ramakis, a Vienna Planning Commission member
• Howard Springsteen (incumbent)

Beth Eachus, chair of Vienna’s Transportation Safety Commission, is also campaigning for a council seat as a write-in candidate, the Gazette Leader reported. However, the NEVCA forum will focus on candidates officially registered with the Virginia Department of Elections.

More information about the candidates can be found in Vienna’s September newsletter.

According to its event announcement, NEVCA has hosted candidate forums for 20 years, but this will be its first in-person event since 2019. The volunteer organization conducted forums virtually during the pandemic.

“The objective has been to inform and educate all residents of the Town of Vienna with an interactive and conversational opportunity to hear from the candidates for the Town Council,” said NEVCA Vice President Doug Francis, who will moderate the forum.

According to Francis, the event will be recorded by the Town of Vienna Public Information Office, which will share the video on the town’s media platforms.

Colbert and the town council candidates previously appeared at a Sept. 19 forum organized by the local National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association chapter, according to the Gazette Leader.

This will be the Town of Vienna’s first November election after the Virginia General Assembly adopted a law in 2021 ending all local May elections, starting on Jan. 1, 2022. In a change from the previous, staggered approach, all town council seats will now always be up for election at the same time. Members will continue to serve two-year terms.

Early voting is currently underway for the 2023 general election, which will be held on Nov. 7 and determine Fairfax County’s next Board of Supervisors, school board and state legislators, among other races.

Three members were appointed to Reston Community Center’s Board of Governors this week.

As requested by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, incumbents Paul William Penniman and Vicky Wingert and newcomer Paul Berry were formally appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at its meeting yesterday (Tuesday).

The board members were selected by residents of the RCC tax district through this year’s preference poll, which took place between Sept. 8 and 29. Their terms begin on Nov. 6.

Berry — who campaigned for the Virginia House of Delegates’ District 7 seat — works as a teacher and served on former governor Ralph Northam’s Virginia Latino Advisory Board.

Pennimen, who has sat on the board since 2006, is an active member of Reston Planning and Zoning Committee and the Sierra Club. Wingert has served on the board since 2011 and is the founder of Friends of Reston, the nonprofit that supports Reston Association.

Virginia’s so-called “sore loser” law is supposed to ensure that when a candidate is defeated in a Republican or Democratic primary, they can’t drop their party affiliation and appear on the general election ballot next to the person who beat them.

As the state’s closely watched election season, which will determine control of all 140 seats in the General Assembly, ramps up, both the letter and spirit of that law are being tested. A handful of unsuccessful primary candidates have tried to keep their campaigns alive after defeat while attacking their own parties for allegedly corrupting the process.

Makya Little, a Northern Virginia House of Delegates candidate who narrowly lost a Democratic primary in June (editor’s note: Link added by FFXnow), went as far as filing a lawsuit that seeks to have her primary loss overturned. The suit, which has not yet been resolved in Richmond City Circuit Court, also seeks to have Little’s name appear on ballots as an independent candidate, despite the fact that she, like all primary candidates, signed a form acknowledging her name couldn’t be on the ballot if she lost her primary.

In occasionally blunt language, attorneys representing state election officials argued Little’s case should be thrown out because she and her supporters are “trying to convert their disappointment into a lawsuit.”

“This case is about an attempt by a defeated politician to overturn the results of an election,” wrote the state’s attorneys.

The state is also seeking to add Rozia Henson — the Democrat who defeated Little in the primary by just 49 votes — as a party to the lawsuit, saying the case has ramifications for him as the primary winner. Henson is the only candidate on the ballot in the heavily Democratic 19th House District, made up of parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties.

In an interview, Little acknowledged her attempts to appear on the ballot failed, since the ballots were printed weeks ago and early voting got underway [Friday, Sept. 22]. However, she said she intends to continue the lawsuit and keep arguing the state needs a better mechanism to resolve disputes over whether primaries were conducted fairly. Little now identifies as an independent, but said she still supports many Democratic priorities.

“It’s disappointing that the party of inclusion can be so exclusionary,” Little said. “And what they call vetting is actually gatekeeping.”

