November 9 – 15, 2017
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D ED 1991 • VOL. XXVI I NO. 38
F���� C����� • T����� C����� • M��������� • M�L��� • N���� A�������� • B�����’� C���������
I����� T��� W��� A L��� �� ��� F������ B����� ‘J������’ H.S.
With the renaming of J.E.B. Stuart High School to Justice High School — in honor of Barbara Rose Johns, Thurgood Marshall and Louis G. Mendez, Jr. — the Fairfax County School Board made a statement that they intend to right the wrongs of the board from nearly 60 years ago. SEE PAGE 10
School Bond Referendum Passes, Incumbents on Council Retained
Bond Wins With 64%, Lone School Board
Incumbent Re-Elected
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
C������ �� R����� C��� H��� R��������� P���
nationwide have put an entirely different face on America’s potential going into the 2018 midterm elections compared to how things looked one year ago after the Trump presidential victory. Numerous groups aimed at recruiting and supporting new candidates remain intact, including Virginia’s Run Everywhere Fund of Jennifer Boysko and Thomas Bowman’s Competitive Commonwealth Fund. The “Anti-Trump factor” was unmistakable in this week’s elections, set in motion the day after
By a surprisingly wide margin of 63.6 percent to 36.4 percent, voters in Tuesday’s Falls Church City election approved a $120 million school bond referendum to build an all-new George Mason High School. The blowout marked a decisive victory for all on the F.C. City Council and School Board who’d deliberated and labored for much of the last decade to arrive at the decision to pursue a course that required an ask for the funds. The margin was augmented by a significant bump in the voter turnout, despite a steady rain throughout the day. The 64.6 percent of active registered voters casting ballots this time was far higher than the 42.1 percent who voted in the last City Council election in 2015 and the 54 percent who voted in 2013, the last time statewide races joined them on the ballot. The high turnout helped pad the margin of the victory for the bond referendum — 3,590 for and 2,053 against, a surprise given it will be the biggest bond in the history of the City and will have a marked impact on real estate property taxes — and also helped provide votes of confidence for the three incumbent Council members on the ballot. Vice Mayor Marybeth Connelly, a primary activist supporter of the bond referendum, came in first with 3,707 votes, followed by David Snyder with 3,254 and Dan Sze with 2,889 votes. The fourth Council spot was carried by newcomer Ross Litkenhous with 2,695 votes, substantially ahead of Dan Maller (1,796 votes) and a more inactive candidate, Spencer Parsons (782 votes).
Continued on Page 5
Continued on Page 4
The Falls Church City Council will be led on a walk-through of City Hall Public Safety Project, prior to their regular City Council meeting that will follow in the Council chambers on Monday. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
C������ M. B���: T�� N�� D��������� P����
A year ago this week, America made what I believe history will record as one of the greatest electoral mistakes in the life of the nation: It elected Donald Trump president of the United States. SEE PAGE 17
M���� V��������� F���� I� R����� T������
It was an all too familiar feeling for George Mason High School’s volleyball team, losing in the 2A Region tournament home opener for the third year in a row last Saturday. The Mustangs were defeated by Robert E. Lee in the first round for the second consecutive season. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 20
INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters.............6, 25 News & Notes12–13 Comment ....... 14–17 Sports .................18 Business News ...20
Calendar .......26–27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........29 Critter Corner......30
INCUMBENT DAVID SNYDER (LEFT) WON REELECTION to the Falls Church City Council Tuesday while Lawrence Webb (center) was reelected to the F.C. School Board. First-time Council candidate Ross Litkenhous (right) was also victorious in the election. The three celebrated at a victory party at Mad Fox Brewing Company Tuesday night. (P����: N���-P����)
Anti-Trump Factor Plays Role In Virginia, National Results
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
“Coffee tastes better today. In fact, a lot of things are better today.” That’s how Virginia State Del. Marcus Simon, who represents the City of Falls Church, began a constituent letter yesterday following Tuesday’s stunning string of Democratic Party victories in Virginia and elsewhere. Simon wasn’t referring to his own easy re-election victory (he faced an independent challenger), but a far wider outcome that included three statewide officers
— Ralph Northam winning by nine points for governor, Justin Fairfax for lieutenant governor and Mark Herring for a second term as attorney general — and an astonishing pick up of at least 15 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, which would, if they stand, even the count at 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans in that body. Four close races are facing recounts now. If Democrats come out ahead on them, they could win control of the House of Delegates for the first time since 1999. The nature of electoral results