See below for a press release regarding Kyle McDaniel’s candidacy for the Fairfax County School Board, at-large. McDaniel, who ran four years ago as an independent after leaving the Republican Party in disgust over Trump, joins fellow Democrats Abrar Omeish (incumbent), Lawrence Webb (“He was elected in 2008 to the Falls Church City Council, becoming the first openly gay, African-American elected official in the Commonwealth of Virginia”) and Ilryong Moon (who served on the Fairfax School Board until he lost his reelection in 2019) in the at-large race. Also note that at-large incumbent Karen Keys Gamarra is running for House of Delegates (for the deep-“blue” seat being vacated by Del. Ken Plum, who is retiring after more than 40 years of service), so will be leaving the School Board at the end of her current term.
As for Kyle McDaniel, he’s the father of two young daughters, who says that his goals include “bolstering academic rigor to prepare students for a challenging world, while at the same time placing special emphasis on making up for COVID learning loss.” McDaniel also is heavily focused on school safety, saying he supports:
- “Establishing a Blue Ribbon Commission to study school shootings and draft recommendations for School Board consideration.
- Conducting a top-down review of physical security measures to ensure facilities are safe.
- Enhancing red flag policies, procedures, and training.
- Setting an aggressive legislative agenda supporting common sense gun reforms.
- Working closely with mental health partners to get kids and families the help and support they need.”
Good stuff. The Fairfax County Democratic Committee, by the way, will be making endorsements for School Board based on the results of an “Unassembled Caucus” it will hold from May 13 through May 20, both online and in person. The process will use Instant Runoff Voting in which voters “may rank the candidates in order of preference.” Currently, there are four candidates for three at-large positions, but there’s still plenty of time (until April 6) for candidates to apply for the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s endorsement, so stay tuned!
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