Primary Election Date: 06/09/2009
General Election Date: 11/05/2009

Who Am I?

Kaye and her husband Ross have lived in Fairfax County for over 30 years.  Kaye’s three children — Matthew, Sandy and Caroline — all attended Fairfax County Public Schools and are graduates of J.E.B. Stuart High School.  In addition to 10 years of elected service on the Fairfax County School Board, Kaye has been active in a diverse range of community organizations including: the Annandale Chamber of Commerce; the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Fairfax County Boys and Girls Club. She was the founder and president of the Stuart Foundation.  She has been a sustaining member of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee since 2001.
Kaye gravitated to the educational arena when seeking pre-K options when her children were young. She soon emerged as the President of the Board a leader of the Montessori School of Northern Virginia (MSNV), one of the oldest in the region. She moved into PTA leadership positions following her children’s transition to the public schools.
Kaye won a special election for the Mason District seat on the Fairfax County School Board in June of 1999, following the resignation for health reasons of former member Fred Ward.   Fred supported Kaye in that election, even though Kaye was a frequent and vocal critic of many School Board and school administration policies.  Fred knew Kaye as a PTA activist at Sleepy Hollow Elementary, Glasgow Middle School and J.E.B. Stuart High School, a mother of three and a passionate and effective community builder. Kaye routinely turned out crowds to observe and testify at School Board meetings and work sessions. As a result of her community organization skills, Mason District now has the first new school in nearly 50 years, two high schools and six elementary schools have been renovated and expanded. “Now the children of my district have schools that support instruction, not obstruct education. Now their children have the schools they deserve, Kaye states proudly.

Why Am I Running?

I am running because the citizens of the 38h District deserve a delegate who is active and proactive; practical and problem –solving; and responsive and results-oriented.

As a member of the House of Delegates I plan to focus on the issues that are important to the people of my district. I will protect education quality and funding, and reform the funding formula for the Standards of Quality. I will work for a common sense and pragmatic approach to solving our transportation problem, that combines short term solutions with long term realistic goals. I will fight to protect our environment by focusing attention on developing renewable energy resources, green jobs and working with localities to solve storm-water runoff and pollution issues.

Hold Me Accountable!

Education
Protecting the Environment
Transportation

My DFA values:

I have demonstrated my socially progressive values to fighting for medically accurate sex education, equal protection from discrimination for our students and their teachers, employee associations’ rights and a hiring wage. I have promoted environmentally policies in Fairfax County Public Schools and fought to make our local government accessible and transparent. Balancing fiscal responsibility and constituents’ needs has been the foundation of my accomplishments as a School Board Member. Each year of my tenure, Fairfax County Public Schools had balanced its budget.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

Grassroots organization has already played a tremendous role in my campaign. I took on a Democratic incumbent of 17 years in order to win the nomination. I chose to pose a primary challenge to Delegate Bob Hull because he was ineffective, non-responsive and too close to special interests. He had the lowest lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Votes of any Northern Virginia Democrat. He voted to allow developers to ignore local zoning and environmental regulations; he introduced legislation to deny our children access to soccer fields and he was the patron of legislation that would cut construction funds for our schools.

To challenge an incumbent that was as well known and as entrenched as Delegate Bob Hull, I had to run a grassroots campaign. I was outspent, and did not have establishment support with me, however I recruited volunteer organizers in my community that were also tried of watching Delegate Hull endanger our environment, ignore our local officials, and allow our transportation problems grow for so many years that our economic development and quality of life are seriously threatened.

Grassroots support will continue to play a huge part in my campaign as I go into this general election and take on my Republican opponent. I am incorporating different voices from the community to advise and help guide my campaign. I am building advisory groups of community activists, parents, environmentalists and business managers.