Schools, Seniors, Reasonable Tax Rate Priorities For Jeff Greenfield
FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City voters heading to the polls to cast ballots in the Nov. 5 general election will find candidates running in the city council, school board and mayoral races.
Of the 11 candidates running for one of the six open seats on the city council, only three are incumbents — Billy Bates , Kate Doyle Feingold and Jeff Greenfield .
While 2024 is the first reelection campaign for Bates and Doyle Feingold, this will be the first reelection of Greenfield's current tenure on the city council. He first ran for the council in 1994 and ended up serving until 2018. After four years off, he was back on the ballot in 2022.
All of the candidates in the city council race participated in the Sept. 25 candidate meet-and-greet at the Sherwood Community Center. Before voters got a chance to speak one-on-one with them, each of the candidates delivered a statement summarizing their reasons for running. The following are the remarks Greenfield made at that event.
Jeff Greenfield
"Good evening. It's great to see so many people here, almost an absolutely full house. "My name is Jeff Greenfield. I have been involved in this community my entire adult life, whether it's been serving on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, serving on the 2020 commission, alongside Dale Lestina, serving on your city council, raising money for charities. "I feel passionate about the City of Fairfax. I love this community, and giving back makes a big difference, and it's something I've always enjoyed. But it comes at a price, and what I mean by that is whether you're in office or you're running for office, you spend a lot of time away from your family. So, I want to thank my wife and my daughter for all the time that that honey-do list gets longer, longer in that you allow me to be out here representing the community. I know that there's a sacrifice for that, so thank you both very much. "I feel strongly about where we're at as a community. We've got two groups that we have to pay attention to, our schools and our seniors. Our schools, because that's where we need to make sure we have a strong environment for our kids to learn and our seniors, because they've made this community what it is today. " I think we need to bring our spending in line with a reasonable tax rate. I think our spending has been a little bit out of control over the last few years, and I think that development we've got to be sensitive to and try to have a moderate development plan. It's a community not just one year at a time, but looking at 30 years out. "If you've reached out to me, I've never asked you what your political beliefs are. I've asked you where you live. I've asked you if you're a city resident, are you a city business owner? Sometimes it's both. And I ask you how I can help. I told you I'd help you, and I listened in 1994 I've continued to do that. In 2024 I ask for your vote on Nov. 5, and I'll continue to listen to you on the dais."Patch is publishing a new story each day featuring remarks made by one of the candidates who spoke at the Sept. 25 meet and greet at the Sherwood Community Center, which was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area and Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce .
Listen to the full audio from the Sept. 25 candidate meet-and-greet event.
So far, Patch has published remarks made by both candidates running for mayor, Catherine Read and Susan Hartley Kuiler , as well as five of the 11 candidates in the city council race, Stacy A. Hall , Kate Doyle Feingold , Rachel McQuillen , Amini Elizabeth Bonane , and Billy Bates .
Early voting is underway at the Fairfax City Hall polls and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 2. Polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be two Saturdays (Oct. 29 and Nov. 2) when voters can cast in-person ballots.
Patch has gathered all the information Fairfax City voters need to know about the Nov. 5 election in one place .
Additional information about the Nov. 5 general election can be found online at League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area . The league co-sponsored the Sept. 25 candidate forum with the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce .
