Glassman withdraws as at-large school board candidate

Glassman

The withdrawal of Charisse Espy Glassman as a candidate for an at-large seat on the Fairfax County School Board leaves a gap that the county Democratic organization is trying to figure out how to fill.

Glassman announced her decision to withdraw June 30, citing personal and family reasons. It was later revealed that she had been charged with assault in Washington, D.C., in January following an incident in which she was trying to exit from a parking garage, and a women walking by as part of a “right to life march” accused Glassman of striking and injuring her with her car. The issue has not yet been resolved.

Only a few people knew about that incident when the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) voted to endorse Glassman along with two other at-large school board candidates in May.

Rex Simmons, chair of the FCDC Steering Committee, has proposed “reopening the process for endorsing another at-large school board candidate to include all eligible and interested Democrats” and vote on an endorsement at the committee’s next meeting July 26.

At its May meeting, the FCDC endorsed Ted Velkoff and incumbent Ilryong Moon, along with Glassman, for the three open at-large spots on the school board in what was widely considered a flawed voting process.

Among the other candidates who were vying for endorsement, Greg Brandon and Ryan McElveen now say they’re not interested in running again, and Maria Allen has “burned her bridges,” one FCDC member says, by announcing plans to run as an independent.

At-large candidates endorsed by the Fairfax County Republican Committee include Lisa Fagan, a special education advocate; Lolita Mancheno-Smoak; Sheree Brown-Kaplan; Lin-Dai Kendall; and Steve Stuban, the father of Nick Stuban, the Woodson High School student whose suicide had ignited an overhaul of FCPS discipline policies.

Among school board candidates vying to represent the Annandale area, Mason District incumbent Sandy Evans, who was endorsed by the FCDC, is so far unopposed.

For the Braddock District, an open seat as the incumbent Tessie Wilson is not running again, the FCDC endorsed Megan McLaughlin, president and co-founder of Fairgrade, a group formed to revise the county’s academic grading policies.

The Fairfax County Republican Committee has endorsed Nell Hurley for the Braddock District school board seat. Hurley is president of the Woodson High School Parent Teacher Student Organization and co-founded an effort to push for the renovation of Woodson.

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