Falls Church’s incumbent mayor narrowly won reappointment to a new two-year term yesterday (Monday).
Letty Hardi was selected by colleagues to continue in the post on a 4-3 vote, with new Council member Arthur Agin delivering the slim margin of victory.
Agin, Hardi, Justine Underhill and Laura Downs backed Hardi, while Marybeth Connelly, David Snyder and Erin Flynn voted in support of Connelly.
Underhill said the incumbent mayor had “done truly amazing work, locally and regionally,” and has “gone above and beyond” in her service to the city.
But Flynn, who nominated Connelly, said Connelly was a “generous colleague whose natural inclination is to look for consensus.”
Flynn said she decided to nominate Connelly, who has served on the Council for 12 years, because “we should follow a rotational system” and allow multiple Council members the opportunity to hold the post over the course of time.
Less contentious was the vote for vice mayor, where Downs was selected unanimously.
“Mayor Hardi and I work well together, but we sometimes have different perspectives on issues,” said Downs. “That exchange of ideas is really going to benefit the community and the Council as a whole.”
Hardi echoed that theme.
“We all bring different strengths and talents,” she said, asking to be judged on “what I do and not what I say.”
The mayor said she believed Falls Church had the talent to punch above its weight class on the Northern Virginia political scene.
“Regional and broader collaboration is more important than ever,” Hardi said. “When you’re the smallest city on the block, you need to be friends with your neighbors.”
Hardi and several of her colleagues expressed concern for the regional economic situation and impacts of Trump administration downsizing of the federal workforce.
Connelly exhibited no ill will in coming up short for mayor. She said Hardi and Downs were “both well-equipped for their roles” and said the Council worked well together despite differences.
“We’ve all learned to listen and collaborate and compromise,” Connelly said.
Council member David Snyder, who in past years served as both mayor and vice mayor, said he was fine with the selection of Hardi and Downs.
“I’m absolutely convinced we’ll be in good hands,” he said.
Because it is not separately elected, the mayor’s position has no independent power, although running the meetings and presiding over agenda-setting sessions does allow for outsized input on major issues.
The vice mayor steps in when the mayor is not available.
Four of the seven Council seats had been on the Nov. 4 ballot. Snyder, Downs and Connelly won re-election, with Agin taking the fourth seat in a six-candidate field.
He succeeds Debora Schantz-Hiscott, who did not seek reelection.
“I’m thankful to everyone who put their trust in me,” Agin said at the Jan. 5 meeting.
