Springfield School Board Member Announces Candidacy For Delegate Seat

BURKE, VA — Laura Jane Cohen, a member of the Fairfax County School Board, announced Wednesday that she is running for the new 15th District in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023.

Cohen was elected to represent the Springfield District on the school board in 2019, defeating two-term incumbent Elizabeth Schultz, who now serves as assistant superintendent of public instruction in Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration.

“I will stand up to Gov. Youngkin and the far right to defend public education, reproductive freedom, voting rights, and the progress we’ve made on gun violence prevention,” Cohen said in a statement announcing her candidacy.

As the Springfield District member on the school board, Cohen represents more than half of the new 15th District in the House of Delegates. The new district — created earlier this year by the Supreme Court of Virginia during the state's redistricting process — incorporates portions of the Springfield and Braddock magisterial districts of Fairfax County.

The new district also includes neighborhoods that feed into Lake Braddock and Robinson Secondary Schools and South County and Woodson High Schools, which Cohen has represented in her time on the school board.

In her announcement, Cohen noted she is the only candidate who has filed to run for the new 15th District, "which is strongly Democratic and has no incumbent."

If she wins the Democratic nomination for the 15th District, Cohen said she would not run for re-election to the school board. Her current term on the school board expires on Dec. 31, 2023. In 2019, Cohen won the Springfield District school board race with 19,910 votes (50.5 percent) vs. 16,517 votes (41.9 percent) for Schultz.

Cohen and her husband Seth live in Burke with their two children, niece and two dogs.

"I have been incredibly fortunate to live, work, and raise my children here and I am excited to begin this journey to represent this amazing community in the Virginia House of Delegates," Cohen said. "In my time on the School Board I've had the opportunity to prove my grit and resolve in protecting and fighting for our families and I look forward to the opportunity to continue serving our community and our Commonwealth.”

Before moving to Fairfax County in 2001, Cohen worked for Georgia’s Democratic lieutenant governor and Secretary of State. She then worked as an advocate on Capitol Hill for several national nonprofit disease organizations, including the Parkinson's Action Network.

After having children, she worked as a preschool teacher and as a long-term substitute in Fairfax County Public Schools. Cohen also owned and operated a small business in Clifton until her election in 2019 to the Fairfax County School Board.