FC Mayor Baroukh Announces Reelection Effort
By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF
February 16, 2012
City of Falls Church Mayor Nader Baroukh has announced his intention to seek re-election to the City Council.
Baroukh was elected to the Council in 2008 and became Mayor in 2010. He is a senior attorney with management responsibilities at the Department of Homeland Security, where he handles immigration and national security issues. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and holds a bachelors degree from Chapman University in Orange, California.
Baroukh was born in Iran, immigrated as a child to the United States with his family, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. He is fluent in Farsi.
In a written statement released this week, Baroukh said, “We have made great progress in the last few years, and have a lot more work to do. The City has made great strides in its current development, fiscal, school, and management policies. This is a wonderful community with amazingly talented people who are making immense contributions to the City. We have incredible potential and have many more great things to do. If the people of the City of Falls Church do me the honor of representing them again on the Council, I will find it a great privilege to be a part of the effort to achieve that potential.”
On the Council, Baroukh serves on the School Board/Council Liaison Group, Economic Development Committee, and as Liaison to the Watershed Management Taskforce.
With his entry into the race, Baroukh becomes the fourth announced candidate to fill three seats, currently held by himself, Councilman Lawrence Webb, and Councilwoman Robin Gardner. Webb has announced his candidacy, as have Planning Commission Vice Chairman John Lawrence and Economic Development Authority member Phil Duncan. Gardner has stated that she does not plan to run for reelection.
This election will be the last in which the City Council and School Board will be elected in the month of May. In 2013, the election for those offices will move to November, as decided in last year’s voter referendum.
Additional information on Baroukh’s campaign is available at www.naderbaroukh.com or by email at nader@naderbaroukh.com.
By Falls Church Times Staff
February 15, 2012
The current mayor seems, at least to me, to have applied a rather balanced approach to City matter. This does not mean I will vote to re-elect him. For any candidate even those for re-election my question is what are the plans for someone like me and others who fit the following profile:
- long-time City resident, graduate of the school system, and whose children are also graduates
- not wealthy or poor….in the middle so to speak
- am either retired or close to retiring, and am in fixed income
- don’t have kids in the school system any longer
- will not be relying on Metro system for commuting
- still have a mortgage
- want to remain in a single family home…and not downsize
How do you plan to keep the City viable, tax-wise, for folks like me….so that I can continue to live in the City vs. moving elsewhere where the taxes are lower? How can you develop, at a faster pace without having outside forces dictate, a greater commerical tax base? Or is your focus mainly on younger familes with kids in the school system? Are you willing to stand up to the schools (keep in mind I am a school system graduate) and strike a balance?