Democrats challenging incumbent Matt de Ferranti are criticizing the County Board for what they see as putting government spending ahead of tax relief.
Echoing a theme long trumpeted by Republican and independent political challengers to the county’s all-Democratic Board, candidates James DeVita and Julie Farnam each used the June 3 Arlington County Democratic Committee candidate forum to accuse the Board of excessive spending.
Board members this spring adopted a $1.7 billion budget that hit homeowners with a double-whammy: a 2-cent tax-rate increase on top of higher assessments.
Board members “did not put in the work” in finding ways to reduce or eliminate the tax-rate increase, Farnam said at the forum.
“We’re out of touch” as a party and “we see that same insensitivity” on the County Board, said Farnam. “We’re telling residents to cough up the money when they don’t even have it.”
Farnam, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for County Board in 2024, said county leaders lack “the backbone to challenge the status quo.”
DeVita, making his third consecutive bid for the Democratic nomination, said county failures in attracting and retaining businesses are forcing more of the tax burden on homeowners.
“All of your taxes went up because they don’t have the business-tax revenue they’ve lost,” DeVita said. “We need to bring in businesses so we can lower your taxes.”
“How do you get new business? You call them up, you make it easy to do business,” said DeVita.
Facing a tag-team effort against him, two-term incumbent de Ferranti said Arlington leaders are working to address major declines in office-vacancy rates and the budget implications they bring.
“The world has changed,” he said. “We’re responding to it as best we can. We have a structural adaptation we have to work on.”
De Ferranti defended the 2-cent tax-rate increase, saying the additional revenue was specifically targeted.
“Public safety was the reason this year we did that,” he said.
Early voting for the Aug. 4 primary begins June 18. Also on the ballot will be Republicans vying for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination, and Democrats seeking their party’s 8th District congressional nomination.
Virginia does not register voters by political parties. For the upcoming primaries, voters can participate in either the Democratic contests or the Republican one.
In other local political news:
Democrats set Joint Campaign team: The Arlington County Democratic Committee on June 3 announced leaders of its Joint Campaign, who will coordinate election efforts through November.
Tony Weaver, Liz Urschel, Mohsin Syed and School Board member Zuraya Tapia-Hadley will lead the effort.
The same group led local efforts for passage of April’s congressional redistricting referendum. While the measure passed statewide and received about 80% of the vote in Arlington, it was overturned in May by the Virginia Supreme Court.
The four jointly represent a “battle-tested group,” party chair Paul Ruiz said.
Urschel said the foursome would channel its energy into the upcoming election season.
“We are not deterred,” she said. “We need to finish the job.”
Weaver said the goal was simple: “Kicking some Republicans’ butts” in November.
Falls Church officials endorse Beyer: Five of seven Falls Church City Council members and the city’s five constitutional officers have endorsed the reelection bid of Rep. Don Beyer (D-8).
Beyer “has been an extraordinary partner to the city,” Mayor Letty Hardi said in a statement released by the Beyer campaign.
“From stepping up to support federal workers facing the Trump administration’s cruel layoffs to helping us secure federal funding for affordable housing initiatives, Don has consistently delivered for our community when it matters most,” said Hardi, who earlier this year was narrowly selected by her Council colleagues to serve another term as mayor.
Joining Hardi in endorsing the six-term incumbent were Council members Laura Downs, Marybeth Connelly, Erin Flynn and David Snyder. Former Council member Phil Duncan, who currently serves on the Planning Commission, also endorsed Beyer’s reelection bid.
The incumbent won endorsements from the city’s three constitutional officers: Sheriff Matt Cay, Treasurer Jody Acosta and Commissioner of Revenue Tom Clinton. Earlier, he won endorsements from Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson and Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, who serve both Falls Church and Arlington County.
Beyer is facing off against challengers Adam Dunigan, Michael Duffin, Mo Seifeldein and Lorena Thorne Bruner in the Aug. 4 primary. The winner moves on to the Nov. 3 general election.
Beyer challenger makes case again to Arlington Democrats: With all of Arlington set to remain in the 8th Congressional District this fall, one of the challengers to Rep. Don Beyer made his case to the party faithful.
“People are getting behind us,” Adam Dunigan said at the June 3 Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. “If you want to get passionate voters, you have to have passionate candidates.”
It was a second time before the group for Dunigan, who appeared there in February to kick off his campaign.
While praising Beyer for his service, Dunigan said it was time for “a fresh set of eyes to put on the problems we are facing.”
“People are ready for it,” he said.
The Democratic Committee on July 1 will hold a debate between Democratic congressional candidates. In addition to Beyer and Dunigan, they include Michael Duffin, Mo Seifeldein and Lorena Thorne Bruner.
Arlington Democrats open new office: The Arlington County Democratic Committee has moved to new office space, located on the second floor at 2700 S. Quincy Street in Shirlington.
“We’re going to start doing some new events there,” party chair Paul Ruiz said at Democrats’ June 3 monthly meeting. “We have this fantastic new facility — come on down and join us.”
Among the activities, Democrats will bring back their “Second Saturday” breakfast series, which previously had been held at Busboys & Poets nearby.
Now, the event will be held in the new space, and will feature a catered breakfast.
