With all of our precincts now reporting, we have a solid lead with 60% of the vote in Virginia Beach! My opponent, Chris Arney, called me today and graciously offered his congratulations. The campaign is now over, and we won!
I want to publicly thank some key people. Without them, this campaign would not have been successful:
My grandmother, Donna Freeman. At my launch party, in the midst of elected officials and other leaders, I introduced her as the most important person in the room. She was, and has always been so important to me in my life. Without her, I don’t believe I would have the heart and mind to serve others. She also helped get this campaign off the ground at the very start. Thank you, grandma.
Dominic Melito. Dominic truly was there for me every step of the way during this campaign. From his encouragement at the beginning, to working the polls with me at the very end, Dominic deserves a great measure of credit for our victory yesterday. Beyond being there for me and my campaign, Dominic aided our great pro-education candidates for City Council and School Board as Chair of the Virginia Beach Education Association Political Action Committee of Educators (VBEA PACE). I’m thrilled that every VBEA PACE endorsed candidate won yesterday. It’s a great victory for public education in Virginia Beach, and we have Dominic to thank. Thank you, Dominic.
Brent McKenzie. Brent currently serves on the School Board representing the Rose Hall District. When he told me he wasn’t running for reelection, and encouraged me to consider running, I first thought he was joking. Turns out, he wasn’t. If it wasn’t for his encouragement, his example, and his support, we would not have gone far. With Brent leaving the area next year, we are losing a great civic leader in Virginia Beach, and he will be missed. Thank you, Brent.
Tyra Fitch. As Chair of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, Tyra worked tirelessly on behalf of all our Democratic candidates, national and local, and the result was the most coordinated effort to elect Democrats in Virginia Beach that we have ever seen. Thank you, Tyra.
My Volunteers. From helping at events, to working the polls in Election Day, I am so deeply grateful to every person for every minute they spent moving this campaign forward to victory. Thank you to each and every one of you.
My Donors. It’s hard to talk about campaigns without talking about how important those making financial contributions are. From business cards, to large 4×8 signs, the dollars donated to the campaign made it all possible. Without the support of those who contributed, we would not have been able to reach voters throughout the city. Thank you to everyone to made a contribution.
My opponent, Chris Arney. By running a good campaign, Chris made it clear that if my campaign was going to be successful, we would have to organize and work hard. There’s no better motivation to work harder than when your competition is out there working hard too. I want to thank Chris for a respectful campaign focused on the issues, and wish him all the best.
There are so many others that I could thank for making this victory possible, but naming each person would be impossible. Thank you to everyone who supported this campaign. It means more to me than I can express. I truly could not have done this without you.
I look forward to serving the people of Virginia Beach as a member of our School Board, and working to ensure we are providing every student with an opportunity to succeed.
Thank you,
- Joel
P.S. Despite our best efforts, we need some help covering the final costs of the campaign. If we can raise $250, we’ll be covered. If we don’t, I’ll cover it personally. If you’re willing to help me out, please click here or the button above to donate.