Voter Guide Nov. 8 Election: Manassas Council, School Board Races

MANASSAS, VA — Election Day is Tuesday for voters in Prince William County and around the country. Patch has all the details for residents looking to vote in Tuesday's general election.

The deadline for voter registration in Virginia has passed. However, people who failed to register to vote in advance can still vote with a provisional ballot and register on Election Day.

In the City of Manassas, the following candidates are running for local seats:

• Manassas City Council
  • Democrat Dheeraj Jagadev
  • Democrat Sonia Velasquez Luna
  • Democrat Ralph Smith
  • Republican Rick Bookwalter
  • Republican Theresa Coates Ellis
  • Republican Lynn Forkell Greene
• Manassas City School Board
  • Sara Brescia
  • Samuel Gross
  • Abraham "Alex" Iqbal
  • Mel Kent
  • Jill Spall
  • Lisa Stevens

For local races in the City of Manassas, voters select up to three candidates for the at-large seats on the school board and city council.

Therese Coates Ellis, Ralph Smith, and Lynn Forkell Greene are the incumbents seeking re-election on the Manassas City Council.

On the school board, Lisa Stevens, Jill Spall, and Alex Iqbal are incumbents.

Related:

• Candidate Profile: Jill Spall For Manassas City School Board
• Candidate Profile: Samuel Gross For Manassas City School Board
• Candidate Profile: Mel Kent For Manassas City School Board
• Candidate Profile: Theresa Coates Ellis For Manassas City Council
• Candidate Profile: Sara Brescia For Manassas City School Board
• Candidate Profile: Lisa Stevens For Manassas City School Board

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City Council Candidates

The city council candidates have focused their campaigns on issues like increased housing opportunities, public transportation, renewed cooperation with the school board, and empowering local businesses.

Jagadev is a local educator who notes on his campaign website that he "understands the importance of ensuring that our schools are funded at appropriate levels even when the Commonwealth pushes unfunded mandates on our communities."

Velasquez Luna notes on her website that she wants to bring inclusiveness to the city government and invest in local infrastructure to build the economy.

Smith, an incumbent, did not outline specific policy goals on his website. "I am proud of our progress, but there is still more work to be done," Smith wrote.

If elected, Bookwalter says he would focus on supporting small businesses, prioritizing public safety, and empowering local educators.

Coates Ellis told Patch that she would continue to help the city rebound from the pandemic, if she is re-elected. "I will continue to fight against higher taxes and wasteful spending and will support safety for our City of Manassas community, residents, businesses, families, and students. I have been a champion to our small businesses and future workforce, and I will continue to help them to recover from COVID-19, grow, and thrive for the future," Coates Ellis wrote in her candidate profile.

Forkell Greene's re-election campaign is focused on preventing tax increases on city residents, the councilwoman said on Facebook. She hopes that her re-election could maintain "balance" on the city council.

School Board Candidates

Kent, Gross, and Brescia, the Republican challengers, all mentioned that they would like to raise the academic standards for students in the city. "I do not believe that lowering academic expectations sets students up for success," Brescia says on her campaign website.

Iqbal, Stevens, and Spall, the Democrat incumbents, support initiatives to meet students where they are. "We must meet children where they are in order to make learning possible," Spall wrote on her campaign website. "I believe an educated youth is the foundation of a thriving community."

Congressional Candidates

For voters in western Prince William County, the 10th district congressional seat is up for grabs. Incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton is being challenged by Republican Hung Cao.

The 10th district "leans Democrat," according to the 2022 Cook Political Report's House race ratings.

Wexton took office in 2019 after she defeated then-incumbent Republican Barbara Comstock. She previously served in the Virginia Senate and now sits on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Cao is a retired Navy Captain who served in a special operations unit for 25 years. Cao originally came to Virginia as Vietnamese refugee in 1975 and was a graduate of the inaugural class of Thomas Jefferson High School in 1982.

Any registered voter can vote in the November 2022 election, as Virginia does not register voters by party. Early voting ended on Saturday in Prince William County.

Election Day voting will happen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Anyone who is in line before 7 p.m. will be able to vote, even if it takes longer for them to cast their ballot.

Mail-in Ballots

Virginia voters do not need an excuse to request a mail-in ballot, however the deadline to request a mail-in ballot has passed.

Completed ballots must be returned to the Office of Elections by 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 or postmarked by Nov. 8 and received by noon on Nov. 14.

Voting on Election Day

If you're voting on Election Day, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8. An acceptable form of identification is required to vote in person at your polling place.

Confirm your polling place by visiting vote.elections.virginia.gov.

Unofficial election results will start to come in after polls close on the Virginia Department of Elections website. Follow Patch on Election Day for live coverage of congressional election results.