Next Tuesday, August 23, is the primary election date for several local races, including a Democratic primary election between Alfonso Lopez and Stephanie Clifford for the open 49th Delegate district seat, and a Republican primary election for sheriff countywide. Either Wes Kammerer or Bill Cooper will face incumbent Sheriff Stan Barry (D) in November. In the 37th Senate District, which now has precincts in Mason District as a result of General Assembly redistricting, Republicans Jason Flanary and Steve Hunt are vying to face State Senator Dave Marsden in November. There are other primary elections on Tuesday, but none that involve Mason District precincts.
Voters in the Bailey’s Crossroads area must pay special attention to changes in precinct boundaries and polling places when voting next week. The newly-configured 49th Delegate District now includes Skyline, Glen Forest 1 and 2, Willston, and the eastern portion of the Bailey’s precinct. A new boundary adjustment for the Skyline and Glen Forest #1 precinct was approved by the U. S. Department of Justice, and will be in effect for the August 23 primary. The boundary adjustment adds the area southeast of Columbia Pike to the Skyline precinct, and the new precinct, called Skyline, will vote at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads (GHBC), located at 3440 South Jefferson Street. Signs will direct voters to plentiful parking at GHBC.
Neighborhoods formerly in a portion of Glen Forest #1 include Rock Spring, Grandview Apartments, Leesburg Apartments, Golden Gate Gardens, Skyline Village, Virginia Heights, and the new Bailey’s Crossing development. Voters recently should have received new Voter Cards from the Fairfax County Electoral Board announcing the change.
Voters in the Glen Forest #1 area northwest of Columbia Pike, and all of Glen Forest #2 will continue to vote at Glen Forest Elementary School, 5829 Glen Forest Drive, Falls Church, in the primary election. However, that portion of Glen Forest #1 and Glen Forest #2 will be combined into one precinct for the general election in November, to be called simply Glen Forest. The precinct was split in two by the Virginia General Assembly after the 2000 Census, and the 2010 Census presented the opportunity to re-unite most of the area back into one precinct.
This year’s General Assembly redistricting also split the Bailey’s precinct between two delegate districts: the eastern portion now is in the 49th District, which has a primary, while the portion west remains in the 38th district, where there is no primary. The boundary of the Bailey’s precinct in the 49th Delegate District roughly is Lacy Boulevard south of Columbia Pike, west on Lewis Lane, south on Munson Road to Magnolia Lane, then east on Magnolia Lane and south on N. Rosser Street to the Alexandria City line. The “inside” of that boundary is in the 49th; “outside” is in the 38th. The Bailey’s precinct votes as a whole for all other races; the only split is for the delegate districts. The polling place remains the same, at the Bailey’s Community Center, 5920 Summers Lane in Falls Church.
Questions about the primary elections, polling places, and general voter information may be directed to the Fairfax County Electoral Board and General Registrar at 703/222-0776. Precinct maps and additional information may be accessed on line at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/eb.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on August 23.
Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be e-mailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov