Clement Again Running for County Board

Audrey Clement is running for Arlington County Board under the Arlington Green Party banner, for the fourth time since 2011.

Clement, a long-time Arlington resident and IT consultant, will face off against incumbent Democrat Jay Fisette in November. The Arlington Green Party is urging a vote for Clement to “end one-party rule in Arlington.”

“Arlington needs new leadership,” the party said in a press release. “Jay Fisette says he is for sustainability, but the tax hikes County Board plans to impose on county residents to fund boondoggles like the Pike trolley and heated bus stops are unsustainable.”

Clement was nominated at the Greens’ April 3 meeting. She is running on a platform that includes:

• Adopt a referendum sponsored by the Arlington Green Party to create a Housing Authority to provide more affordable housing at less cost.
• No more tax rate increases. Repave streets. Fund schools and libraries, not wasteful projects, like million dollar bus stops on Columbia Pike.
• Use commercial real estate tax to fund ART buses not the $250 million Pike trolley.
• Fund school construction to ease overcrowding.
• Open Arlington public libraries 7 days a week.
• Retrofit public buildings with renewable energy.
• Reduce waste. Increase recycling in apartments and businesses.
• Ban single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam in retail stores and food outlets to reduce litter.
• Provide free residential energy audits.

Clement received 12.9 percent of the vote in November 2012. Green Party candidate John Reeder received 32 percent of the vote when he ran against Fisette in 2009.

The Arlington County Republican Committee has set May 12 as the filing deadline for potential County Board candidates.