Falls Church City Council, School Board Winners Named In General Election

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Four City Council candidates and four school board candidates have been declared winners according to unofficial City of Falls Church election results Tuesday.

According to unofficial results, the City Council candidates who won with the most votes were incumbents Marybeth D. Connelly (4,303 votes), Debora "Debbie" Schantz-Hiscott (4,248 votes) and David F. Snyder (3,967 votes) as well as newcomer Caroline S. Lian (3,541 votes). The other candidates were Stuart M. Whitaker (1,885 votes) and Scott C. Diaz (1,581 votes). There were 152 write-in votes.

Winning school board candidates were Lori K. Silverman (3,700 votes), Kathleen E. C. Tysse (3,666 votes), Tate O. Gould (3,425 votes), and David S. Ortiz (3,391 votes). The other candidates were Ilya Shapiro (2,046 votes), Jerrod F. Anderson (2,271 votes) and Courtney C. Mooney (1,575 votes). There were 138 write-in votes.

The seven-member Falls Church City School Board will look different after this year's election, as four of the newly elected members are newcomers. Incumbent members Shannon Litton, Greg Anderson, Sonia Ruiz-Bolaños and Edwin Henderson II did not seek re-election.

In the 53rd District House of Delegates race, Del. Marcus B. Simon is leading Republican challenger 17,836 votes to 6,804 votes with 18 of 24 precincts reporting. In the City of Falls Church, Simon received 5,290 votes to White's 1,578 votes. The district is largely Democratic, so Simon is favored to win.

Falls Church Sheriff Metin A. "Matt" Cay was unopposed and won with 5,542 votes, as well as Commissioner of the Venue Thomas D. Clinton with 5,888 votes and Treasurer Jody P. Acosta with 5,923 votes.

The City of Falls Church ballot also included state races for Virginia governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The Associated Press and several other media outlets have called the gubernatorial race for Republican Glenn A. Youngkin. Media outlets have called the lieutenant governor's race for Republican Winsome Sears and attorney general race for Republican Jason Miyares. In the City of Falls Church, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry A. McAuliffe received 5,352 votes, Youngkin received 1,581 votes and Liberation Party candidate Princess L. Blanding received 42 votes. Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Hala S. Ayala received 5,376 votes and Sears received 1,531 votes. Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring received 5,367 votes and Miyares received 1,534 votes.

According to the Office of Voter Registration and Elections, the voter turnout was 69.46 percent of active registered voters.

On Election Day, voters focused on both state and local races. Alexandra Tillmann of Falls Church said one of her biggest issues is making sure schools advocate for students and teachers.“I support ensuring that our teachers and our students are vaccinated and protected and that masks are encouraged to be used in schools,” said Tillmann, who has two children who will soon be entering the Falls Church City Public Schools system.

Elections at the local level are important, Tillmann emphasized, to ensure that communities can continue to make progress, even if state or federal officials who disagree with their policies are elected.

“That is why people need to turn out for everything, from exactly what we are seeing today in Falls Church with the city council and school board elections, all the way up to the governor’s race,” Tillmann said.

In Loudoun County and other jurisdictions across the country where elected school board members are under attack, some parents are trying to “manipulate the school systems and teachers” into teaching a narrow view on certain topics, she said.“Working in the best interests of our students and our teachers is about making sure that our schools are diverse and equitable and that students have a diverse understanding of our nation’s history and future,” she said. “That’s the only way we can build a strong system of democratic governance for years to come.”

Another Falls Church City voter, a public school teacher at Marshall High School in Fairfax County, said the state’s economy was a big issue for him in the election. Falls Church and surrounding jurisdictions in Northern Virginia are extremely expensive to raise a family, the voter said, who declined to be named.

“I’m a young man, I have a family, and we’re considering moving because it’s so expensive to live here,” he said. “Being able to get some reassurance on where Virginia is going in terms of the economy was important and making sure that people can sustain a family."

At the state level, Youngkin’s campaign strategy to focus on what public schools are teaching students “was a good move,” the teacher said.

“Youngkin sounds like he’s trying to be the people’s governor. He’s trying to make sure that everybody who is the low man on the totem pole — your common people — are looked out for,” he said.

We will update this story as results come in. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.