Arlington’s rash of satirical posters has continued to expand its orbit, taking on another political candidate and a local towing company.
With more cropped images and whimsical captions, new signs have appeared at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and N. Quincy Street in the Ballston area. They poke fun at Advanced Towing, independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement, and Democratic County Board challenger James DeVita (and his unique signs).
Some riff on the skibidi toilet meme, while another riffs on the Happy Days “jumping the shark” episode, with a caption referencing ARLnow commenters.
The rogue claiming credit for the signs goes by the handle “ArlingtonAF” and identified himself as Wilson B. He told ARLnow that he has drafted around 60 to 70 designs over the last few months — posting them in busy areas across Arlington, Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood and D.C.
Why does he do it?
“Everyone’s got hobbies,” the trickster said. “Some people play fantasy sports. Some people drink alcohol. I just do art.”
Wilson B. — who has previously authored pro-pickleball posters in Penrose Park and earned a ribbon at the Arlington County Fair for a poster ribbing the ARLnow comment section — started his latest round of mischief back in February.
A friend had been hoping to buy his daughter a new bike, but he got laid off from his job at USAID.
To help him find the money, Wilson B. created a design spoofing the Virginia state seal, with the goddess of virtue trampling President Donald Trump over the motto “sic semper tyrannis.” He created an online shop selling posters and flags, and quickly raised $500 buy the bicycle.
Since then, the mischief-maker has gone on to razz various local entities, with mixed responses.
One sign with an image of Elon Musk’s Nazi-like salute and the caption “join the ArlGOP” earned the ire of the Arlington County Republican Committee in February. And in recent weeks, DeVita has likewise pushed back against parodies of his own idiosyncratic campaign signs.
Wilson B. is unrepentant.
“It is what it is,” he said. “If you don’t want to be parodied by me, don’t run for County Board.”
Still, the creator admits that he has been cut down to size, from time to time.
Around County Board member Libby Garvey’s retirement last year, for instance, he posted signs saying, “Let’s build a streetcar when Libby Garvey isn’t looking.” He recalled later meeting the longtime Arlington official at an event.
“She’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to do that? Good luck with that,'” Wilson B. said. “I was like, ‘I just got put in my place.'”
With some exceptions, the jokester behind ArlingtonAF said public response to his work has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Almost 100% of people are like, ‘it’s funny, it’s awesome, that’s cool,'” he said. “Very few people will run to the newspaper and be like, ‘I’m offended.'”
In the end, Wilson B. sees his signs as contributing to the democratic process, encouraging people to engage with local issues and educate themselves about candidates.
“Nobody’s safe,” he said. “Put it like this — if I ever run for political office and I don’t get parodied, I’m probably not doing it right.”
Hat tip to Geoff Collins
