Lateef wins in school board chairman's race ... dirty tricks (Exhibit A

Babur Lateef is the apparent winner of Tuesday’s special election for chairman of Prince William County School Board, garnering 48 percent of the unofficial vote to Alyson Satterwhite’s 41.9 percent.

The win means Lateef, who ran with the support of Prince William County’s Democratic Committee, will hold onto the top spot on the eight-member board, while Satterwhite, who was endorsed by the local Republican committee, will remain the Gainesville representative on the board, a position she has held since 2012.

Lateef was first appointed interim chairman earlier this year after former school board chairman Ryan Sawyers resigned the post following a tumultuous 14-month tenure.

With nearly 99 percent of the vote counted Tuesday night, Lateef garnered 61,520 votes, while Satterwhite won 53,446 votes and Stanley Bender, an independent, won 12,331 votes.

But the race was not without controversy. Prince William County Republicans were crying foul early Tuesday morning when mysterious red signs announcing “Republicans for Stanley Bender” appeared outside several county polling places.

The problem? It was Satterwhite, not Bender, who had the local GOP committee’s support. Some quick detective work on the part of GOP committee chairman Bill Card revealed that the signs were the work of an 11th-hour political action committee, “Republicans for Stanley Bender,” launched Oct. 24 by Lake Ridge resident Harry Wiggins.

Wiggins is the former chairman of the Prince William County Democratic committee. Card said the GOP immediately recognized the signs as an attempt to confuse voters about who had the support of local Republicans.

“At the very minimum, Harry Wiggins and the Democrats have committed voter fraud and voter suppression,” Card said. “I think there should be legal recourse.”

Wiggins could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His name appeared as an organizer on the “statement of organization” filed with the Virginia Department of Elections to form the political action committee, a copy of which was emailed to Card on Tuesday.

The Prince William Times' effort to receive a copy of the paperwork from the state independently was not immediately successful Tuesday.

Don Shaw, the current chairman of the Democratic Committee, denounced the move in a statement on his Facebook page and said whoever did it “does not share our values.”

“Let me be abundantly clear. Dirty tricks and deception are just as bad as fake robocalls and providing an insufficient number of voting machines at polling places,” Shaw wrote. “Voter suppression, regardless of its source or form cuts against everything we stand for. Anyone who participates in such reprehensible behavior does not share our values. Today is a day to celebrate our democracy by ensuring everyone who wants to participate can do so. Anything less is unacceptable.”

Through his campaign chairman David Pala, Lateef released a statement noting several problems with Tuesday's election, including long lines and insufficient voting equipment, which he said suggested were more serious forms of voter suppression.

"Babur ran a positive, hope-driven campaign. He focused on issues that parents, teachers and students desperately need solved. Alyson, on the other hand, slung mud at every chance, attacking Babur negatively since her opening statement in the first debate..."

As evidence, Pala mentioned a robo call that he said unfairly tied Lateef to Sawyers.

For her part, Satterwhite made a short speech via Facebook Live to thank her supporters, saying they "accomplished a lot despite the dirty politics at the polls."

"We had a strong showing and we had support across the county," Satterwhite said. "It was not about Republicans or Democrats, it was about the people of Prince William County."

Babur Lateef

Interim School Board Chair
In 2018, the Prince William County School Board appointed Dr. Babur Lateef as the Interim School Board Chair. Dr. Lateef is a local ophthalmologist and has been active parent in the Prince William County Schools.

He is a member of the Spark Foundation’s Board of Directors and a member of the PTOs of the schools his four children attend. His wife, Tarannum Lateef, is a local Pediatric Neurologist and is very active in the County school system as well, serving on the Superintendent’s Advisory Council and a number of PTOs. At the higher education level he serves on the Board of Visitors for the University of Virginia.[1]

Virginia New Majority endorsement
Virginia New Majority, a non-partisan non-profit 501(c)4 organization working to bring social and economic justice throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia has endorsed Dr. Babur Lateef for Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. Below is the text of the endorsement issued by Jon Liss, executive Director for Virginia New Majority.

