Politics Ellis Announces Independent Campaign for Catoctin Supervisor

Conservationist John Ellis on Monday officially announced his campaign as an independent for the Catoctin District seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

“I’m running for Catoctin supervisor because I love western Loudoun and want to make sure it remains as wonderful for our kids as it is for us today,” Ellis stated in a press release announcing his campaign. “We need more than lip service to address the intense development pressures, increasing traffic congestion, rising property assessments, growing water scarcity, and ballooning county spending. Time is short. We can and must do better.”

Ellis is a co-founder of Save Rural Loudoun, serves on the county’s Fiscal Impact Committee and the board of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, a member of the Farm Bureau and a lifelong outdoorsman. Before coming to Loudoun in 2015, he graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, joined the U.S. diplomatic corps and became an international trade negoti- ator. Today, he and his wife Anne live near Hillsboro and have two adult daughters and one granddaughter.

He wrote he supports initiatives to improve the walkability of towns and villages; to create more parks and trails for safe hiking, bicycling, and other outdoor recreation; and to preserve Loudoun’s historic legacy. He also wrote he is dedicated to helping Loudoun farmers supply high-quality foods and beverages to local and regional markets and to promoting Loudoun’s wineries, breweries, and other small businesses.

On his campaign website, he pledges not to accept donations from developers, political parties, or other outside sources.

“With the recent redistricting, Catoctin is the only district in Loudoun that remains primarily rural,” Ellis stated. “To effectively defend the interests of our small towns and rural areas on the nine-member county Board of Supervisors, we must stand united on the local issues we all care about.”

Learn more at johnellis4catoctin.com. n

NagiReddi Announces for 26th House District

IT professional Sree NagiReddi announced a campaign for the 26th District seat in the state House of Delegates on Tuesday, March 14, setting up another Democratic primary race.

“My experience on numerous state and local boards, community groups, and leadership positions will serve our community and the Commonwealth well,” NagiReddi stated. “I plan to fight for the voices of District 26 to be heard all across Loudoun and the Commonwealth on topics such as bettering infrastructure, public transportation, education for all, standing up to gun violence, affordable housing, Medicare of all, clean energy, and women’s reproductive rights, among other key issues.”

His candidacy sets up a Democratic primary race with Sterling financier Kannan Srinivasan, who announced he would run for the seat earlier this month. Both ran unsuccessfully for local office in 2019; Srinivasan ran against county Treasurer Roger Zurn, and NagiReddi ran against county Supervisor Matthew F. Leatourneau (R-Dulles).

NagiReddi, who works at Lockheed Martin, billed himself as a small business owner, non-profit director, and entrepreneur. He has served on the Virginia State Census and Loudoun Complete Count Committee, and the Loudoun Transit Advisory Board. He is a member of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, the Democratic Party of Virginia, AAPI of Loudoun, and Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia.

Among other volunteering, since 2015 he has been a director of the Washington, DC chapter of New Jersey-based nonprofit VT Seva, the sister organization of the Indian volunteer service organization Vikasa Tarangini. .

He was presented with the U.S Presidential Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award for Community Service for his more than 5,000 hours of community service.

NagiReddi, the son of two school teachers, and his wife Swapna, and their two children have lived in the area since 2009. Both children attended Loudoun County Public Schools.

NagiReddi’s campaign website is sreefordelegate.com. n