Candidates For City Council, Other Falls Church Elections Revealed

FALLS CHURCH, VA — After June 20 primary elections and deadlines for candidate filing, the candidates are set for the Nov. 7, 2023 general election in the City of Falls Church.

The ballot will include races for three Falls Church City Council seats, three Falls Church School Board seats, Virginia Senate 37th District, Virginia House 13th District, Clerk of Court for Arlington County and Falls Church City, and Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County and Falls Church City.

In the City Council race, three of seven seats are up for election. Vice Mayor Letty Hardi is the only incumbent running for re-election. Mayor David Tarter and Councilmember Phil Duncan are not seeking re-election, as reported by the Falls Church News Press.

Newcomers vying for a City Council seat are Erin Flynn, Justine Underhill, and Tim Stevens. Flynn is an attorney who has worked on civil rights for the federal government and is involved with the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society. Underhill is a member of the Falls Church Housing Commission as well as Bike Falls Church and the new organization Falls Church Forward. Stevens is the current chair of the Falls Church Planning Commission.

As for School Board, Jerrod Anderson is seeking a new term after being appointed to fill the seat vacated by Phil Reitinger. Two other incumbent members — School Board Chair Laura Downs and School Board member Susan Dimock — are not seeking re-election.

Two other candidates are running for School Board — Bethany Henderson and Amie Murphy. Both had applied for Reitinger's vacant seat along with Anderson.

Falls Church voters will also choose representatives for the Virginia Senate and House after state legislative districts were redrawn during mandated redistricting after the U.S. Census. In the 37th Senate District, Saddam Salim is the Democratic candidate after defeating longtime state Sen. Chap Petersen in the primary election. He now faces Republican Ken Reid in the general election. The district includes the City of Falls Church along with areas of Fairfax City, Vienna, Oakton, Tysons, Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Pimmit Hills and Idylwood.

The 13th District race will feature Del. Marcus Simon seeking re-election. Dave Crance, the chaplain of the Falls Church VFW, is running as a libertarian. The district includes the City of Falls Church and parts of the surrounding area in Fairfax County.

In the Commonwealth's Attorney race, incumbent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti does not face a challenger after defeating Josh Katcher in the primary.

In the Clerk of Court race, incumbent Paul Ferguson does not have a challenger.

Early in-person voting will run from Sept. 22 to Nov. 4. Early in-person voting will be available during the Voter Registration and Office of Elections' office hours at City Hall. Mail-in ballots can also be requested and may be returned by mail or ballot box in front of City Hall.