Distilling the essence of Libby Garvey’s 28 years in Arlington public life would have required far longer than the 75 minutes allotted at the Tuesday (Dec. 17) County Board meeting.
But a number of local civic and political leaders gave it their best shot.
Marguarite Gooden, one of a number of speakers who lined up to sing Garvey’s praises, called her a “masterful” political figure who lived up to her ideals — even when they caused discomfort for others in the political sphere.
Garvey didn’t shy away from “really risky and revolutionary thinking,” said Gooden, a retired educator and longtime civic activist from the Halls Hill/High View Park community.
Garvey, a Democrat who was first elected to the County Board in 2012 after 15 years on the School Board, opted not to seek a new four-year term in 2024. Her last day in office is Dec. 31.
John Vihstadt, frequently an ally for the four years (2015-18) they served together on the County Board, said Garvey possessed four qualities in short supply among leaders these days.
They included civility; putting policy over politics; championing education; and nurturing local, regional and statewide connections.
Borrowing, with attribution, a line from late county Treasurer Frank O’Leary, Vihstadt referred to Garvey and her supporters as “Libby-tarians” — independent thinkers willing to buck the county’s political orthodoxy.
From School Board to County Board
Garvey was serving on the School Board when she won a contentious Democratic County Board nomination caucus in springtime 2012 after incumbent Barbara Favola won election to the Virginia Senate.
As the party’s nominee in the special election that followed, Garvey narrowly bested Republican Mark Kelly, with independent Audrey Clement trailing. Later the same year, she more easily won the general election over Republican Matt Wavro and Clement.
But Garvey’s steadfast opposition to the Columbia Pike streetcar project brought her enemies within the Arlington County Democratic Committee. At one point she and the committee parted ways, although later there was a rapprochement.
After winning the Democratic County Board primary in 2016 over Erik Gutshall , Garvey won that year’s general election over Clement. Four years later, with no intra-party challenge, she again defeated Clement in the 2020 general election.
With Republican-leaning independent Vihstadt as an ally, Garvey eventually emerged victorious on the streetcar issue. In the wake of the 2014 general election, two Democratic Board members — Jay Fisette and Mary Hynes — joined with Vihstadt and Garvey to kill off the $350 million project that would have connected Pentagon City to Skyline.
Before running for County Board, a 2011 effort by Garvey to move from School Board to the Virginia Senate fell short when she lost to Adam Ebbin in the Democratic primary. Once ensconced on the County Board, Garvey seemed content to stay.
After her decision not to seek re-election was announced, J.D. Spain, Sr., emerged as the Democratic nominee and handily won the four-candidate general election. Spain, who takes office Jan. 1, was on hand for Garvey’s valedictory, as she had been three days before for his swearing-in ceremony.
Looking to 2050, Fending Off Critics
The post of County Board chair rotates annually among members. Garvey used her final turn as chair in 2024 to champion a visioning effort to look at where Arlington would be in the year 2050, and how it would get there.
“If people have a sense of where they’re going … folks can accept change more easily,” she said at the Dec. 17 event.
The year-long visioning exercise provided more than just snapshots into the future, Garvey said.
“We learned lots of new ways of engaging people,” she said. “Our greatest resource is each other.”
While the tone of the Dec. 17 gathering was laudatory, a number of civic activists used the Board’s public-comment period three days before to castigate Garvey for not, in their view, being progressive enough.
One critic, speaking during the public comment period at Saturday’s Board meeting, said Garvey exuded “disdain and indifference” for people of color and those without a voice in the community.
Garvey responded that ad hominem attacks really served no purpose.
“You don’t know me,” she said, offering to meet with her critics in a private setting.
Over the past year as Board chair, Garvey has rebuffed, sometimes forcefully, efforts by those on the left pressing Board members to back policies like ending participation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or endorsing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
As she did at the November meeting as well, Garvey on Dec. 14 said activists needed to take the lead to advocate for change, not push government at the local level to go outside the limits of its authority.
“We have to follow the law,” she said of local governments. “There are real limits — many things we can do and many things we can’t do.”
And activists picking fights with local elected officials generally on the same side as they are is counterproductive, Garvey said.
With Republicans set to control the federal government and in charge of Virginia’s executive branch, “you may have lack of trust … but we’re all you’ve got,” she said.
A Pledge to Stay Involved
In remarks that preceded a reception honoring her service, Garvey said she planned to stay involved in civic life, albeit in different roles.
And she took the accolades coming her way with wry humor.
“It’s really great to have an event like this … and not have to be dead,” Garvey said with a chuckle.
“I really appreciate all the kind words,” she said in a more serious vein. “A lot of trips down memory lane. What a cool county we live in.”
In remarks, Garvey thanked her family, as well as her Board colleagues and county staff, for supporting her efforts.
“Local government is my passion — I love this stuff,” she said. “Arlington has in many ways been a big family for me.”
Vihstadt, who was defeated for re-election in 2018 but remains active in civic life, said he expected Garvey to be true to her word about remaining involved.
“There is life after elected office,” he told her. “Embrace it.”