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, one of Virginia’s most prominent purveyors of unfounded election fraud claims, explored the idea of running a write-in campaign after losing a suburban Richmond primary battle against former state Sen. Glen Sturtevant. Chase told supporters in a Sept. 13 email she was dropping that plan because write-in campaigns involve “far too much work with little return.” She also floated the possibility of a statewide campaign next year, without identifying a specific office. Read More

Reston Association’s Board of Directors has a new vacancy.

Mike Collins — who represents apartment owners within RA’s membership — resigned Friday (Sept. 29).

Collins, who also served as the board’s secretary, said he resigned due to new career commitments.

Board president John Farrell thanked Collins for his leadership and “multiple stints of service” for Restonians.

“We wish him and his family the very best and thank him for his many contributions to our community,” Farrell wrote in a statement.

The vacancy triggers a new election process. Nominations will be accepted through noon on Oct. 12. Apartment owners — known as Category B members — will then receive a list of nominees and get a five-day voting period, after which staff will announce the results.

The new board member will begin the position on Oct. 26.

Collins joined the board in April 2020. He was reelected this April for a second three-year term and previously served on the board from 2010 to 2013.

This is the second unplanned vacancy to open on RA’s board this year after former president Sarah Selvaraj-D’Souza resigned in May.

The nine-member board consists of one apartment representative, four district directors and four at-large members. Members typically serve three-year, staggered terms.

Terms for Herndon Town Council members will remain unchanged after the council unanimously agreed to drop a proposal to increase the term from two to four years.

The council voted on Tuesday (Sept. 26) to remove consideration of the item from its legislative program for the Virginia General Assembly’s 2024 session. A similar effort came up almost a decade ago but was dropped by a previous council after lack of public support.

Changing term limits would require an amendment to the town charter and the state’s constitution. Councilmember Clark Hedrick described the proposal as “self-indulgent.”

“If people aren’t clamoring for four-year terms, I’m not sure we are the appropriate people to be necessarily asking for it,” Hedrick said.

But Councilmember Donielle Scherff emphasized that the current council would not be directly impacted by the change if it was approved. She noted that the council could look into two-year staggered terms so that it wouldn’t start from scratch every two years.

“I don’t know if that’s self indulgent,” Scherff said, stating that running for election every two years isn’t easy and requires staff to acclimate new council members every other year.

Councilmember Pradip Dhakal said the intention of the proposal was to provide more continuity.

“There’s nothing political about this. It’s all about bringing continuity to the government,” Dhakal said.

Mayor Sheila Olem emphasized that the council shouldn’t pass the proposal if it didn’t have significant support from the current council.

“You always need to make sure that this is something that you have someone to carry,” Olem said.

She said the public didn’t appear to support the proposal when it came up in 2014. It was discussed again last year.

Ultimately, Dhakal removed the pitch from the town’s legislative program.

As approved, the legislative program includes a push for the state to expand where localities are allowed to place photo speed monitoring devices. They’re currently allowed in school zones and work zones.

Fairfax County has cameras in place at eight sites under an ongoing pilot program.

How public records should be handled will be a key issue in the race to replace retiring Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk John Frey.

Democrat Chris Falcon and Republican Gerarda Culipher are both vying to fill the position that Frey will vacate when he retires in December. Frey, a Republican, has served as clerk of the county’s circuit court for the last 32 years. He ran for Virginia Attorney General in 2012.

Election Day is Nov. 7, but early voting starts in less than a month on Sept. 22.

The two candidates have distinctive points of view when it comes to how public records — like divorce cases, property records, and civil matters — should be made accessible.

Under Frey’s tenure, Fairfax County made records available online through its Court Public Access Network (CPAN) system, but it has a paywall, costing $150 a quarter, or $600 a year, to access.

While most jurisdictions utilize a platform run by Virginia’s Supreme Court, Fairfax County uses its own system and is the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction to charge for viewing information remotely, as permitted by Virginia code.

Records can be accessed for free in person at the Fairfax County Courthouse, and the court launched an e-filing system last year so residents and lawyers can submit documents online, though it also comes with subscription and search fees.

