Juan Carlos Fierro 

Key Facts

Party Republican
Status Challenger

Background

Juan Carlos Fierro was born in Ecuador and moved to Northern Virginia to join his family in 1982 [2]. He graduated from George Mason University with a BAS in Political Science and Government. Fierro formerly worked as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, as an agent for the New York Life Insurance Company, and as a financial services professional at NYLIFE Securities LLC. He currently works as a managing partner at Golden Eagle Capital Advisors Inc. [1, 2]. Fierro serves as a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus at John the Beloved Parish. He also has three daughters who attended Arlington County Public Schools [2].

Key Issues

Community

Fierro prioritizes community safety [2].

Education

Fierro prioritizes educational quality [2].

Economy

Fierro is concerned about high taxes and affordability [2].

Endorsements

Arlington Republicans

Sources

1 LinkedIn 
2 Facebook 
3 VPAP 
4 DCist 
5 Gazette Leader
6 Falls Church News-Press
7 Juan Carlos Fierro for Arlington County Board

Arthur Purves

Key Facts

Background

Arthur Purves graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA, MS in Systems Engineering, and MBA in Decision Science [1, 4]. Purves worked as a computer programmer for 40 years and is now retired. He has served as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance for 26 years and treasurer of the Fairfax Committee of 100 for 10 years. Purves has been a member of the 2014 Fairfax County Meals Tax Task Force, 2013 Hunter Mill Citizen Budget Committee, the League of Women Voters, and the Fairfax branch of the NAACP. He also served on three Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) advisory committees: those of Family Life Education in 1991 and 2002, the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for Student Success from 1993 to 1995, and Professional Technical Studies from 1996 to 2003 [1].

Purves is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He recently served as an election officer [1].

In 2000, Purves was arrested upon refusing to leave the FCPS superintendent’s January budget press briefing, which was open to credentialed members of the media only [10].

Key Issues

Campaign Finance

Purves has stated that most campaign spending is unnecessary and that large campaign budgets are “perpetuated by large donors who want to control elected officials” [5].

Community

Purves plans on donating the chairman’s 38 percent pay raise ($38,283) to the Bethany House for women and children seeking refuge from abuse and trauma [1].

Drugs

Purves supports the 12-step program as a means to overcome fentanyl addiction [1].

Economy

Purves is against the current rate of increase in real estate taxes and wants to prevent raising restaurant taxes. Purves is in favor of repealing collective bargaining [1].

Housing

Purves advocates for the input of residents in zoning decisions [1].

Education

Purves wants to hold the school board accountable for a 27-point drop in the county’s average SAT score, calculated going from 2018 to 2022 [1]. He is also against Family Life Education (FLE) [5]. Purves is interested in closing the minority student achievement gap [6].

According to The South Lakes Sentinel, Purves wants to implement the Bible and the 10 Commandments in school. He supports teaching history, not social studies, as he is against a “whole world” approach to learning. He wrote, “Public schools are graduating ‘socialists’, or as the Fairfax School Board puts it, ‘global citizens,” and has stated that progressive schools gave students dyslexia [11].

Elections

Purves wants to end drop boxes and ballot harvesting [1].

Environment

Purves does not support spending tax money to make Fairfax County carbon-neutral and believes efforts are unnecessary [1].

Gun Policy

Purves is against gun control measures [5].

Policy

Purves is against the Equal Rights Amendment [5].

Religion

Purves sees faith as a means of improving mental health [1].

Reproductive Rights

Purves does not support abortion [5].

Endorsements

Fairfax County Republican Committee

Sources

1 Purves for Chairman
2 Facebook
3 VPAP
4 Linkedin
5 InsideNoVa
6 Connection Newspapers
7 Fairfax County, Virginia
8 Virginia Department of Elections
9 Ballotpedia
10 The Washington Post
11 The South Lakes Sentinel
12 Fairfax Republicans

Keith Stone Elliott

Key Facts

Party Republican
Status Challenger

Background

Keith Elliott currently works in the real estate industry as a property manager; additionally, he previously served several years on the Keller Williams Realty Agent Leadership Council. Before that, he worked in hotel management and helped the Tysons Corner Ritz Carlton win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for outstanding service. He leads the men’s bible studies at his church, coaches youth soccer, and leads youth bible studies; Elliott also helped lead men’s bible study in Kenya with Men of Valor [1].

