County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti says he is providing steady leadership in uncertain times, while primary challengers say he has much to answer for.
Julie Farnam and James DeVita are attempting to unseat de Ferranti in the primary next Tuesday, Aug. 4. The winner becomes the odds-on favorite in the Nov. 3 general election against independents Audrey Clement and David Sisson.
Both Farnam and DeVita have run for office before in Democratic primaries. While unsuccessful in the past, each told ARLnow they see a path to victory in 2026.
“People are really concerned about our taxes going up and how expensive housing is,” Farnam said. “Hands down, the biggest issue I hear about is the unaffordability of Arlington.”
DeVita also pointed to affordability issues, which he said are exacerbated by the County’s Board’s tax policies.
“Due to the current incumbent’s failure to bring new business to Arlington, the County Board has been forced to raise taxes with no end in sight,” he said. “The current incumbent has done nothing to offset the serious economic problems that Arlington is facing due to the pandemic and Trump’s decimation of the local federal workforce.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, de Ferranti sees the situation differently.
At a recent forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association, the incumbent — elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 — said county leaders have worked hard to adapt in a new economic environment.
“The fundamental truth is, the world changed in the last five years. We have to adjust,” de Ferranti said.
On other issues, Farnam said she has been hearing from voters concerned about county government accountability as well as housing.
“There is a general sense that the county isn’t spending our money responsibly and they’re not fully transparent about how our money is spent,” she said.
DeVita cited concerns about housing and public safety.
As he has in past races for County Board, DeVita criticized the county government’s pursuit of Missing Middle housing policies, which have divided the community.
“Missing Middle is not liberal or progressive. It’s just a bad idea, and I oppose it wholeheartedly,” he said, citing impacts on schools, stormwater systems, parking and overall neighborhood life.
On Missing Middle, de Ferranti has maintained that he was the Board member who forged a middle ground — allowing up to six units on a parcel, but not the eight that some advocates pushed for.
On public safety, de Ferranti acknowledged staffing issues in the police and fire departments.
“We have to address those challenges,” he said, pointing to region-high starting police pay and improvements in working conditions as a start.
Local primaries typically are held in mid-June, but were pushed back this year to accommodate congressional redistricting. While redistricting was approved by voters in an April referendum, it was later invalidated on procedural grounds by the Virginia Supreme Court.
The County Board challengers say moving to a midsummer primary has given them more time to meet the public, but also may lead to more potential voters being tuned out.
“There’s definitely more buzz around the congressional race rather than the County Board race,” Farnam said. “I think some of that is related to [Don] Beyer having a formidable challenger with [Adam] Dunigan. Dunigan has also been quite good at energizing younger voters and has a massive social-media following.”
DeVita said early-voting trends are pointing to a low turnout.
“Hopefully turnout will pick up, as this is an important election,” he said.
Virginia does not register voters by political parties. For the upcoming primary, Arlington voters can cast ballots in the Democratic races for 8th Congressional District and County Board, or the Republican nominating contest for U.S. Senate. However, voters can’t cast ballots in both primaries.
The County Board Democratic primary will be the fourth in a row held under ranked-choice rules.
In-person early voting continues through Saturday, Aug. 1 at several locations. All 54 county precincts will be open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and ballots will be accepted at dropboxes through 7 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before Aug. 4, and will be counted as long as they arrive at the elections office by noon on Aug. 7.
The electoral history of the three candidates on the ballot, based on Virginia Department of Elections data:
De Ferranti:
- 2018 Democratic County Board primary: de Ferranti 60.7%, Chanda Choun 39.3%
- 2018 County Board election: de Ferranti 53.4%, John Vihstadt, 46%
- 2022 County Board election: de Ferranti 60.8%, Clement 28%, Adam Theo 10%
Farnam:
- 2024 Democratic County Board primary (first round of ranked choice): Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. 32.3%, Natalie Roy 28.4%, Tenley Peterson 23.6%, DeVita 9.6%, Farnam 6.2%
DeVita:
- 2023 Democratic Virginia Senate primary: Barbara Favola 83.7%, DeVita 16.3%
- 2024 Democratic County Board primary (first round of ranked choice): Spain 32.3%, Roy 28.4%, Peterson 23.6%, DeVita 9.6%, Farnam 6.2%
- 2025 Democratic County Board primary (first round of ranked choice): Takis Karantis 62.4%, DeVita 35.8%
