Last week, we invited the candidates running in the June 18 Democratic primary to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Below is the unedited response from James DeVita, candidate for Arlington County Board.
My name is James A. DeVita and I am a candidate for the Arlington County Board. My wife and I have been residents of Arlington since 1993 and both of my daughters graduated from Wakefield High School. I have been a trial lawyer in this area for 40 years and I represented seven Black Lives Matter protesters in a case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. I oppose Donald Trump and I support a woman’s right to choose and gun control. I would also like to do more to help the hungry and the homeless and I support the creation of more bike lanes and electric vehicle charging stations. Here are my positions on several key issues that will affect all Arlington residents:
1. The Missing Middle
a. The Missing Middle Will Not Create Affordable Housing
I oppose the Missing Middle primarily because I don’t think it will work and I believe that there are better ways to create affordable housing. The Missing Middle won’t work because it lets the market and real estate developers set the prices for the new units and the prices for the new units range from $1.4 million to $1.7 million. This is not affordable.
b. The Missing Middle Will Increase Density and Overcrowd Suburban
Neighborhoods.
The residential streets in Arlington’s single-family neighborhoods were never meant to accommodate six-unit condo buildings. Assuming that each unit has two drivers, adding a six-unit condo building will mean that 12 new cars will need to find parking on streets that were never designed to accommodate them. The Missing Middle will lead to problems with parking, traffic, and overcrowding in the schools.
c. There Are Better Alternatives
There are better ways to create affordable housing. Here are three ideas:
1. Get Private Corpoations to Subsidize the Prices.
2. Convert Vacant Office Space to Affordable Housing
3. Require The Developers of New Buildings to set aside units for lower and middle
income people
2. Schools
Nothing is more important than educating our children We need to decrease class sizes
and get our kids out of trailers.
3. Public Safety
We need to fill the vacancies in the police department and sheriff’s department to keep Arlington safe.
4. Bring New Business to Arlington
Arlington has a 22 percent commercial vacancy rate. We need to bring new business to Arlington in order lower real estate taxes.
5. Intelligent Development
We need to make sure that new buildings in Arlington are sustainable, net zero buildings and we also need to make sure that new buildings are compatible with and respect the needs of the neighborhoods they serve. We need to create more shops, restaurants, parks and green space. We need to protect our local businesses and save our Latino, African-American, and Asian Mom and Pop restaurants. We need to protect the tree canopy and keep our neighborhoods walkable, dog-friendly, and safe. We need to encourage development on Langston Boulevard and Columbia Pike.
Vote DeVita! Rank DeVita #1
Photo via James A. DeVita & Associates
