Keys-Gamarra wins big in special school board election

Karen Keys-Gamarra (in blue) flanked by Virginia lieutenant governor candidate Justin Fairfax, candidate for governor Ralph Northam, Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova (left), and members of the school board.

Karen Keys-Gamarra won a resounding victory for an at-large seat on the Fairfax County School Board in a special election Aug. 29.

Keys-Gamarra, who had been endorsed by the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, garnered 41,519 votes countywide, a 63 percent margin over the 21,389 votes for the Republican-endorsed candidate Chris Grisafe.

Turnout was 10.4 percent, significantly higher than what had been predicted.

Following the announcement of the election results, Keys-Gamarra told supporters: “I am so proud of the work that our campaign did. I would not be here without the support of my friends and supporters. I believe that diversity in our schools should be championed, not shamed, and I proudly stand with students across Fairfax who need a voice.”

Keys-Gamarra is an attorney who represents children in abuse, neglect, and special education cases and represents the Sully District on the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Among the two independent candidates, Michael Owens, the PTA president at Belvedere Elementary School, got 1,346 votes, and Sandra Allen got 719.

The special election had been conducted to replace at-large school board member Jeanette Hough, who resigned her position because her husband accepted a job overseas. The Fairfax County Republican Party had pressured her to resign a few days earlier than she had planned in order to force the county to hold a special election in August rather than wait for the regular election in November.

The Republicans had hoped a special election, which cost taxpayers more than $250,000, would favor their candidate. Things didn’t work out in their favor, though, as the Democrats mobilized a strong campaign and worked hard to inform voters about the special election.

Grisafe’s chances weren’t helped when he declined to publicly disavow a white supremacist group that endorsed him.

Keys-Gamarra easily carried every magisterial district, and her victory means there are just two school board members with Republican endorsements – Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield) and Tom Wilson (Sully). Keys-Gamarra’s victory also bodes well for Democratic hopes for November.