While many people are focused on the presidential election on November 5, voters in the City of Fairfax, Virginia, will also be voting for mayor, city council members, and school board members. In the past, Fairfax City’s public office elections were held without party affiliation, but starting in 2022, they will be able to state their party affiliation and support just like other general elections.
While this has the positive effect of increasing voter turnout, it has also had many negative side effects. Fairfax, a small city with a population of 22,000 and registered voters of 18,000, has ended up being swayed by two-party politics, putting party lines ahead of local issues, and the conflict among residents has reached a peak ahead of this presidential election.
Unscrupulous campaigning has been uncovered, including damaging and even removing and switching the campaign signs of opposing candidates. Ahead of this election, candidates running for mayor and city council attended a candidate forum on the 25th of last month, directly meeting residents and communicating with them to appeal for support.
Incumbent mayor Catherine Read emphasized, “When elections were held in May in the past, the voter turnout was only 20%, but with the change to November in 2022, the voter turnout was 59%.” She added, “There is some controversy over this, but we need to recognize the change.” She also said, “Voters already know the political leanings of the candidates,” and “We need to be honest about what the candidates support and what voters want to know, not about partisanship.” She added, “I support Democratic values.” Challenger Susan Kuiler said, “I will run as an independent,” and “I will listen to the voices of residents who are concerned about partisan fighting, and work with the city council and staff to make a bipartisan effort for the development and safety of Fairfax.”
These remarks reflect concerns that since Fairfax local elections also require candidates to disclose their party affiliations, the city council, like the state and federal legislatures, will lose its bipartisan efforts and become a wasteful partisan fight. The argument is that candidates who are elected with the support of the Democratic Party will inevitably be conscious of their party’s platform while conducting their legislative activities and will ultimately prioritize the party’s position over the residents.
In fact, it has been reported that the city council has engaged in wasteful battles over abortion rights and sexual identity issues before local issues. In this situation, candidate Queller emphasized, “I hope that the election will be held freely without being influenced by the two major parties,” and “If I become mayor, I will work to restore the trust of the residents, and once I am elected, I will no longer be self-righteous and not listen to the residents.”
There are 11 candidates running for the six-member City Council, and the Fairfax Democratic Party has officially endorsed three candidates: Billy Bates, Stacy Hardy-Chandler, and Taylor Alice Geaghan. The Republican Party, on the other hand, has not endorsed a candidate this time, just like in the last election. Incumbents Jeff Greenfield, Kate Doyle Feimgold, and Billy Bates, all of whom are seeking reelection, are expected to win, while Anthony Amos, who served as an aide to Fairfax County’s only Republican supervisor, Pat Herity, is also expected to win.
Meanwhile, three-term Korean American Councilor So-Jung Lim has not run this time. “Comparing when I first entered the city council to now, I am just exhausted and disappointed,” said Rep. Lim. “In the past, despite different political tendencies, it was possible to reach an agreement through discussion, but it is difficult to expect that anymore.”