Politics & Government

Silverthorne Runs for Mayor

Residents will get a chance to vote on May 1.

When former council member Scott Silverthorne received a surprise phone call in last summer asking him to return to City Hall, he agreed to take on the job, thinking it a temporary thing. Little did he expect that half a year later he'd not only seek another council term, but he'd run for mayor.

Silverthorne announced his candidacy to friends and community members Friday morning on his Facebook page and by email. Click here to read his message.

"I admittedly had given up running for office," Silverthorne said. "But when the council called me and asked me to come back, and once I got into the job, I realized I'd missed it."

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At 24, Silverthorne was the youngest person elected to the City of Fairfax Council in 1990. He served nine terms, retiring in 2008. After a three-year sabbatical, Silverthorne returned to the council to fill in for Joan Cross in June 2011. Now he's looking to extend his stay in City Hall by running for the seat .

"I really feel like I can make a difference," Silverthorne said. 

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He plans to run a campaign emphasizing two key goals, promoting the city's economic vitality by focusing on the Route 50 corridor and strengthening Fairfax neighborhoods with open, constant communication.

Silverthorne helped the city start its historical downtown revitilization efforts during his last few terms as a council member. He wants to see the same thing done with the businesses along Fairfax Boulevard.

"Route 50 continues to decay," he said. "We need to refocus on it, channel our energy there, along with progress we've had with the downtown."

His neighborhoods goal seeks to reach out to all residents and business owners, get them active in the Fairfax community, and to acknowledge the growing diversity among city residents.

"We have had a lot of demographic changes in our community and I think the council hasn't focused on a way to engage these residents," Silverthorne said.

But with a looming tough budget season and nationwide economic nightmare, he'd have his work cut out for him.

"We can't lose sight of the fact that we're going to have little wiggle room," Silverthorne said. "This is the toughest budget season we've had in a while."

He acknowledged the need to look over every aspect of the city in order to cut back costs while maintaining services, but warned against cutting too many quality-of-life cultural and arts programs.

"Those are the things that are intangible and easy to pick at. I know everything ought to be on the table to make sure we're on good fiscal shape, but need to be careful because cultural activities and open space is what sets us apart from other jurisdictions."

With his candidacy made official, Silverthorne opens a seat in City Hall for other aspiring small-town council members. All candidates for mayor or city council must be registered voters who have lived in Fairfax City for at least a year. Petitions and paperwork must be filed by March 2. 

The election cycle ends just two months later, on May 1.

Check Patch for continued coverage of the city council and mayor elections.


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