Newly proposed legislation could make it possible for Arlington to implement major county-government changes.
Del. Patrick Hope (D-1) has introduced a bill for the 2025 General Assembly session that would make it possible for Arlington voters and officials to adopt several changes.
These include adjustments to the number of Arlington County Board members, as well as changes to the county’s election districts and to the way the County Board chair is elected.
“Arlington and the commonwealth have changed dramatically in the last 100 years, and it’s time our governance caught up with the rest of the commonwealth,” Del. Patrick Hope (D-1), the measure’s patron, said in a statement accompanying the bill.
Hope introduced similar legislation last year, but withdrew it after Arlington’s local leadership declared it premature.
He said the bill would not require Board members to move forward, even if voters authorized changes in referendums. But it would give them the option to do so.
“To me, this legislation is about self-governance and the ability for the County Board to determine its own make-up and structure,” he said.
The three significant provisions of Hope’s legislation:
Number of Board Members: The current Board consists of five members, with no alteration in the number permitted.
Under Hope’s bill, either the Board or the public could petition the Circuit Court for a referendum. If passed, Board members would have the authority to contract or expand the body to a number between three and 11, or make no change.
Election Districts: All five current Board positions are at-large posts. Under Hope’s bill, the Board or voters could petition the Circuit Court for a referendum to change that.
If approved, Board members would have the power to alter elections and provide for district-based elections or a combination of district-based and at-large posts, or retain the current all-at-large arrangement.
Board Chair: Currently, the Board chair is chosen from among members on a calendar-year basis. While not prohibited, the practice has been that no member will serve as chair more than one year at a time.
Under Hope’s bill, either the Board or the public could petition the court to begin electing the Board chair as a separate position, serving for the same term length as other board members (currently four years).
Unlike the other two provisions, this section of the bill would not be discretionary — if the board-chair provision was to pass in a referendum, it automatically would go into effect, and would not require authorization by Board members.
The Arlington County Civic Federation, which supports governance-change proposals, had a positive reaction to the 2025 bill. Organization president John Ford told ARLnow:
“The Civic Federation supports legislation recently introduced by Del. Patrick Hope — not for the first time — that would enable Arlington to exercise the right of governmental self-determination that some other municipalities enjoy, and potentially to open the way for more of the kind of open and free discussion of aspects of our county government that might lead to change if supported by the community.”
Leaders of the Arlington County Democratic Committee and Arlington Greens did not respond to requests for comment at publication time.
Arlington County Republican Committee chairman Matthew Hurtt said he is “encouraged by the increased opportunity to make our case to voters across Arlington.”
“Arlington Republicans are generally supportive of any innovation that gives voters more direct representation at the local level,” he told ARLnow.
To win enactment into law, Hope’s measure would need to be passed by both houses of the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
Although Democrats hold slim legislative majorities, Youngkin’s say likely would be final. Not one of his vetoes has been overridden in the governor’s first three years in office.
From the Reconstruction era until the early 1930s, present-day Arlington was governed by a three-member Board of Supervisors, elected in districts running roughly east to west in the northern, central and southern areas of the county.
That body held legislative, executive and quasi-judicial powers in what was, until the early part of the 20th century, a still largely rural locality slowly morphing into a bedroom community.
The General Assembly in 1930 gave Arlington the power to change its governance form to the “county manager plan” — with five elected Board members and a professional county manager.
Hope’s legislation is silent on the method of election used to select Board members.
Until last year, general elections for the body were held under winner-take-all rules. That switched to ranked-choice voting in November 2024, but current Board members have not committed to that format in future general elections.