“Dr. Lateef shares with us a vision for Prince William County as a beacon of acceptance, fairness, and freedom. We firmly believe that, under his leadership, Prince William County can make major strides towards ending the county’s perpetual attacks on immigrant communities and vital public services. Dr. Babur Lateef believes in a County government that ensures fairness for immigrants, excellent schools, and funding for high quality public services for all county residents. We are confident that Dr. Lateef has the right work experience to lead and life experiences that will foster the commitment to fighting for equality for all the residents of Prince William County.

Virginia New Majority joins Senator Mark Warner, Congressman James P. Moran, State Senator Chap Petersen, the Prince William Education Association Political Action Committee of Educators and many local leaders in endorsing Dr. Babur Lateef for Chairman. Since announcing his candidacy Dr. Lateef, an eye surgeon in Woodbridge has proven himself to be an energetic challenger to Republican incumbent Corey Stewart, whose naked ambition for higher office has proven to be a disservice to Prince William County’s more than 400,000 residents. Dr. Lateef has been recognized as one of the top fundraisers in the state, outraising Chairman Stewart in the last two finance reporting periods.[2]

Muslims for Herring——Babur Lateef co-chair
Mark Herring, current state senator and democratic candidate for Attorney General of Virginia, announced on August 8, 2013 the formation of a “Muslims for Herring” coalition led by six members of the Northern Virginia Muslim community.

Herring represents Virginia’s District 33 which consists of parts of Loudon County and Fairfax County, and often reaches out to his large Muslim constituency which includes ADAMS Islamic Center in Northern Virginia. “He [Herring] is very committed to representing them fully,” said co chair of the Muslims for Herring coalition Yasmine Taeb.

All of the co-chairs of Muslims for Herring know Senator Herring personally, whether it be through working with him or organizing events for him. “The coalition is comprised of like minded people that believe in similar issues. It’s a way for Herring to excite the people that share his vision and try to get them out to vote,” said Babur Lateef, a Muslims for Herring co -chair.

The coalition helps introduce Herring to the community, whether it is through Pakistan Day celebrations that Herring attended, or ifaar dinners and jummah prayers, all are put together by Muslims for Herring.

“We make sure Senator Herring will be at events and have a booth so that he can talk about his candidacy and vision,” said Babur Lateef. “We try to do all that we can to give him exposure.”

As a state senator, Herring has dealt with foreign law bills targeting Sharia law, and as Attorney General he hopes to protect the elderly and the youth. He has worked closely with law enforcement to keep drugs off the shelves in hopes to eliminate threats to the safety of the youth. He has stood with legislation that targets those that would commit financial scams against senior citizens. Herring also fights to protect the civil rights and liberties of minority groups. “Herring doesn’t care whether you’re black, brown, green, purple or yellow, he believes that you should be represented,” said Babur Lateef.

Senator Herring has addressed social issues and immigration and is for the expansion of Medicaid and Medicare. “The healthcare bill that Herring supports is incredibly important for the Muslim community and for immigrants and it affects almost every family in the state,” stated Babur Lateef.

Muslims for Herring has organized various events that allow community members to connect with Senator Herring on a personal level. “We’ve held town hall at ADAMS where we have invited Senator Herring to meet with the community,” said Yasmine Taeb. Community members are able to voice their concerns directly to Herring.

Herring’s campaign reached out to the co-chairs personally, asking if they would be interested in bringing support to Senator Herring specifically from the Muslim community of Northern Virginia. Muslims for Herring is not the only coalition that exists in the area, however, it is different than most as it is a formal coalition that consists of Muslims. “I’ve seen a lot of political collations on social media such as Twitter and Facebook and coalitions… and at the federal level… but we received a very formal launch through Senator Herring’s press release,” said Yasmine Taeb.

As a group, the coalition keeps the community connected to everything Mark Herring. They send out emails to inform the community of new events that are coming up related to Senator Herring, and organize events where Senator Herring can meet with his constituents. Muslims for Herring hopes that their efforts will drive as many people as possible to support Senator Herring in the election for Attorney General of Virginia on November 5, 2013 against opponent Mark Obenshain.[3] (wiki)

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