We recently invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 3 General Election to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Below is the unedited response from Audrey Clement, who is running for County Board.
Welcome, ARLnow readers. I’m Audrey Clement, Independent candidate for County Board. I’m a 22-year resident of Westover, where I enjoy the convenience of a transit-oriented community.
In addition to attaining a Ph.D. in Political Science from Temple University, I’ve served on the Transportation Commission, Civic Federation, and the Arlington Neighborhoods Advisory Committee.
I’m running for County Board to oppose:
- Missing Middle upzoning
- Escalating taxes
- Clearcutting and teardowns for more infill development
- One party rule.
I’m also concerned about the massive federal layoffs impacting Northern Virginia. Our elected officials have exposed the plight of thousands of Virginia workers riffed directly or indirectly by DOGE, but they’ve done little about it. Instead consumed with Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), all they talk about is dumping Trump. They are reactive rather than proactive.
A case in point is Trump’s plans for a triumphal arch overlooking Memorial Bridge that local Democrats have sued in federal court to stop. Yes. The design is grandiose, and Trump’s latest idea to make it a “top grade military complex” is bizarre to say the least. Nevertheless, a scaled back monument might enhance Memorial Circle, except that compromise is a dirty word in this toxic political environment.
Another example of TDS inspired political gridlock are two recent incidents involving ICE. On August 10, 2026 an ICE agent pulled a gun on a woman whom he claimed was using her vehicle to impede a lawful immigration enforcement operation near Bailey’s Crossroads. In another incident on August 11, 2026, an illegal alien was tasered while fleeing ICE arrest.
Despite public outcry over the incidents, there’s no acknowledgement that the County’s decision in May, 2025 to cease cooperation with ICE has only increased the prospect of violent confrontations like these on Arlington streets. In other words, open borders activists and their Democrat allies have created the very conditions that they themselves say they deplore.
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has stepped into the policy gap created by TDS Democrats. They aim to coopt the party with a radical socialist agenda that mandates: abolishing ICE, the U.S. Senate and the Electoral College; replacing the Presidency & Supreme Court; instituting open borders; defunding the Pentagon, including military aid to Israel; abolishing prisons; and public ownership of large corporations.
The effect of socialist inspired policies is evident in New York City, where major corporations are looking for the exit ramps due to high taxes and negative perception of the Mamdani administration. If the County incentivized tax burdened NYC businesses to relocate here, Arlington’s office vacancy rate, which is north of 20 percent, would drop–proving to be a win-win for all. Yet because of the appeal of divisive politics to our own elected officials, that’s not likely to happen.
If the Democrats are going socialist, they’re on the wrong side of history. The world has been there and done that with socialism, because it promised utopia and delivered dystopia. If elected, I will do my best to point that out.
The avenue to good government is through popular policies built on consensus, not coercion. That’s what I advocate, and that’s why I’m running as an Independent for Arlington County Board.
