Competing visions of housing and development in Arlington underpinned a County Board candidate forum Wednesday night.
In particular focus at the Arlington Committee of 100 event were divided stances on Missing Middle. Supporting the rezoning policy, which the Board unanimously approved last year, are Democrats Tenley Peterson and JD Spain.
With the Arlington School Board caucus now underway, several Democratic candidates have released introduction videos.
Local Democrats have until May 11 to vote in this year’s caucus, determining which of the four candidates currently running for School Board will receive the party’s endorsement for two open seats.
(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Democratic candidates are racking up tens of thousands of dollars in donations, as well as numerous notable endorsements, as this year’s local races heat up.
Three Arlington County Board contenders are leading the pack in terms of donations for this election cycle, campaign finance reports show. Natalie Roy has raised about $41,000 so far, JD Spain has raised $37,000 and Tenley Peterson has raised $23,000.
Arlington spent $74,000 in two months combating a lawsuit over Missing Middle housing, public records show, drawing the ire of a County Board candidate.
The county, which hired law firm Gentry Locke at the start of this year, paid $49,251 for services in January and $24,536 in February, according to invoices. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign for the lawsuit — which alleges that Arlington failed to adequately study the impacts of Missing Middle before approving the zoning change — has raised about $69,000 since last June.
While the presidential primaries are now a done deal, races for Arlington Democratic nods are just getting started.
A full slate of candidates are vying for seats on the Arlington School Board and Arlington County Board. Five Democratic contenders are jockeying for the place of outgoing County Board Chair Libby Garvey and another four are gunning for two School Board seats.
President Joe Biden and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won the majority of votes in Arlington in yesterday’s Virginia presidential primary.
However, the low voter turnout in both primaries might serve as a warning sign for both Biden and the now clear Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, of a lack of voter enthusiasm.
On the eve of Super Tuesday, local party leaders, political consults and pundits on both sides of the aisle have already agreed on who the Republican and Democratic nominees for president will be.
One question lingering in the minds of many is whether the D.C. suburbs, including Arlington, can offer any indication of whether candidates are gaining or losing sufficient suburban voters to impact the general election.
With ranked-choice voting now the go-to method for local primaries in Arlington, the County Board is also considering using it for the November general election.
This Saturday, the Board plans to hold a public hearing to decide whether to use the voting method, also known as RCV, in the County Board election this fall to fill Chair Libby Garvey’s soon-to-be-vacant seat — the only one expected to be empty.
Four School Board hopefuls are now jockeying for the endorsement of Arlington Democrats this May.
Kathleen Clark, Larry Fishtahler and Zuraya Tapia-Hadley launched their School Board bids during the Arlington Dems monthly meeting at Lubber Run Community Center on Wednesday night.
Two new candidates for Arlington County Board have emerged — one is new to the ballot, while another is returning.
Last night (Wednesday), first-time candidate and current Planning Commissioner Tenley Peterson and second-time candidate J.D. Spain, Sr. announced their bids for the seat Chair Libby Garvey will vacate at the end of the year.
Young Arlington politicos across the partisan divide are closely watching Donald Trump’s presidential bid and its potential effect on voter turnout this cycle.
Whereas Arlington Young Democrats (AYD) is using the prospect of a second Trump presidency to mobilize the party’s base, Arlington-Falls Church Young Republicans (AFCYR) is threading the needle of supporting the likely GOP frontrunner without estranging members of their party.
Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey is retiring at the end of her term in 2024.
She announced her decision near the top of a County Board meeting today (Tuesday).
