The Arlington County Board members voted last night to give themselves the ability to raise their pay by more than 50% next year.
Currently, Board members are paid $55,147 annually while the Board Chair is paid $60,662. Board members set a salary cap for their jobs every four years and last night voted for a significant hike.
Thumbs Down. After Chairman Christian Dorsey said earlier this year it was not the right time to consider a pay raise, the Arlington County Board will vote to raise its pay cap tonight. Members will choose between three options. Will it be 10%, 63% or 135%?
One can assume the Board would not vote to raise their salaries up to $129,429, but at least one Board Member, Libby Garvey, will almost certainly make the case for it. Garvey believes the County Board is already a full-time job, not a part-time job.
By Jill Caiazzo
The 2019 Democratic primary in Arlington was a bruiser. On all sides, emotions ran high while the rhetoric ran disappointingly low at times. With the votes now in, the hue-and-cry of the campaign trail has given way to calmer calls for unity. This article is not one of them.
It’s Friday and that means it’s time to turn your attention away from primary politics and focus on the weekend ahead.
On Tuesday, incumbent prosecutor Theo Stamos lost her bid for re-election to challenger Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in an upset that some experts say is unprecedented in Arlington. And on the national election stage, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visited Arlington for a private fundraising event.
Our newest pet of the week is 10-month-old rescue puppy Cooper in Arlington Village.
Cooper’s owner Andrea had this to say about the dog she says is learning to come out of his shell:
Here is the unedited response from Theo Stamos:
By now, you know the issues in this election. Rather than rehash them, it is important for you to know who I am, my leadership in the legal community, why Arlington is so important to me, and why I deserve your vote for Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Here is the unedited response from Parisa Dehghani-Tafti:
My family and I are blessed to be part of this community. We are rightly proud of our schools, our local government, and the leadership role Arlington and the City of Falls Church have taken in the Commonwealth across a number of issues. The glaring exception remains our criminal justice system. But together we can change that and bring much needed reform to our Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office while keeping our families safe.
Last week, we asked the two Democratic candidates in the State Senate race for the 31st District to write a sub-750 word essay on why the county’s residents should vote for them in the June 11 primary.
Here is the unedited response from Nicole Merlene:
Here is the unedited response from Barbara Favola:
Why you should vote for me.
Here is the unedited response from Julius “JD” Spain, Sr.:
The 49th District deserves the best leadership. As Delegate, one my priorities will be to introduce legislation to reform our mental health system. In Virginia, our mental health system is broken, and we are losing too many children and young adults because we have not done enough to support them. This issue is one that requires immediate attention. I will work with experts in mental health to improve access to mental health resources for individuals and families.
Here is the unedited response from Alfonso Lopez:
It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve the residents of the 49th District as your Delegate in Richmond. Our district, which runs along Columbia Pike from Pentagon City to Bailey’s Crossroads and then up Route 7 to Seven Corners, is one of the most vibrant and diverse places in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Moreover, I am reminded every day that we live in a special community that believes in lifting everyone up and leaving no one behind. Indeed, those are the core values that have guided my legislative agenda in the General Assembly.
It’s Friday, it’s pretty nice outside, it’s dog-walking time.
It’s also almost election time. Virginia’s primary elections are Tuesday, June 11 and Arlington has several candidates on the ballot this year. The race for commonwealth’s attorney has grown especially heated in recent weeks, raking in some serious campaign contributions and also sparking discussions about long-standing issues like how defense attorneys access criminal case documents.
