PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Babur Lateef will hold on to his seat as Prince William County School Board Chair, At-large.
He won election to the seat Tuesday after being appointed to the position earlier this year following the resignation of former Chairman Ryan Sawyers.
Lateef, endorsed by Democrats, beat Gainesville District School Board representative Alyson Satterwhite, who was endorsed by Republicans.
Stanley Bender, a third-party candidate who was largely absent during the campaign, managed to win more than 14,000 votes. It came after former Prince William County Democratic Committee Chairman Harry Wiggins founded a political action committee late last month “Republicans for Stanley Bender.” Red signs with the name of the PAC were found at polling places throughout the county on Tuesday.
Republicans called the move a “vicious” attempt to mislead voters and said it amounted to voter suppression.
Republicans called a 4 p.m. press conference at the schools’ headquarters at Independent Hill to discuss the matter.
During her concession speech, Satterwhite called the move “dirty tricks today at the polls.” Lateef has made no comment on the matter.
Satterwhite continued her speech to thank parents, teachers, and college students who helped in her campaign.
“It was not about republican and democrat. It was about the people of Prince William County,” said Satterwhite.
Lateef campaigned on narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students, increasing spending on students, hiking teacher salaries to improve employee retention, and hiring more legal help and other administrative staff for the school division to bring it up to par with jurisdictions like Fairfax County.
Lateef raised $132,000 in his campaign and, at $89,000, vastly outraised and outspent Satterwhite who raised about $13,000.
Updated — email statement from Lateef:
“I am humbled and grateful to have been elected Prince William County School Board Chair by the voters of our great county. Last night’s results were an overwhelming validation by the people Prince William County for who they believe shared their values. I ran a positive campaign that was committed to student success, the safety and security of our schools, the space and the infrastructure needs of our schools, and teachers/staff salaries. I have worked six months as the Interim School Board Chair to do all of these things. I am proud that the school administration is moving towards addressing my agenda and platform. The voters in Prince William County approved my message and gave me an overwhelming victory last night. I did this by promoting a positive message about where our school system needs to go and how we are going to get there. I am excited to move forward as the Chairman-Elect and to continue working on the issues that mattered to the voters and students of Prince William County. I would like to thank all my campaign volunteers, supporters, and the voters of Prince William County. I look forward to helping deliver a World Class Education for ALL of our students.”
