Going into the final 24 hours before the filing deadline, the lists of candidates for the November election of Falls Church City Council and School Board have continued to swell to record numbers. With three seats available on each body, there are now five City Council candidates in the running, four of whom have already been certified for the ballot by the F.C. Voter Registrar’s office, and a whopping 10 candidates for the School Board, six of whom have been certified for the ballot so far. Prospective candidates have until 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, to file the required 125 valid petition signatures and other paperwork at City Hall.
For the City Council, incumbents Mayor David Tarter and Phil Duncan have been certified for re-election bids, while former Council members Johannah Barry and Sam Mabry have filed, with Barry certified, and Letty Hardi, running for the first time, has also been certified. The only name missing is incumbent Nader Baroukh, who still has not tipped his hand but notified the News-Press tonight that he will submit a letter to the editor to the paper Tuesday afternoon.
For the School Board, incumbent Chair Justin Castillo has filed and been certified, while veteran incumbent Kieran Sharpe is circulating petitions now and Susan Kearney has announced that she will not run. But there is a boatload of others seeking the job for the first time, including filed and certified candidates Erin Gill, Mark Kaye, Alison Kutchma, Philip Reitinger, Becky Smerdon, Margaret Kajeckas, Jacob Radcliff and Bill Royce. The field of 10, if they are all certified for the ballot, will be the largest since the City began electing its School Board in 1994.
