All Votes Reported In Fairfax City Election; Bates Edges Past Renner

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — With all votes cast in the Nov. 8 General Election counted, Catherine S. Read will be the City of Fairfax's next mayor, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. The final results of the election are due to be certified on Tuesday.

In addition, Billy M. Bates squeaked past Anahita N. "Ana" Renner for the sixth and final seat on the Fairfax City Council, finishing with 4,213 votes (10.17 percent) compared to Renner's 4,198 (10.13 percent). Bates was also one vote shy of Greenfield's 4,214 votes (10.17 percent).

On Monday, Bates thanked Brenda Cabrera, the city’s director of elections and general registrar, and other election officials for working so hard to make it a free and fair election for everyone.

"This is the largest vote count we've ever had for a municipal election and no matter the results, that is a win for the City of Fairfax," he said. "Although I am mindful that the margins are very narrow between myself, Ana Renner and Jeff Greenfield, I am hopeful that I will be able to take a seat at the Council in January. I will respect whatever process goes forward from this point. My thanks to all my supporters, the voters who cast ballots for me and those that volunteered to help me on this campaign."

The 0.04 percent gap separating Bates and Renners' vote totals is less than the 1 percent required for Renner to ask for a recount. Since it's less than 0.5 percent, Fairfax City would fund the recount if Renner requested one, according to Cabrera.

"I appreciate all the voters in the City of Fairfax, and I want to thank all the election officials for all their hard work and long hours.," Renner said. "I'm still absorbing these new results, and I'll consider my options after discussing it with my family."

In the mayor's race, Read declared victory over Fairfax City Councilmember Sang H. Yi on election night with eight of nine precincts reporting. All that was left to count were provisional votes cast on Election Day and the mailed-in ballots received by the city as of noon on Monday. The VDE posted the final results on its website on Monday afternoon.

"After the counting of the provisional ballots, the real story here continues to be voter turnout in Fairfax City for municipal elections," Read said, on Monday. "At 70 percent voter participation, we can be assured that a true majority of people have spoken in this election. I believe this heralds a new era in civic engagement for our community, one that I want to focus on maintaining over the long term. I congratulate everyone who stepped up to run in this election and look forward to working with our new City Councilmembers."

Read defeated Yi by a margin of 183 votes or 1.9 percent, which is greater than the 1 percent required for an apparent losing candidate to call for a recount, according to Cabrera.

“It was a great honor to have the opportunity to run for Mayor of the City of Fairfax," Yi said, on Monday. "We ran a mayoral campaign based on the issues and one that my family, our supporters, volunteers, and campaign staff can always remember with pride. I’m sincerely grateful to all who helped in our efforts. I also want to extend my deepest thanks to the great citizens of our city. As I reflect on the last four and a half years, I am deeply humbled by the privilege of having dutifully served on our City Council. There is still a lot of work to do in our city, and I look forward to seeing Catherine work to build consensus and focus on our most pressing municipal issues.”

In the City Council race, incumbents So P. Lim, D. T. "Tom" Ross, and Jon R. Stehle Jr. were re-elected, with challengers Kate G. Doyle Feingold, Jeffrey C. Greenfield, and Bates also winning.

In May 2016, Greenfield initially lost to incumbent Fairfax City Councilmember Nancy Loftus by three votes. After filing a request for a recount with the Fairfax County Circuit Court, Greenfield was declared the victor by a three-vote margin following a recount.

In the 2022 school board race, five candidates ran to fill five seats.

Mayor

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