Voters Face Another Special Election

Supervisor to Be Selected March 10

The race for chairman of the Board of Supervisors is over, but the flood of campaign mailings and robo-calls at dinner time is not likely to stop anytime soon in Fairfax County, where voters are in for at least one more special election before the June primary.

On March 10, voters in the Braddock District will choose a successor to Sharon S. Bulova (D), who was sworn in as chairman of the Board of Supervisors on Friday. She defeated Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield) in Tuesday's special election to succeed Gerald E. Connolly (D), now in Congress.

At least five candidates have announced their intention to run for the Braddock District seat, which Bulova held since 1987. Three Democrats -- community activist Janyce N. Hedetniemi, School Board member Ilryong Moon and the Rev. Ronald F. Christian -- will compete in a "firehouse" primary tomorrow and Tuesday.

Officially called an unassembled caucus, the firehouse primary is a party-sponsored event at which Democrats may voice their support for a candidate over multiple days, rather than all at once as is customary in a caucus.

The victor will likely face Republican John Cook, 45, a lawyer and community activist who as of Friday was the sole GOP hopeful in the race. Fairfax Republicans, energized after Herrity's narrow loss last week, are slated to choose their nominee today. Also in the contest is Carey C. Campbell, an independent who ran unsuccessfully in the chairman's race.

Bulova has not endorsed any of the candidates. However, all three Democrats vow to continue championing the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport and the urban redevelopment of Tysons Corner. They have pledged to be as responsive about potholes as they are to the needs of the 169,000-student school district.

Moon, 51, a lawyer who has spent 10 years on the School Board and four years on the Planning Commission, is perhaps the best known of the three Democratic candidates. "I am going to do my darned best to basically continue on the work of Sharon, with a lot of constituent services," he said, including the county's top-rated school system.

Hedetniemi, 69, a community relations consultant, also comes from a community activist background. She is chairman of the county's Transportation Advisory Commission and has served on other county panels. She said she shares Bulova's focus on building consensus and listening to the needs of residents.

Christian, 69, is director of Lutheran Housing Services, a nonprofit group that builds homes for the physically disabled. He said that as a supervisor, he would focus his efforts on improving transportation, maintaining good schools and increasing the availability of housing for senior citizens, the poor and people with disabilities.

A victory by Moon would trigger yet another special election -- to fill his at-large school board seat. It would be the fourth special election handled this year by county elections officials prior to the June primary, during which Democrats will choose a nominee to run for governor. In January, part of the county was called upon to elect a new member of the House of Delegates to replace Brian Moran, who stepped down to focus on the gubernatorial race.

Also, three seats on the Vienna Town Council are up for election in May, including that of Maud F. Robinson, who is retiring.

Avowed Democrats may vote in the party-sponsored primary from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow and from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Kings Park Library.