Serving Fairfax Areas of Burke Braving The Rain News, Page 6 Follow on Twitter: @ffxconnection on Twitter: Follow Classified, Page 20 Classified, ❖ Sports, Page 16 ❖ Entertainment, Page 10 Wellbeing George Mason Univer- Page 15 sity cheerleader Chelsea Buckner braves the rain to cheer on runners in the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy A Perfect Storm Kids Fun Run Oct. 29 Of Headaches at the Pentagon. Elections 2011, Page 3 Requested in home 11-4-11 home in Requested Partisan Messages material. sensitive Time In School Postmaster: Attention PERMIT #322 PERMIT Board Race MD Easton, PAID Elections 2011, Page 12 Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Photo by Deb Cobb/The Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.comNovember 3-9, 2011 online at www.connectionnewspapers.comFairfax Connection ❖ November 3-9, 2011 ❖ 1 There’s Never Been a Better Time For a Change… Teachers Say…Get Educated! Did you know? Teachers and Parents Agree on School Board candidates! Did you know that the Fairfax Education Association, Fairfax Zero Tolerance Reform, and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, are endorsing the SAME CANDIDATES for School Board? • It’s time for a change that will bring the necessary resources to our neediest students, and provide differentiated support for all FCPS kids, • It’s time for a change that will bring greater sensitivity and a restorative, educational, and therapeutic discipline process to our children, • It’s time for a change that will bring greater professional autonomy for our teachers to start teaching with creativity, and not ‘to the test’. These candidates will bring about change for the better: • Braddock: Megan McLaughlin • Lee: Tamara Derenak Kaufax • Providence: Patty Reed • Dranesville: Louise Epstein • Mason: Sandy Evans • Mt. Vernon: Dan Storck • Hunter Mill: Pat Hynes • At-Large: Lolita Mancheno-Smoak, Steve Stuban Every child, parent, and teacher matters. VOTE ON NOVEMBER 8TH ~ SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS MATTER! VOTE FOR THE FCPS BOND REFERENDUM ON NOVEMBER 8TH TO IMPROVE OUR SCHOOLS! 2 ❖ Fairfax Connection ❖ November 3-9, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Election 2011 Key Local Races Photos by Photos Victoria Ross Victoria Chap Petersen: Promises Gerarda Culipher: Prom- experience, advocacy and ises ‘cutting your com- results. mute and your taxes.’ “I always speak “My struggles as /The Connection my mind, and I a commuter have always take a inspired me to stand.” run.” —Sen. Chap Petersen —Challenger Gerarda Fairfax County election manager Judy (D-34) Culipher Cameron Quinn, who was sworn in as Flaig checks voter registration rolls with general registrar Sept. 12, points out computer databases. Flaig, who has been district maps that cover the walls of her with the Office of Elections for nearly 25 34th District State Senate office. As general registrar, Quinn oversees years, is also a certified elections/registra- Fairfax County’s voter registration and tion administrator, one of the few in the Candidates: Democratic election administration agency. country. Incumbent Chap Petersen; A Perfect Storm of Headaches Republican Gerarda Culipher. irst-term Senator Chap While Petersen has been a Check cards What’s At Stake? FPetersen (D-34) faces popular incumbent, the redis- Republican newcomer tricting of the 34th put tradi- now, nearly half With almost every state and local office in Fairfax County up for Gerarda Culipher for the 34th tionally conservative parts of reelection, there is one thing both Republicans and Democrats can agree district Senate seat on Nov. 8. Centreville and Chantilly into of county voters on: it’s been a winning season for campaign sign makers. play, along with Vienna, On Tuesday, Nov. 8, 696,426 registered Fairfax County voters are eli- PETERSEN, a trial attorney Oakton, Fairfax City and seg- will experience gible to go to the polls and cast their ballots. Off-year elections, with no whose family has deep roots in ments of Burke and presidential or mid-term Congressional races to draw voters, typically the Vienna-Fairfax area, is one Annandale. some change. have dismal voter turnout, hovering around 20 percent. But many po- of the County’s nine Democratic litical observers expect voter turnout to be as high as 30 - 35 percent this Senators. He served in the Vir- CULIPHER, a first-time can- By Victoria Ross year — nearly twice as many voters as in the 2009 election — because of ginia House of Delegates from didate from Oakton, defines The Connection high-stakes and hard-fought election battles throughout the county. 