Janice Watson, Town of Herndon candidate for mayor, Keven LeBlanc, and Alex Burke at an FCDC caucus polling place Saturday, Aug. 10.
The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) announced its endorsed candidates for Herndon Town Council in the 2024 General Election, scheduled for Nov. 5. FCDC did so online following its unassembled caucus on Aug. 10.
Pradip Dhakal and Keven LeBlanc Jr. are the two candidates vying for the nonpartisan elected position of Mayor of the Town of Herndon for the 2025–2026 term. They each requested that the FCDC endorse their candidacy, completed the FCDC online questionnaire and application, and submitted them with the requisite $100 filing fee.
Dhakal won the FCDC endorsement caucus for the mayor of the Town of Herndon. He received 345 votes, or 56.93 percent, while LeBlanc received 261 votes, or 43.07 percent. The FCDC tallied 606 votes and one absentee to endorse the contested position.
“I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the Herndon residents, neighbors, and friends who pre-registered and voted in the Herndon Caucus following the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) process,” Dhakal said.
Dhakal added, “I commend Keven for his dedication and engagement throughout this journey.”
LeBlanc said that neither a party endorsement caucus nor a sample ballot could define or diminish “his love for this town.”
All six seats for Herndon Town council will be open in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024. In accordance with its bylaws, FCDC canceled the Town of Herndon councilmember caucus for endorsement and automatically endorsed all five candidates who requested it: Naila Alam, Cesar del Aguila, Kevin Garcia, Michael Lloyd and Soma Ramesh.
Four other candidates are also running for Herndon town councilmember: Tamim Chowdhury, Clark A. Hedrick, Stevan M. Porter, and Alexis “Alex” Reyes. They did not seek FCDC endorsements. Current Councilmember Donielle Scherff is not seeking reelection.
In an online statement, FCDC Chair Aaron Yohai expressed his satisfaction with the caucus, which reflected "the strong democratic principles the committee upholds. … The participation and enthusiasm from the community was outstanding,” Yohai said.
On July 18, former Town of Herndon mayor Lisa Merkel wrote in a chat during the virtual FCDC Dranesville District Committee Meeting, “With two good Democrats running [for Town of Herndon mayor], I still stand by my conviction that the entirety of the Herndon voters IN NOVEMBER should be making this decision, NOT a small group of people lucky enough to hear about an obscure caucus.”
The Commonwealth's Registrant Counts By Locality reports the total number of voters registered as of 8/1/2024 for Herndon Precinct #1 is 4,486, Herndon #2 is 4,754, and Herndon #3 is 4,452. The total number of voters in the Town of Herndon is 13,692.
According to FCDC's online release about the Herndon Town Council caucus, the mayoral endorsement received 606 votes, accounting for 4.4 percent of the total registered voters.