Key Issues

Budget

Elliot wants to reduce taxes and expenses [1].

Education

Elliot wants to support educators through adequate pay and listening to their input. He also would like to include parents in their child’s education decisions [1].

Environment

Elliot supports reducing carbon emissions and environmental impacts in the development process, as well as helping the tree canopy thrive by leaving natural areas alone and designing communities with natural resource preservation in mind [4].

Food

Elliot supports bettering community gardens, incentivizing urban agriculture-related innovation, and using nonprofits to help solve food insecurity [4].

Housing

Elliot wants to ensure more affordable housing choices for all and more opportunities for home ownership [4].

Law Enforcement

Elliot wants to increase the police force and pay officers appropriately [1].

Transportation

Elliott does not support increased funding for public transport unless it comes with a reduction in current expenses. However, he does support making roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians [2, 3, 4].

Endorsements

Fairfax Republicans

Sources

1 Keith Elliott for Supervisor
2 Washington Area Bicyclist Association
3 Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets
4 Fairfax Healthy Communities
5 Linkedln
6 VPAP
7 Fairfax Republicans

Adam Kraemer

Key Facts

Party Republican
Status Challenger

Background

Having attended Columbia High School, Kraemer would soon attend Colgate University in New York where he would earn a bachelor’s degree in geography and economics. He would also earn an M.A. and an M.Ed. from Columbia University’s Teachers College for graduate studies. After attending Columbia University, Kraemer would work as a credit representative for Inteplast and a teacher for Livingston High School.Soon after, Kraemer ran for more than ten elections in Essex county for positions on the school board, one as county clerk, and one as freeholder. He’s trying once more as a Republican for the Essex County Board of Commissioners.  

Key Issues

Budget

Kramer believes that the Democratic party’s dominance in the district has lead to excessive spending, inefficiency, and even cronyism as he argues that the fully Democratic Essex County Board of Commissioners lacks a check on their power and spending from Republicans in the state [2]. In addition, Kramer believes that excessive taxation alongside excessive bureaucracy has muddled effective policies for the Board. Indeed, he argues that utilities, school boards, and city government can share services such that the government is more effective and less costly [3]. 

 

Economy

As a former worker in the private sector, Kraemer believes that he has experience in supporting business and working around excessive regulation. Alongside excessive taxation, Kramer will more closely review bid specifications from businesses to support economic growth [4]

Endorsements

Essex County GOP

Sources

1 Ballotpedia
2 InsiderNJ 
3 Patch.com   
4 TAPinto
5 Facebook 
6 New Jersey Globe

Richard Hayden

Key Facts

Party Republican
Status Challenger

Background

Richard Hayden is a member of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus Council 5998. He has previously run for the Virginia House of Delegates for the 44th Virginia District [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8].

Key Issues

Budget

Hayden wants to lower the tax rate and trim excess spending from the county budget [1]. He wants to eliminate the tax burden on the middle class through conforming Virginia tax law to federal tax law or ensuring that state taxpayers do not need to mimic deductions on federal tax returns [4].

Education

Hayden wants to ensure that Fairfax County Public Schools has enough money to let its students achieve academic excellence. Additionally, he wants to increase academic rigor and support teachers, and he does not want to change school boundary lines [1, 3, 5].

Drugs

Hayden does not want to decriminalize marijuana [4].

Government

Hayden supports congressional term limits [6].

Law Enforcement

Hayden wants to hire more police and improve public safety [1].

Reproductive Rights

Hayden is pro-life. He wants to keep the current abortion restrictions, namely that abortions are not allowed past the second trimester, with the exception of when the mother’s life is at risk [2, 3, 4, 5, 7].

Women's Rights

Hayden does not support the Equal Rights Amendment [2, 3, 4, 5, 7].

Endorsements

Fairfax Republicans

Sources

1 Hayden for Mt. Vernon
2 Fairfax Republicans
3 Mount Vernon Gazette
4 Fort Hunt Herald
5 Fort Hunt Herald
6 U.S. Term Limits
7 Facebook
8 Fairfax Republicans