2002 to 2006, and was elected herself as the “family” candi- In Fairfax County, the state’s most populous jurisdiction, Democrats have to Senate in 2007. date dedicated to “cutting your he insider’s game of a six-member majority on the Board of Supervisors, and all of the county’s Petersen, who calls himself commute and your taxes. political baseball nine Senators are Democrats. But Republicans say GOP dominance of state “the people’s Senator,” said vot- “As a military wife, a mother T known as redistricting government is within reach; they currently hold a solid 59-seat majority ers can count on him for three of three, a law professor and usually draws yawns in the House, and are two seats shy of controlling the Senate. things: experience, advocacy lawyer, I spend every day en- from voters, but Fairfax County’s Statewide redistricting in 2010 put key seats into play. Fairfax County and results. “Virginia is one of joying the benefits, and facing chief election official is issuing is where the state’s Republican leadership is spending the most money the very few states that kept a the challenges, of living in voters a wake-up call. in an effort to seize control of both houses. Democrats have a 22-18 balanced budget without rais- Northern Virginia,” Culipher “It’s critical that voters pay at- seat majority in the Senate, but the GOP needs to pick up just two ing taxes,” he said. “I always has said. “My struggles as a tention this year,” said Cameron Senate seats to take effective control of the legislature, because the speak my mind, and I always commuter have inspired me to Quinn, Fairfax County’s general lieutenant governor casts the tie-breaking vote. take a stand. As an attorney, run. I want to cut your com- registrar. “Even if they haven’t The unprecedented turnover within the Fairfax County School Board you learn that you have to think mute and cut your taxes. Our moved, they may be voting in a has pushed those races front and center this year. Six of the School for yourself.” region’s many rich opportuni- new place or in a different elec- Board’s incumbents did not seek reelection, and all 12 seats are up for During his first term, he said ties also present us with unique tion district. We don’t want them grabs. The retirement of Superintendent Jack Dale, and parent anger he cracked down on polluters problems; problems that call to wait until Election Day to find over many school district policies — including discipline, sleep and by sponsoring the Pickett Road for smart solutions.” out they don’t know where to vote, grading — has made the School Board race the one to watch. Tank Farm bill (SB 843), requir- Petersen has a commanding — Victoria Ross or they’ve researched the wrong ing tank farm owners to up- lead over his opponent in candidate.” grade storage tanks to current fundraising. According to the This year’s election, the first since the redrawing “Anytime there’s redistricting, you have to anticipate Environmental Protection latest report from the Virginia of boundary lines of the Virginia State Senate, House there will be some confusion and concern, but we’re Agency (EPA) standards. He Public Access Project (VPAP), of Delegates and Fairfax County‘s Board of Supervi- doing everything we can to mitigate the problem.” said passing legislation to keep Petersen raised $335,690 to sors magisterial districts along with relatively new Quinn said she and nearly 75 full-time and sea- college affordable, while fight- Culipher’s $53,241, and has statewide voter registration software, could be the sonal employees have been working around the clock ing attempts to divert state $295, 342 cash on hand com- perfect storm of potential headaches for voters and to double and triple check voter registration infor- funding from Fairfax County pared to Culipher’s $9,921. campaign officials come Election Day. mation, and correct any discrepancies before Elec- Public Schools, also topped his “From the perspective of an election administra- tion Day. One of the tools they are using is the list of successes. —Victoria Ross tor, this [election cycle] is a bad one,” Quinn said. See Voter, Page 17 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Fairfax Connection ❖ November 3-9, 2011 ❖ 3 Week in Fairfax Qualifications include being a at A Flower Blooms in Clifton, Billeter’s registered voter in Virginia and NOVA Music and T&K Treasures. Charges attending training prior to Election They’re also at Picket Fence in Day. In addition, you must be able Burke and Banner’s Hallmark in Dismissed to work the entire day and you Centreville. Cost is $20, adults; $5, cannot hold an elected office or be children under 12, before Dec. 3. In August 2010, Fairfax County the employee of an elected official. On that day, they’re $25 and $10, police charged special-education Bilingual Spanish speakers are respectively. For more information, teacher Jennah Billeter of Fair especially needed in several areas e-mail Jennifer Chesley at Oaks with mistreating two young of the county, including Spring- [email protected] or see boys in her care during Deer Park field. www.cliftonva.us. For MapQuest Elementary’s summer program for directions, use 12644 Chapel autistic children.