Unopposed mayoral candidate faces last minute challenger

by Jimmy Henderson

Fairfax, VA—A last-minute entry by a new candidate has produced a real contest for Mayor in Fairfax City. Veteran City Councilman Sang Yi, will now face Catherine Read on November 8th.

"If elected, we will make history as the City of Fairfax's first ever immigrant and person of color to serve as its mayor," Yi told Patch after his announcement. He served in uniform as a reserve for over 19 years and still serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve. He has served on Fairfax City Council for the past four years and represents the Republican party on the ballot.

Yi has joined residents in a discussion of their preferences for the Old Lee Highway corridor. He also said he will balance the city's needs with ensuring residents are not taxed out of the city; as well as supporting all types of housing to “bolster residential neighborhoods.” 

As the deadline for others to file for candidacy approached, it seemed he would be the first in the city’s history to fill the role without any opposition. 

Read, who serves currently on the Advisory Council of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, the Equality Virginia PAC Board, and is the current Board Chair of GrandInvolve, asked around to see if prior mayoral candidates would run against the sole candidate in the open seat. 

                                                  Mayor-elect, Catherine Read, gives a tour of her campaign headquarters set up in her Fairfax city home. 

                                                                                                        Photo by Jimmy Henderson.

“A week before the filing deadline, I went and picked up the packet, I announced that I was going to run for mayor,” Read said Tuesday morning at her campaign headquarters in Fairfax City. “I had a bunch of people help me collect the ballot petition signatures. We turned most of them in on the Friday before the holiday weekend.” 

On the day of the deadline, she was certified to be on the ballot, narrowly avoiding a historic skip in democracy for the mayor’s seat. The Democrats now had a candidate for the city.

The development projects this city need to work for the residents who live here, Read said. She said while keeping the nature of change in mind, they will need to be safe to use and easy to access. The central corridor near the Courthouse Plaza, which hosts shops and restaurants, and ample parking garage spaces, has a only few small signs from the roadway to indicate to visitors that there is free parking.

“But, the city, in its quest to build more housing, ends up tearing down old stock,” Read said, “and the new stock is incredibly expensive.” Which, she said means we are narrowing the economic diversity of who can afford to live in Fairfax. She spoke with residents during her campaign who could not afford to buy the home that they are living in, she said.

“You didn’t know to look for the little sign that says ‘parking’ and you drive right past it and park in one of the small lots scattered around the city,” Read said. She recalls the plaza being built before ridesharing was a thing. You can call a taxi or order an Uber, she said, but there isn’t an easy place for them to pick up riders. 

Yi also said that he wants to help “preserve the character and family-friendly environment of our city through sensible development.” “Show up fully, begin with the end in mind, and don't make assumptions,” he told Patch. 

If elected, Yi said, “I plan to improve upon the construct of our City’s governance by ensuring residents and stakeholders have a true voice and input in the Mayor and Council's decision-making.” 

Hearing the stakeholder voices this weekend. Megan DuBois, Cultural Arts Manager for Parks and Recreation in the City of Fairfax was at Van Dyck Park surveying residents of the city. They used color-coded dots on a chart to indicate which concepts they identify the city with currently, and what they don’t think represents their city. They were also asked to indicate which concepts they want to see in a future Fairfax.

Read is a strategist, activist, and local leader. Her background in local non-profits included work with Britepaths, and other nonprofits for crisis assistance and self-sufficiency support for Northern Virginia families. 

“This is what I’ve been doing,” Read said, indicating the workspace set up for her broadcasts and now her campaign. “Working with organizations on legislation that benefits everyone in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Read and her colleagues helped connect Northern Virginia families with financial assistance, financial literacy mentoring and occasional help with bills.

“If you go in with the idea that you already know the answer, you’re limiting yourself,” Read said. We need to hear from the resume of the candidate, but we also must hear from the residents to decide on what really works for Fairfax, she said. 

“People prize and value these suburban neighborhoods,” Read said, “but, we’re still a small city. And people who want to move here because we are adjacent to one of the largest universities in the commonwealth are looking for something different.” 

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