School Board Candidate Allen Calls Process "Pathetic"

Reston resident Maria Allen says of two at-large Fairfax County School Board candidates without a majority at Tuesday's Fairfax County Democrats  meeting was "pathetic."

"This process has been ridiculous from the start, when I realized that the race was sewn up by people in the party" Allen said on Wednesday. "The at-large nominations were not based on competency. This should shock all parents in Fairfax County."

Allen, a longtime schools advocate and parent of a South Lakes High School senior and a recent SLHS grad, originally entered the race for the Hunter Mill seat. She later announced she was running as an at-large candidate.

The Hunter Mill Democrats endorsed Forest Edge Elementary School teacher Pat Hynes at a meeting earlier this month. Longtime Hunter Mill school board member Stuart Gibson is not running for re-election.

After two rounds of ballot voting and several special motions to veer from voting procedure on Tuesday, Fairfax County Democratic Committee members endorsed  Charisse Espy Glassman and Ted Velkoff as their candidates for November’s Fairfax County School Board elections, along with incumbent Ilryong Moon.

"[Espy Glassman and Velkoff] had lots of endorsements from prominent elected officials," Allen says. "This is intended to be a non-partisan election in order to limit control by the party machine. But it is the most partisan it can be. This way a committee decides."

Allen says she will continue to seek a school board seat as an at-large member. The Democratic Committee earlier asked candidates not to continue to run if they did not get a party endorsement.

Allen says she will run anyway "because the party made such an abysmal choice."

"Parents care more about who is on their school board than they did four years ago," Allen says. "I am not going to roll over and play dead while the party chooses for them. I hope they will judge candidates on their quality, not just check off Republican or Democrat."

At-large candidate Greg Brandon said on Wednesday he also disapproves of the "non-standard voting process," but has not made any decisions about whether to continue his candidacy.