Currently the deputy clerk of the court for Arlington County, which offers free access to records through the Virginia platform, Falcon resides in Annandale and is a graduate of W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.

He told FFXnow that he’s running for court clerk to bring some reforms from Arlington to his home jurisdiction.

“I’ve encountered countless people who have reached barriers along the way when trying to access justice and access the court system,” Falcon said. “Those can be barriers because of their inability to pay for counsel or because of their lack of proficiency with the English language, or even because of transportation issues or childcare issues. For the past nine years, I’ve been working for the court system over here in Arlington, and I’ve been very proud that we’ve been able to take down a lot of those barriers.”

He called it a “real shame” that Fairfax County does not provide “free, online case information” — and he intends to change that if elected.

Falcon said this lack of access particularly hurts those representing themselves in civil cases or those who may not know the process.

“A lot of those people are not able to find the necessary information that they need, like their case numbers, their hearing dates and times, because that information is currently blocked behind a paywall that the Fairfax Circuit Court clerk’s office has in place,” he said. “I don’t know that they understand actually how many people it’s hurting.”

Culipher argues there are good reasons why the county handles its records and operates in the way it does. Currently the chief deputy clerk, she’s worked in the Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office for a decade.

She agreed with Falcon that the “default posture” of the court is to provide public, open records, but there are “notable exceptions.”

Calling the Fairfax County Circuit Court the “hearth and home” court, since it deals with life events like probate, adoption, marriage, and divorce, Culipher noted that many records are “sensitive” and deserve to be treated “thoughtfully.” Read More

Defending civil liberties and advancing childhood education are among the top priorities cited by the Republican candidate for the District 7 state delegate seat.

Luellen Hoffman Maskeny, a Reston resident and educator, is the official GOP nominee for the seat, which will mostly represent the area currently held by retiring Del. Ken Plum. She will face Democratic nominee Karen Keys-Gamarra in the Nov. 7 general election.

Hoffman Maskeny says she was compelled to seek candidacy after she saw “political changes that should not have been made” during the pandemic.

“The schools never needed to close and that was a big mistake,” Hoffman Maskeny told FFXnow in a statement. “Now the children are 2 1/2 years behind in their studies, which is not good, but I have a plan to help them catch up.”

Born in Portsmouth, Hoffman Maskeny says she grew up in Northern Virginia, and when she got married, she moved to Reston, where she stayed until relocating to Fairfax in 2003. She moved back to Reston in June 2022.

With a professional background in sales and recruiting, she graduated from George Mason University, where she previously worked as an adjunct professor. She has a master’s degree in communications from George Washington University, according to her LinkedIn page.

She is the mother of two sons. Her husband died of respiratory failures and complications related to surgery in 1994. She also wrote the book “Special Dream,” which features more than 80 stories of individuals who lost a loved one.

“I know how hard it is being a single parent, and the challenges all parents face today, but I have hope that we can work together to do better for the children’s sake and see real improvements,” she said.

She describes her legislative priorities as “defending civil liberties” and “protecting women’s sports,” presumably referring to efforts to ban transgender people from participating in sports based on their gender identity. However, Hoffman Maskeny didn’t elaborate on either priority when asked by FFXnow.

“These girls have worked too hard for too long in reaching their achievements, only to have it taken away from them,” she said.

Maskeny says she also wants to ensure that parents are involved in public schools, in addition to ensuring pornography in books is kept out of public schools.

Fairfax County Public Schools removed two books centered on LGBTQ characters from high school library shelves in 2021 after a parent complained that they had graphic sexual content not suitable for children. The books were later restored after a review.

“It is important to keep our schools safe with extra security measures. There is no need for our children to be ‘sitting ducks’ if there is an active shooter on the school grounds or for girls to be raped in the bathrooms,” she said.

According to her LinkedIn page, Maskeny was the director of exhibits for the National Defense Industrial Association from 2006 through 2017. She has worked as a director of sales at a South Carolina-based IT company for the last six years.

Maskeny’s campaign website is currently under construction.