Armstrong Drops Out Of School Board Race, Withdraws Endorsement Challenge

Jeannie Armstrong announced Thursday she was withdrawing her bid for an at-large school board seat, 

“I've made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the Fairfax County School Board," she said in a statement. "I believe that it is critical that we come together and move forward in this campaign united, and work together to elect Democrats."

After  July 26,  Armstrong blasted the committee for creating a "process that was ripe for fraud."

She submitted documents to the Democratic Congressional District Chairs in Fairfax County and the Virginia Democratic Party contending the committee did not follow minimal procedures to protect the process from fraud, did not have the authority to set new bylaws for a special endorsement election, and did not follow the proper procedures to establish a special election process.

Armstrong said she still believes there were problems with that process, but pursuing the appeal made it more difficult for her to help put other Democrats in office.

"The point was made with the appeal that there may have been something wrong with the process and hopefully this will help the party correct that as they move forward," said Vince Leibowitz, a consultant on Armstrong's campaign. "The best course of action going forward was to withdraw the complaint and withdraw from the race so she could focus her energy on helping to elect Democratic candidates."

The July 26 endorsement election followed the , creating a rare situation in which the committee had to elect a replacement candidate.

FCDC bylaws did not at that time specify a process for a special election due to withdrawal of a candidate. A process was proposed by the the steering committee and voted on by the assembled committee July 26, prior to the endorsement vote.

Armstrong said going forward, she would support the other Democratic endorsees in the school board race. Her campaign will be converted into a political action committee to increase minority voter turnout across Fairfax County.

“I believe that Democratic candidates are more committed to closing
the achievement gap once and for all, reforming our discipline policy, ensuring fiscal responsibility and that our teachers are well-paid and treated with respect," Armstrong said.