John Lawrence, the current chair of the Falls Church Planning Commission, made it official today with a statement of candidacy for the Falls Church City Council in this May’s election. Lawrence issued the statement to the membership of the Citizens for a Better City (CBC) and will seek that organization’s blessing at its nominating convention this Saturday.

Lawrence described himself as “a Republican who supported Obama” who is now a Democrat. He describes himself as “born and raised in northeast Ohio and first came to the area for school at Georgetown University,  leaving with a Master’s Degree  in Middle East Studies,” saying, “I’ve spent a lot of time traveling throughout the Middle East and South Asia, but now, however, I am the head of Congressional Affairs for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).  We help other countries run elections and teach them how to do it on their own.”