I love living in Falls Church. One thing that sets us apart from other cities is our strong sense of community. We have lots of events that bring us all together, like the Fall Festival that just took place last weekend, and the Memorial Day parade where we can celebrate the start of summer. We also have a mayor that works hard for us, a city council that keeps our best interests in mind, and local groups that value our community spirit.
One of those local groups is Falls Church Forward. I recently caught up with them during their monthly member Happy Hour; this one held at Solace Outpost. They were kind of enough to take a picture with me and I learned about the kinds of things that are important to this group, such as making everyone in the community feel welcome (I did!), creating affordable housing for everyone in the city, making sure our city is safe for people to walk and has lots of trees and green spaces, and also creating a place where local businesses can thrive.
The group is made up of regular residents and also elected city leaders. In fact, Mayor Letty Hardi is one of the co-founders of Falls Church Forward. I have to admit, I wasn’t entirely sure what a mayor actually does, or even a city council, even though they are titles that are very familiar.
“The City Council, including the mayor, sets the laws and budget for Falls Church,” Mayor Hardi told me. “The mayor runs the City Council meetings and acts as the face of the city for public events, but she gets one vote like the other six Councilmembers and has no special powers otherwise. The City Council listens to the community on their priorities and works with city staff on making those priorities come to life.”
Falls Church Forward also has a member of the Falls Church City Council on their board, Justine Underhill. After the Happy Hour, I contacted Justine for her thoughts on what being a member of the City Council means to her. Justine told me, “One of the things I’ve learned on City Council is how much the way we design a city shapes our everyday lives. It determines whether a child can safely walk or bike to school, whether neighbors run into each other and get to know one another, and whether people of different ages and abilities can really be part of their community.”
Justine’s comments really emphasized to me how much the City Council works to make everyone in the city feel included. “I think if we build a city where kids can safely and independently get around, play, and explore, we’re usually building a city that works better for everyone,” Justine said. “Part of our job on City Council is making sure we’re thinking about everyone who lives here, including people who may never speak up at a City Council meeting.”
Falls Church Forward events aren’t just for adults. Next month they’re sponsoring a Halloween Bike Parade on October 25, from 3 – 5 p.m. and everyone is welcome. Details on the event and where to meet will be posted soon, so look for updates at fallschurchforward.org.
