Candidate Field Develops for City Council

By STAN FENDLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

February 8, 2010

With the election for Falls Church City Council less than three months away, only two people have announced their candidacies.   A number of others may be ready to jump in soon, however.

The terms of four sitting Councilmen — Hal Lippman, Dan Maller, David Snyder, and Daniel Sze — are expiring.   To date, only Lippman has announced his intention to run for reelection, although Snyder says he is “seriously leaning toward it.”

Snyder is the longest serving member of the Council, having held a seat for 16 years.  He served as Mayor from 1998-2000 and Vice Mayor from 1996-1998.   Snyder ran with the endorsement of Citizens for a Better City (CBC) in 1994 and 2006, but he has not stated whether he will seek the organization’s endorsement this year.  Snyder was the top vote-getter in his last three races in 1998, 2002 and 2006.  His full-time job is as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of the American Insurance Association.

Lippman, Maller and Sze are all first term Council members elected unopposed with CBC endorsements in 2006.

Lippman is currently Vice Mayor, a position held since 2008.  He is a former U.S. Congressional staffer who currently consults for the U.S. government evaluating international assistance programs.  Lippman spends significant time as an advocate for his daughter Danna, who suffers from Angelman’s Syndrome (AS), a condition which causes developmental disabilities.  He founded and served as first president of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, a non-profit self-help organization of parents of children with AS.   Lippman  holds a Ph.D. in International Studies.   For the May election, he will again seek the CBC’s endorsement.

Maller is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Williams Bridge Company, and General Counsel of its corporate parent, Williams Industries, Inc., of Manassas.  He moved to Falls Church City in 1996, and he and his wife have three children in City schools.

Sze is a registered architect who leads an energy efficiency program at the U.S. Department of Energy.  He also has worked for the Departments of Defense and State during a 20-year government career.  He and his wife have lived in Falls Church City since 1988.

Lippman, Maller and Sze are considered close associates of Mayor Robin Gardner and, along with Councilman Lawrence Webb, form a solid voting bloc on most issues.

Neither Maller nor Sze responded to email inquiries from the Falls Church times sent Sunday regarding their reelection plans.

Peppe Seeking to Move from School Board to Council

Besides Lippman, the other announced candidate for City Council is current School Board chair Ron Peppe, who also will seek the CBC’s endorsement.  Peppe has served on the Falls Church City School Board since 2006, and as Chairman since 2008.   He is Vice President for Legal, HR and Compliance for Canam Steel Corporation.

In his announcement, Peppe said, “When I thought about running again for office in Falls Church, I thought about how to best use my knowledge of education, finance, public works, human resource issues, etc. and how to apply the skills I have gained over the years at helping groups of people achieve consensus on tough issues.”

Independents May Run Together

Two who are considering running as independents on a common platform are Johannah Barry and Ira Kaylin.  Barry is founder and president of the Galapagos Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the Galapagos Islands.  Kaylin is a former Chief Risk Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC.

“A number of people have spoken to us about running,” Kaylin said.  ”Johannah and I agree on the challenges facing the City, and that those challenges cannot be met with the approach used in the past.”

“The schools are the priority,” Barry said.  ”That’s what makes Falls Church unique.  But recently it seems the City Council is making decisions which jeopardize the schools.  That’s troubling to us.”

Barry has lived in Falls Church City for 25 years, and her two grown children attended City schools.  She has been active in the Jefferson Street neighborhood for years, including its input into development projects in the area.

Kaylin moved to the City from Arlington five years ago and quickly became involved in City government, getting appointed to the Falls Church Economic Development Authority and becoming a fixture at City meetings.  He has been a frequent critic of the City’s financial decision making, calling those decisions insufficiently rigorous and objective.

Kaylin and Barry have both began collecting the  signatures required to run.  They will make a final decision soon, they say.

Will There Be Others?

The next few weeks will tell if other candidates emerge.  Two appointed public officials who are often mentioned as potential Council candidates are Planning Commission chairman John Lawrence and Planning Commission member and former Vice Mayor Lindy Hockenberry.  Neither have announced their intentions regarding a run for City  Council.  The School Board also is a potential stepping stone to City Council, but as yet no other School Board members have voiced an interest in moving to the City’s legislative body.

The picture likely will be more clear toward the end of February, with the CBC Nominating Convention often serving as the de facto campaign kick off.  This year the convention will be Saturday Feb. 20 at George Mason High School from 2-5 p.m., at which participants will select nominees for both City Council and School Board.  All registered Falls Church voters may participate, even non-CBC members.

All candidates must submit 125 voter signatures by March 2.   With that deadline, in less than a month we will know how the field shapes up.

Update, 10:30 pm Monday, Feb. 8 – John Lawrence Announces His Candidacy

This evening Planning Commission chairman John Lawrence informed the Falls Church Times that he intends to run for City Council and has begun collecting signatures, bringing to three – Lippman, Peppe and Lawrence – the number of officially announced candidates.

The Falls Church Times policy on local election coverage is:

• Make no endorsements
• Promote informed, civil dialogue on election issues
• Provide equitable, impartial coverage of candidates