Profile: Braddock District Supervisor Candidate Janet Oleszek

At a Glance

• Born: Sacramento, California
• Education:  University of California, Davis, 1969. Master’s Degree in Special Education, American University, 1975.
• Family: Married, two sons
• Public Office: Fairfax County School Board Member, 2003-2007

A former Fairfax County School Board member and longtime Fairfax resident Janet Oleszek is running for the Braddock District seat on Board of Supervisors.

“I’ve lived her close to 40 years and am attached to the area’s future,” Oleszek said.

Oleszek, 64, served on the school board for one term from 2003 to 2007. She also ran in a State Senate race in 2007 for the 37th district seat against then senator Ken Cuccinelli. The margin of victory in the race came down to less than 100 votes out of over 30,000 votes cast.

Oleszek is running against fellow Chris Wade in the August 23 Democratic primary. John Cook, a Republican, is the incumbent.

Oleszek said her main qualification for the Braddock seat is her previous experience on the school board.

“I’m in a unique position where I’m well-versed in an area that is the county’s biggest expenditure,” Oleszek said. “I learned a lot on the board about how public dollars are spent and how public policies are beneficial to the public at large.”

Oleszek said that two issues she is concerned with are education and transportation. She said that she would like to see school start times changed to later hours so that school buses are not on the road as the same time as commuters.

She also characterized the Base Realignment and Closure projects (BRAC), primarily the September 2011 relocation of 6,400 federal employees to Alexandria’s Mark Center Mark Center, as a “disaster.”

“The military has a mandate to do something and it is without the consensus of the locality where they are mandating that action. That does not able a good combination at all,” Oleszek said. “BRAC is going to cause nightmares beyond even New York standards. I would join every other public official in support of pushing back the project. “

Oleszek grew up in Sacramento, California and attended the University of California, Davis, where she majored in archeology. She was an intern for her Sacramento congressman John Moss, who was an author of the Freedom of Information Act. The act gives the public the right to access information from the federal government.  

Oleszek went on to teach in the Fairfax County School district until her children were born and she became a stay-at-home mom.

Oleszek’s neighbors described her as someone who has always been  active in her neighborhood and who was concerned about community issues. She has lived in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood for nearly 30 years.

“She is the sort who likes to bring people together,” said Herbert Persil, who has been Oleszek’s neighbor since she moved in. “Over the years, she would get together with other neighbors and organize something like a block party. This is something that she enjoys very much…she is very up on what is going on in the community.”

Another neighbor, Sonja Hancke, said that Oleszek is an “excellent cook” and is helpful with her friends.

“She was a great help when my husband passed away,” Hancke said. “She picked up my family at the airport when they came to see me. She is very thoughtful.”

To find out more information about Janet Oleszek, view our social media guide to the elections and our ongoing political coverage.