FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A political action committee associated with former state Sen. J. Chapman "Chap" Petersen has provided $15,000 to a newly formed PAC advocating for independence in Fairfax City's nonpartisan elections, as competing groups of candidates debate the role of political parties in municipal government.
Fairfax Commonsense PAC transferred $10,000 to Keep Fairfax City Independent PAC in September and contributed another $5,000 on Oct. 28, according to campaign finance disclosures. Former Fairfax City Mayor Steve Stombres separately contributed $2,500, bringing the recipient PAC's documented contributions from those sources to $17,500.
The funding comes as six candidates campaign together under the Fairfax Common Ground name, while the City of Fairfax Democratic Committee recommends a competing group of five candidates. Although Fairfax City's elections are officially nonpartisan, the campaigns have taken different approaches to political alliances and candidate recommendations.
Fairfax Commonsense PAC, established in 2021, reported a $10,000 expenditure to Keep Fairfax City Independent in September. Its disclosure identified Petersen as the person authorizing the payment.
The PAC reported $66,740.56 remaining as of Oct. 7, after the transfer.
An additional $5,000 contribution reported Oct. 28 brought the total documented transfers between the committees to $15,000.
Keep Fairfax City Independent PAC registered in September with Shannon Duffy Daniels as treasurer. Its available disclosures identify $8,200.26 in expenditures, including $8,179.76 for printing and mailing through Polaris Press.
Fairfax Commonsense supplied approximately 86 percent of the $17,500 in documented contributions from the two identified donors.
The expenditure figure reflects the available regular and supplemental disclosures and does not necessarily include every transaction through Oct. 28.
In written responses to Patch, the Keep Fairfax City Independent board, which includes Petersen, Stombres, former Mayor Robert Lederer and former Councilmember Kate Doyle Feingold, said the group was formed because of concerns about partisan influence on local government.
"The PAC is independent of all candidates," the board said. "Activities of the PAC are not coordinated, approved, or authorized by any candidates."
The board described Fairfax Commonsense as "a completely separate organization."
The financial disclosures establish a substantial funding relationship between the PACs but do not, by themselves, demonstrate common management or coordination with candidates.
Petersen and Lederer did not respond to Patch's emailed questions before publication.
Fairfax Common Ground is promoting Thomas D. "Tom" Peterson for mayor and five City Council candidates: Stacy Hall, Rachel McQuillen, Susan Hartley Kuiler, Steve Chang and Jessica Lough.
Peterson, the mayoral candidate, is not the same person as former state Sen. Chap Petersen.
The group's website identifies Thomas D. Peterson for Mayor as the campaign paying for and authorizing the site.
A banner promoting the six candidates identifies all six campaigns in its authorization disclosure. A separate sample ballot promotes the same candidates but lists only four campaigns as paying for and authorizing it: Peterson, Hall, McQuillen and Lough.
The latest campaign finance reports document additional financial relationships among participating candidates.
Chang's campaign reported receiving $521.15 from McQuillen's campaign and $500 from Hall's campaign on Oct. 19. Both payments were described as refunds.
Chang's campaign also reported a $211.52 expenditure associated with the Fairfax Common Ground launch, described as a reimbursement to Jessica Lough, identified in the filing as Jessica Frazier.
Hall's campaign reported an unpaid reimbursement obligation related to a shared printing-cost adjustment. Her campaign also refunded Chang's $500 contribution on Oct. 18.
The transactions document cooperation among participating campaigns. They do not establish coordination with either independent PAC.
Chang is CEO and majority owner of Independent News Press, publisher of The Fairfax Independent, a Fairfax-based newspaper founded by Chap Petersen.
Chang confirmed in an Oct. 28 written response to Patch that his campaign paid $1,000 for a full-page newspaper advertisement promoting the Fairfax Common Ground candidates.
"I have been in full cooperation with the Fairfax Common Ground Candidates," Chang said.
Peterson's campaign separately reported paying $300 to Independent News Press for advertising. City Council candidate Russell Jones, who is not part of Fairfax Common Ground, also reported a $300 advertisement.
Chang said the newspaper's editorial operations remain independent of his campaign.
"Our newsroom operates independently of me," he said.
He denied influencing the newspaper's reporting about a political-sign dispute outside Petersen's law office and said he had no involvement with either PAC.
The advertising transactions document financial relationships between candidate campaigns and the newspaper, but do not establish editorial interference.
The City of Fairfax Democratic Committee has recommended Kirsten Sides Lockhart for mayor and Anthony Amos, Sandi Slappey Brown, Kelly O'Brien and María José Padmore for City Council.
Laura Stokes, who chairs the committee, said the committee evaluated candidates using a written rubric covering 10 policy areas, including housing, redevelopment, transportation, finances, and government ethics.
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"Candidates are recommended on the basis of their values being compatible with those of the Democratic Party overall, but there is no required set of positions that they have to take," Stokes said.
She said the committee uses "recommendation" rather than endorsement because candidates are not obligated to follow party instructions.
The Democratic Committee reported $21,474.05 in cumulative 2026 receipts and $12,994.89 in expenditures through Sept. 30. The Democratic Party of Virginia separately paid for a mailer featuring U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Fairfax) and the five recommended local candidates.
The committee's materials disclose that individual candidates did not authorize them. By contrast, Fairfax Common Ground materials identify participating candidate campaigns as sponsors.
Keep Fairfax City Independent argues that party involvement threatens municipal government's local focus. Stokes disputes the claim that party recommendations are incompatible with nonpartisan elections and questions the independence of candidates campaigning together under Fairfax Common Ground.
Fairfax City's nonpartisan election system means candidates appear on the ballot without party designations. It does not prohibit party recommendations or candidates campaigning together.
The available financial records document PAC transfers, candidate cooperation and party spending, but do not establish that the independent PACs coordinated their activities with candidate campaigns.
Voters will elect a mayor and six City Council members Nov. 3.
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