Braddock resident launches campaign for school board
Tom Dannan is counting on Braddock school board member Rachna Sizemore Heizer winning a special election on Dec. 9 for the Braddock seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Dannan launched a campaign Oct. 16 to succeed Sizemore Heizer on the school board. He plans to seek the endorsement of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee.
“I am announcing my candidacy now because it is incredibly important that we aren’t caught flat-footed in this third back-to-back special election,” Dannan says. The Democratic committee has not yet announced its endorsement process; other candidates are expected to surface in the coming weeks.
Sizemore Heizer is considered the frontrunner in the race for supervisor, against Republican candidate Ken Balbuena and independent Carey Campbell.
Related story: Braddock candidates lay out their vision for Fairfax County
“Our schools are at a crossroads,” says Dannan, the former PTA president at Terra Centre Elementary School in Burke. “We’ve made incredible progress in recent years – stronger academics, safer schools, and historic gains for teachers and staff – but attacks on public education and new challenges demand steady, forward-looking leadership.”
“I’m running for School Board in Braddock District to protect and strengthen our public schools by listening to teachers, families, and students, and by making sure we’re preparing our kids for their future, not our past,” he says.
Dannan served in the Peace Corps as a community health educator, worked in the U.S. as a substitute teacher, and managed a remote health clinic overseas while partnering with local leaders, UN agencies, and nonprofits.
He is currently a senior manager at R3 Government Solutions, a contractor specializing in human capital.
When he was growing up, Dannan says he learned firsthand about “the transformative power of education and the importance of service.” His father lost his job, and it was up to his mother’s union job, as a teaching assistant, and the safety net of reduced-price school meals that helped keep their family afloat.
Dannan’s priorities include:
- Investing in teachers and staff through full funding of collective bargaining agreements and expanded professional supports.
- Protecting public education by standing up for local control, increasing funding, and keeping taxpayer dollars in public schools where they belong.
- Preparing students for the future by thoughtfully integrating technology and AI to enhance rather than hinder classroom instruction.
- Ensuring safe, welcoming schools by preventing gun violence, investing in proper security, and fostering inclusion.
- Promoting student mental health through continued no-cost high school supports and expanded services for younger learners.
- Advancing environmental leadership by expanding energy efficiency and climate resilience efforts that already save FCPS nearly $10 million annually.