What a great day

I formally announced my candidacy for the House of Delegates this morning with an old fashioned town hall meeting at Old Town Hall in Fairfax City. What a great way to kickoff the campaign!

So many people turned out, and asked questions about issues that really matter. I am impressed that we have so many people who care enough about our community to show up and ask tough questions--it really says something about the kind of people who live here in Fairfax. And I was honored that so many people were willing to share their concerns.

It was wonderful not just to see old friends, but to meet so many new people from the city and the county who came out to support my candidacy. It was also lovely to meet two prominent Virginia bloggers, Lowell Feld and Maura Kearny. (You can read their great write-ups on the kickoff on their respective blogs, Raising Kaine and Democracy for Virginia.) And I am deeply grateful for the tremendous support from my colleagues on the Fairfax City School Board and the Fairfax County School Board.

Another highlight of an already great day for me, on a personal note, was that our son Eric drove home all the way from Virginia Tech for the weekend so he could be there for me at the kickoff. I was so pleased to have him there. That's a picture of Eric and Walter and me on the steps of the Old Town Hall.

Listening to the concerns of my neighbors at our town hall meeting reaffirmed for me once again how much we share the same values. We all care about protecing choice and liberty, standing up for quality human services, and fighting for the best possible education for all our children. We also agree that transportation is broken and needs to be fixed. One of the biggest challenges we face at the core of every issue boils down to the state passing on financial burdens to local governments through unfunded mandates and the restrictions of the Dillon Rule. We need a delegate who will fight fight for these issues, and who has the experience and legislative know-how to win. I am running because after more than 20 years of education advocacy and lobbying in Fairfax County and in Richmond on these very issues, I am that delegate.

Thank you to everyone who made the day such a success. I know that together we can win.

P.S. For all the details on the event, check out the Kickoff News Roundup in our newsroom.

We Came Out on Top - Again!

Great fundraising news!

The first quarter fundraising reports are out, and thanks to your help, we came out on top, again!

We not only out-raised our opponent in the Democratic primary, but also the Republican and Libertarian candidates in the race. Thank you for helping prove that we truly are the strongest campaign in District 37.

This success builds on our great early campaign victory of filing our ballot petitions first, weeks before the deadline, to win the top spot on the June 14th primary ballot.

For all the details on the good news, go and read the whole press release, here

If you've been thinking about it but haven't made a contribution yet, you can still contribute online at http://www.janetforfairfax.com. No contribution is too small to make a difference and, as our first filing report just proved, every little bit really helps!

Thanks again for your help and support and commitment and enthusiasm that is making this race so much fun!

See you on Saturday,

Janet

You are invited!

We're officially kicking off the Janet for Fairfax Campaign this Saturday, April 23.

Town Hall Meeting & Campaign Kickoff WITH JANET OLESZEK Candidate for the House of Delegates 37th District Saturday, April 23rd 10:00 am – 11:30 am Old Town Hall 3999 University Drive Fairfax City Map Refreshments will be served. Everyone is welcome! RSVP to (703) 323-0202 or townhall@janetforfairfax.com

I hope you can join us.

Cheers!

Janet

Fairfax Futures

Today I attended the second annual Fairfax Futures symposium on early learning, a partnership between the business community and Fairfax County whose goal is to explore early childhood education so that our children enter school prepared to succeed.

Sounds simple, but it isn't, because many don't understand that there is a dollar cost to the community when students enter Kindergarten unprepared.

Some information that astound many folks:

Fact #1
Every dollar invested in preschool programs returns $7 in savings for remediation, welfare payments, unemployment and other compensatory costs.

Fact #2
85% of a person's intellect, personality and social skills are developed by age 5, but 95% of public investment in education occurs after children reach 5 years old.

I have long supported full day Kindergarten, and as a candidate, I often discuss this with voters who almost entirely agree that it would be a benefit to children and families. Why then do we have to do battle for each and every classroom we add? 75% of the state already receives the benefit of full day K. I believe that the state should get involved in early learning now, before more of our children start school unprepared.

I know we can change this paradigm. We can invest in children knowing that it beats the Street, and yields a 12% return on the dollar. It makes a lot of sense that the County and State facilitate a public-private partership that will support sustainable learning for young children before they enter Kindergarten. And as a candidate for the State House, and also as a School Board member, it makes lots of sense to me that we receive a 12% return for public dollar investments.