Candidates seeking to become Arlington’s next Democratic chair made their pitch to the party’s rank-and-file last week.
Tony Weaver and Paul Ruiz are vying to succeed Steve Baker, who has been at the Democratic helm for four years. Voting in early January will decide the race.
With just a few minutes to make their case, the contenders rolled through policy positions and general remarks quickly.
“Our volunteers set the standard for political organizations nationwide,” said Weaver, currently the party’s finance chair.
Weaver, who began his campaign in the spring, has laid out a multi-point strategic plan to move the party forward.
“We must adapt and plan,” he said.
Ruiz, currently the party’s deputy chair, said a strong local party could help to blunt impacts of the Trump administration and the current Republican majority in Congress.
“Our community is hurting [but] we are fighting back,” he said.
Ruiz, who entered the race after Weaver, touted his willingness to listen to new ideas and find ways to implement them.
“People rise when someone invests in them,” he said.
Introducing Weaver and Ruiz to the assembled Democrats were, respectively, party activist Charley Conrad and Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler.
All Arlington Democrats will be eligible to vote in the Jan. 7 reorganizational meeting, to be held at Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School. But to do so, they will have to register by Dec. 15.
Weaver, Ruiz and other candidates competing in contested races will be allowed brief speeches at the January meeting before voting takes place.
All voting will take place in person at the reorganization meeting, with no early or online options.
Two consecutive two-year terms is typically the maximum for Arlington Democratic chairs. Baker, who will preside over his final meeting in early January, said a leadership election provides “an exciting moment for Arlington Democrats every two years.”
Baker was first elected in 2022 in a contested race over Matt Royer. He was unopposed for reelection in 2024.
Besides the chair’s race, there are a handful of leadership posts that are being contested. Most positions on the upcoming ballot picked up just one candidate.
At the January meeting, Democrats also will elect captains for the 54 county precincts. The party typically has two or three captains per precinct, depending on size.
County Republicans bestow awards: The Arlington County Republican Committee presented annual awards at a sold-out dinner event held Dec. 3.
Three candidates who ran for office in 2025 received the Delyannis-Finta Award for Distinguished Community Involvement.
Bob Cambridge ran for County Board, with Wendy Sigley and William Moher running in races for House of Delegates.
Despite falling short to Democrats in all three cases, “these candidates gave Arlington voters an alternative to the failed status quo in our community — and their candidacy gave us a reason to send our most ambitious voter communications in a generation,” party chair Matthew Hurtt said.
Frederick Tarantino, Benjamin Thome, Patricia Schmid and Eugenia Skvortsova were presented the Hilda Griffith Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. They supported GOP outreach efforts throughout the year, party leaders said.
Eric Turner, who led a voter targeting and mobilization effort, was presented with the Alice Sayre Commonwealth Club Award.
League of Women Voters to host legislative town hall: The League of Women Voters of Arlington & Alexandria City will host a pre-legislative town hall session with members of the Arlington General Assembly delegation on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Bozman Government Center, 2100 Clarendon Blvd.
“The event will give the community an opportunity to speak with their local state senators and delegates prior to the legislative session beginning in January,” the organization said.
“Many think that participating in democracy simply means voting, but this is an opportunity for residents to put democracy into action even after an election happens,” organizers said.
For information, email [email protected].
