Paul Berry Enters Race For Open House Of Delegates Seat In Reston

Updated (10 p.m.): This story was updated to include information about other Democratic Party candidates running in District 7.

RESTON, VA — Paul Berry, a Fairfax County Public Schools teacher who works in data science, announced on Wednesday that he was a running to represent Reston in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Democrat Ken Plum, who has been Reston's delegate for a total of 44 years, told Patch on Tuesday that he was not going to seek re-election in the upcoming general election in November.

“Ken Plum’s legacy of progressive leadership and history-making community involvement has served Virginia exceptionally," Berry said, in a release. "His experience and knowledge have been invaluable in ways we will all benefit from for decades to come. We have much to be thankful for his dedication as an agent of positive change that has transformed the Commonwealth."

On Wednesday afternoon, Mary Bartherlson, Shyamali Hauth, and John Farrell announced they would be challenging Berry in the June 20 Democratic Party Primary.

John Farrell, a member of the Reston Association Board of Directors, told Patch on Wednesday that he was exploring a possible run in the District 7 race. He said that he'd already picked up the paperwork to file.

Related: Reston Democrat Ken Plum Will Not Seek Re-Election In November

A former budget and policy advisor to Gov. Ralph Northam, Berry pointed to his progressive leadership as a means of building on the transformative change Plum brought to the Virginia General Assembly.

"As the highest-ranking Latino in the Office of Governor Northam, I helped create legislation that kept people in their homes during the pandemic, expanded maternal care access, created an emergency childcare fund, and more," he said, in the release.

In 2019, Northam appointed Berry to the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, which he chaired a year later. He was responsible for setting policies that impacted more than 800,000 Virginians, according to the release.

During the pandemic, Northam appointed Berry to the:

• Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 Health Equity Taskforce
• VA Department of Education’s Coronavirus Education Recovery Workgroup
• VA Department of Social Services’ New Americans Advisory Board
• VA Department of Education’s K-12 History & Social Studies Review & Revision workgroup

Locally, Berry was the chairman of the Fairfax County Redistricting Advisory Committee and served as a member of the Virginia Community College System’s Law Enforcement Curricula Review Taskforce.

Related: Ken Plum: Honored to Be Your Delegate

"I am proud to offer my experience for consideration and excited to announce my candidacy for the 7th District in the House of Delegates," he said, in a release. "As an educator, union member, and medical reserve corps volunteer I want to advance policy goals that reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion. I’m launching this campaign to take my proven track record of delivering real change in Governor Northam’s administration to the General Assembly to ensure that no one in our community is left behind.”

Berry received the endorsement of the following former and current elected officials, according to his campaign release:

• Virginia Delegate Alfonso Lopez
• Virginia Delegate Kaye Kory
• Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzman
• Alexandria City Councilman Kirk McPike
• Former Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni
• Former Virginia Delegate Alex Askew
• Former Arlington Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada
• Former Manassas City Councilman David Farajollahi
• President and CEO, Sky Communications Inc., Bill Bouie

The redrawn district lines will be in effect for Virginia General Assembly candidates for the first time during November's general election, when voters in District 36, which Plum was elected to in 2021, will vote in the District 7. Berry is the only candidate of either party to come forward to announce their intention to run in the 7 District race.

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to choose candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, the Commonwealth's Attorney, Clerk of the Fairfax Circuit Court, Fairfax County Sheriff, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, District Members of the Board of Supervisors, At-Large Members of the Fairfax County School Board, District Members of the School board, and Directors (vote for 3) of the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.

Early voting for the June 20 Democratic Party primary begins on May 6. Voters must register by May 29 to be eligible to vote in the June 20 primary. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot for the Democratic primary is June 9.

Related:

• Crowded House Of Delegates Race In Reston Adds Another Candidate
• Reston House Of Delegates Race Suddenly Crowded As Barthelson Runs
• 2nd House Of Delegates Candidate Enters Race To Represent Reston