The 2017 Bellwether Election is in Fairfax County, VA!
On August 29th, Fairfax County voters will vote to fill a vacant school board seat. Republicans took this seat in 2015 and have waged a relentless fight against anti-discrimination policies and against funding for programs that assist our diverse school population and help schools that are most in need. Even more significant, this special election, in the largest jurisdiction in Virginia, will take place just before the fall campaign kicks off for the Governor’s election. Therefore, it will set the stage for the election in November which will provide momentum going into the national mid-term elections in 2018. Republicans forced this special election in an effort to suppress the Democratic turnout (read below). In order to thwart the Republican effort to pull off this election under the radar of Democratic voters, we need resources. Just a few tenths of a percent of what Democrats contributed to Ossoff in Georgia will give us the resources to deliver a blow to the Republicans in this race that will ripple across the country. Please contribute, every little bit counts!
If the Democrats sweep the statewide offices and retake the Virginia House of Delegates, it will create an unstoppable momentum across the country going into 2018. The only other elections in the country this year are in NJ – and Chris Christie’s approval rating is 15% – the Republicans are already toast in NJ.
Fairfax County is the largest jurisdiction in Virginia and is larger than eight (8) states and the District of Columbia. As Fairfax County goes, so goes Virginia. Therefore, this special election will have a huge impact on the November election and to understand why Virginia’s November election is important for 2018, read this Washington Post Op-Ed by Virginia House of Delegates leader, David Toscano: https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/wp/2017/07/06/georgia-was-not-the-bellwether-virginia-is/
Fairfax Republican Special Election Tricks
Jeanette Hough resigned her position on the Fairfax County School Board, effective May 31, 2017, due to her husband’s job transfer overseas. Troubling signs indicate that Republicans may have pressured Ms. Hough to resign early which forced an August 29 special election. Had she waited a matter of days (after June 10), the election to fill her seat would take place on Election Day in November at no significant additional cost. Their stunt will cost Fairfax County taxpayers approximately $250,000.
Fairfax County Republicans reached into their shallow bag of tricks. Send a message that we won’t tolerate wasting taxpayer dollars in a deliberate scheme to make it more difficult to vote. Please contribute whatever you can.
Ms. Hough made it plainly obvious that her early resignation was not necessary. She attended the June 8th School Board meeting as a private citizen, unable to represent her constituents because she had resigned. Then, on June 20th, she had a front row seat when the Fairfax County Republicans met to endorse a candidate to replace her.
The GOP knows that if they want any chance of winning this seat they must force a low turnout election.
Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Sue Langley said, “Efforts by the Republican establishment to pressure Hough to resign early are a shameful effort to deny hundreds of thousands of Fairfax County voters a chance to elect a new School Board member. No parent should be denied the opportunity to elect someone who will have an impact on their children’s daily lives and education.”
The Special Election to fill the school board vacancy will be held August 29, 2017. Karen Keys-Gamarra was endorsed by the Fairfax County Democrats to fill this vacancy. Because of the obscure date for this election, Karen needs your vote and the vote of as many Democrats as we can inform. To avoid having to scale back our November election plans, we need additional funds to deal with this unanticipated and unbudgeted expense. Please consider contributing!
Karen has advocated for children as an attorney for years, and she received the Washington Post endorsement in her razor-thin loss for Sully District School Board in 2015. Her Republican opponent has no experience in school matters and would be a dangerous addition to the School Board. The Post observed in his last run for office that he was lacking “any experience or qualification for the job.” The paper characterized his “grasp of policy and politics” as “tissue-thin.”
Will you contribute to ensure that we can take this seat?
