This week, we invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 5 General Election 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 Audrey Clement, who is running for Arlington County Board as an Independent.
I’m Audrey Clement, the Independent candidate for Arlington County Board. I’ve lived in Westover for twenty years, where I enjoy the convenience of a bike friendly community accessible to public transportation.
In addition to a Ph.D in Political Science from Temple University, with service as a Congressional Fellow, I’ve served on the Transportation Commission, Arlington County Civic Federation, and the Arlington Neighborhoods Advisory Committee. I’m running for County Board to challenge:
- excessive taxation, and
- Missing Middle upzoning
Earlier this year, the County Manager reported that he could balance the budget without a tax hike. [FY 2025 Proposed Budget, p. 7.] Thus there was no need for County Board to adopt a budget that increased the effective tax rate by 5.1 percent, which is about double the average 10-year rate of inflation, [FY 2025 Adopted Budget Summary, p. 3.]
The watchword of the American Revolution was: “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” Yet my Democrat opponent J.D. Spain resides in a tax-exempt property in South Arlington. While I don’t begrudge J.D. any tax exemptions to which he is entitled, I doubt that anyone who pays little or no real estate tax either directly or indirectly through their rent can fairly represent those who do.
J.D. has responded to this charge by arguing that he is liable for the tax on a second property in South Arlington. But the second property is worth less than half his residential property. This makes his tax assessment only a third of the average tax bill as a percent of assessed value and even less if the second property is an investment property, where the tenant pays the tax due through their rent. How, therefore, can J.D. appreciate, let alone mitigate, the average resident’s heavy tax burden?
I also oppose the so-called “Missing Middle” ordinance adopted by the Board in 2023 that was recently overturned in Circuit Court. Missing Middle a/k/a EHO up-zoned residential neighborhoods throughout the county. Yet EHO is nothing more than a revenue generating cash cow designed to offset a declining commercial tax base. EHO will not redress exclusionary zoning, because the housing it creates will not be affordable to most minorities.
Adding insult to injury, the County is expected to bill taxpayers for the cost of appealing the EHO decision on top of $1.1 million in legal expenses it has already extracted from them.
To stop Missing Middle and lower your taxes, vote Clement for County Board on November 5. If elected, I will:
- Seek immediate tax relief for residents and businesses,
- Propose an ordinance requiring members of the Board and commissions who do not pay real estate taxes either directly or indirectly through their rent to recuse themselves from tax related matters, and
- Convene a task force of community stakeholders to study reasonable alternatives to Missing Middle.
If you share my agenda, then:
· Volunteer or donate to my campaign at AudreyClement.com.
· because County Board needs more than a rubber stamp.
