First-term Falls Church City Council member Lawrence Webb formally announced tonight that he will seeking re-election to a new term in the May 2012 F.C. municipal election. Webb made his declaration while being interviewed on the “Falls Church News-Press Live” telecast prior to tonight’s City Council meeting. Webb said that he plans to attend the prospective candidate briefing being provided by the F.C. Citizens for a Better City (CBC) at the Community Center this Wednesday. At that time, citizens considering running for either the City Council or School Board this May have been invited to attend and gain from the insight and experience of long-time CBC civic activists and former elected officials to assist in their prospective campaign efforts.
Falls Church civic activists were surprised and pleased to discover that when the F.C. School Board issued a hasty request last week for persons interested in an interim appointment to fill a vacancy on the School Board that eight citizens stepped forward, including a number not before heard from in terms of community volunteering and involvement.
There are three seats that will be up for election in the F.C. City Council in May, including Webb’s, one currently held by former Mayor Robin Gardner, who has said she will not seek re-election, and the third held by current Mayor Nader Baroukh, who has not indicated yet whether he will seek re-election. There will be four School Board seats up for election, including one to fill the uncompleted term of Patrick Riccards, who resigned in December to follow employment out of the area.
Webb was first elected to the F.C. City Council in May 2008, becoming the first openly gay African-American elected to public office in the history of Virginia. On the Council, he initiated the process that resulted in the referendum last November when voters determined to move local elections from May to November, a switch that will commence in the 2013. Already, as F.C. Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester reported tonight, has already cleared one chamber of the State Legislature by a unanimous vote.
