John Lawrence Enters the City Council Race

John Lawrence has made it official that he will run for City Council this year.

Lawrence, 51, said he turned in his paperwork Monday and is about halfway through collecting the 125 signatures needed to appear on the May ballot. The signatures are due in March.

"I ran in 2008 and lost by about 80 votes," Lawrence said during a telephone interview Wednesday.

Lawrence and Philip Duncan have filed for the May 1 election. City of Falls Church City Councilman  is seeking re-election, and he kicked off his campaign a week ago. Webb and fellow Councilmember 's terms end June 30. Mayor Nader Baroukh's seat is also up in June.

A City of Falls Church resident for the last 13 years, Lawrence has never held a political office. Lawrence serves as vice chair of the city's Planning Commission and the Library Board of Trustees. He has served six and seven years respectively on each.

Lawrence said he worked on President Obama’s campaign in 2008 and heard a common thread from other City of Falls Church residents.

"A lot of people asked me then if I was going to run," he said.

Lawrence said he believes it's the job of the City Council to encourage developers to come into the city. He said some projects take too long before the public sees progress.

He said the , which broke ground in July on North Washington Street took five years to finally get off the ground.

"We need to get smart new development and we need to get to that soon," Lawrence said.