The familiar political conflict of experience and new blood dominated a debate between Democratic contenders for the 1st District House of Delegates seat.
Incumbent Del. Patrick Hope worked to fend off criticisms by challenger Arjoon Srikanth in the Tuesday (May 13) forum, sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation.
The third contender in the June 17 Democratic primary, Sean Epstein, was unable to attend, federation president John Ford said.
Srikanth, a software engineer, said Democratic leadership was stagnant.
“Young people are moving away from the Democratic Party,” he said.
He criticized party leaders for what he suggested was a tepid response to the new Trump era.
“I would have met the moment in a more ferocious, energetic way,” said Srikanth, making his first bid for elected office.
Hope, an attorney who was first elected in 2009, said while he may have seniority, he is not out of touch with voters in the 1st District. He knocks on 4,000 doors annually to get the pulse of the community, Hope said.
In Richmond, “I know how to get things done,” said Hope, who chairs the House Committee on Courts of Justice. “I hope the voters see that I deserve to be re-elected.”
Both contenders said they could work across the aisle to accomplish things. Hope pointed to legislation on criminal justice and mental health issues, while Srikanth said his proposals on energy policy would win bipartisan support.
Srikanth said local elected officials at all levels need to work better with those of differing viewpoints.
“Arlington is a bubble,” he said. “We have to break out.”
Each candidate said they would like to see Virginia loosen its Dillon Rule restrictions on local government autonomy but both doubted it would be significantly altered.
Ben Watts, a Civic Federation delegate, cautioned candidates against going too far in pushing for home rule. “Unintended consequences” could result, he suggested.
Arlington is carved into three House of Delegates districts: the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Hope, whose district includes much of central and western Arlington north of Columbia Pike, is the only incumbent facing a primary challenge.
Debate schedule readjusted. What to do when an incumbent is delayed at a government meeting and can’t make it in time for a scheduled candidate forum?
For Arlington County Civic Federation president John Ford, efforts included re-adjusting the schedule — and stalling a bit.
“We’re making this up as we go along,” he acknowledged while shuffling the agenda.
The Civic Federation’s spring County Board candidate debate had been set for 7:50 p.m. at the Tuesday (May 13) meeting. But at 7:50, incumbent Takis Karantonis was still several miles away, chairing a longer-than-expected Board meeting.
Ford juggled the agenda, first moving consideration of a resolution to the front, then holding the debate between 1st District House of Delegates contenders. Both events had been planned to run after the County Board forum.
Ford encouraged audience questions for the legislative candidates, allowing that forum to expand beyond its planned 25 minutes.
The Board meeting wrapped up at 8:39 p.m.; video shows Karantonis moving expeditiously out of the room so he could drive from Courthouse Plaza to VHC Health, where the Civic Federation meeting was taking place.
Ford opted to start the forum in his absence, giving challengers James DeVita, Audrey Clement and Jeramy Olmack the chance to make opening statements and field a few questions before the incumbent’s arrival.
DeVita is challenging Karantonis in the June 17 Democratic primary. Clement and Olmack are independents who are waiting in the wings to take on the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 4 general election.
