'What We're Talking About Is Not Partisanship,' Catherine Read Says
FAIRFAX CITY, VA — City of Fairfax voters had a chance Thursday to talk one-on-one with the candidates on the ballot in the mayor, city council and school board races in the Nov. 5 general election.
“It’s important for people to be able to speak face-to-face with a candidate, ask them the question that they want to ask, and hear directly from the candidate, so they can make an informed decision when they go to vote,” said Patricia Fege, co-president of the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area, which co-sponsored the event with the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce
Each candidate in the mayor and city council races had two minutes to address the audience at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, before they separated and went to their assigned tables in order to answer questions directly from voters. Four of the five candidates running in the school board race were also present to answer questions.
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Related: Early Voting Begins For 2024 Election: What’s On Fairfax City Ballots
Rather than trying to cram the comments of all 11 speakers into one long story, Patch is spotlighting each candidate in their own separate article, featuring an excerpt from their introductory remarks at Wednesday’s meet and greet. A new story will be published daily in the order that each candidate appears on the official ballot.
Find out what's happening in Fairfax Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The candidates running in the mayor’s race were first to speak Wednesday night, starting with incumbent Mayor Catherine Read. Check back Friday to read challenger Susan Hartley Kueller’s remarks.
Mayor Catherine Read
“I brought a visual aid tonight. [Holds up a sign below.] This hangs in my office, and this is basically a breakdown of who voted since 2014 in local elections. For most of the 60 years, voters in the city voted every other May for mayor and city council, and that was 20 percent. In 2022, because the General Assembly changed the election from May to November, and there was a lot of opposition to that, 59 percent of the people voted in this city. Two-thirds of the people who voted in 2022 had never voted for mayor and city council before, and that’s important to recognize when we talk about how elections are changing here.
“The City of Fairfax Democratic Committee, and as far as I know, the Republican Committee in the city, had never endorsed candidates before 2022, but we did in 2022 because we understood that a lot of people were coming to the polls who had never participated in local elections.
“With 2,000 people voting every other May, most people knew the political persuasion of most of the people that were running for mayor and city council.
“Fred Silverthorne was the mayor from 1978 to 1982. I arrived in this area in 1981 as a 19-year-old sophomore. I moved into the first dormitory that was ever built on the campus of George Mason University. Fred Silverthorne is somebody we honor every year in the City of Fairfax Democratic Committee, because he was a Democrat. I have received the Fred Silverthorne Award and a lot of other people in this city — Judy Fisher, Natalia Parmly, Mary Brobst, Joe Harmon. So, I just want you to understand, what we’re talking about is not partisanship. It’s about what we stand for and what we want you to know about us as candidates. I stand for the values of the Democratic Party.”
Additional information about the Nov. 5 general election can be found online at League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area. The 2024 LWVFA Candidate Forum featuring the four candidates running in the 10th and 11th congressional races at 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30. Watch the forum live on Fairfax Public Access, Channel 10 TV and/or live-streamed on YouTube.
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