election | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published March 3, 2020 at 6:00AM | Updated March 3, 2020 at 8:26AM

It’s Primary Day — Today is Super Tuesday, the presidential primary day in Virginia and 13 other states across the U.S. In Arlington, polls are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Arlington public schools are closed to students today. [Arlington County, Twitter]

Beyer, Lopez Endorse Biden — Following his decisive victory in the South Carolina primary, former Vice President Joe Biden has picked up endorsements locally from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Del. Alfonso Lopez (D). Lopez and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe were stuck in an elevator in Richmond for a half hour yesterday while heading to a Biden event. [Press Release, Twitter]

News

School Board Candidate Drops Out of Democratic Caucus to Run as Independent

By ARLnow.com

Published March 2, 2020 at 2:30PM | Updated March 2, 2020 at 4:12PM

Local education activist Symone Walker is no longer seeking the Democratic endorsement in her campaign for School Board, instead opting to run purely as an independent in the fall.

In Virginia, all School Board races are nonpartisan, but parties can still endorse candidates. In a statement, Walker said she is no longer seeking the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s endorsement.

Schools

JUST IN: APS to Close for Super Tuesday Primary

By ARLnow.com

Published February 25, 2020 at 9:00PM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 2:06PM

Voting underway at Abingdon Elementary (staff file photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 9:15 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools will close next Tuesday, March 3, due to the primary elections.

The Super Tuesday primary in Virginia is expected to draw large crowds to the polls, as voters cast ballots for the Democratic presidential nomination. With 23 schools serving as polling places, and citing the “safety and security of APS students,” the school system said it has decided to cancel classes and instead make Tuesday a teacher work day.

News

Local Lawyer Wades into the School Board Race

By Vernon Miles

Published February 14, 2020 at 9:00AM | Updated March 2, 2020 at 4:13PM

A new challenger, Steven Krieger, has entered the already crowded race for the Arlington School Board.

In late January, Krieger joined five other candidates vying for two openings on the School Board after incumbent members Tannia Talento and Nancy Van Doren announced they would not be running for reelection. Candidates Symone Walker, Cristina Diaz-Torres, David Priddy, Sandy Munnell, and Terron Sims made their case for an endorsement to the Arlington County Democratic last month with the caucus scheduled for May 7 and 9.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 6, 2020 at 6:00AM

Dorsey Hasn’t Returned Union Donation — Arlington County Board and WMATA board member Christian Dorsey, “who promised three months ago to repay a $10,000 campaign donation that violated the board’s ethics policy, has not yet refunded the money and is likely to be replaced as Virginia’s representative on the regional board. Dorsey said Wednesday that he is working on a wire transfer to return the money to a transit union that routinely negotiates with Metro.” [Washington Post]

Beyer Slams Impeachment Trial — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement… ‘Today Senate Republicans ended their impeachment show trial. It will go down as one of the most craven events in American history.'” [Press Release]

News

Mike Bloomberg Has a Campaign Office in Pentagon Row

By Vernon Miles

Published January 22, 2020 at 11:00AM

Staff and volunteers at Bloomberg's new campaign office in Pentagon Row. (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg recently opened a campaign office in Pentagon Row (1301 S. Joyce Street) amid an unprecedented blitz of campaign spending.

The new office for the largely self-funded candidate is located between the DSW shoe store and Planet Fitness, on the ground floor of the shopping center.

Schools

Five Candidates to Vie for Democratic School Board Endorsement

By Vernon Miles

Published January 14, 2020 at 3:55PM

Equity was the buzzword of the night as five Arlington School Board candidates announced their candidacy at an Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting last week.

Two incumbent School Board members, Tannia Talento and Nancy Van Doren, are not running for reelection, leaving two of the five School Board seats open. A video posted by Blue Virginia showed each of the five Democratic candidates running for those two seats making their pitch at last week’s meeting.

News

Garvey Seeking Reelection, Facing At Least One Challenger

By Kalina Newman

Published December 5, 2019 at 4:35PM | Updated December 5, 2019 at 5:15PM

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) A County Board member is running for reelection but will be facing at least one Democratic challenger.

County Board Vice Chair Libby Garvey, and challenger Chanda Choun, made their announcements at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. Also announced: neither School Board member who’s up for reelection will be running again in 2020.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 21, 2019 at 6:00AM

Sidewalk being washed along Lynn Street in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Crows Are Swarming Rosslyn at Dusk — “As the sun begins to sink below the horizon, ghostly caws and flapping wings echo through the air. Then, they come in droves. Hundreds, if not thousands, of huge, black birds darken the sky, swooping through buildings and swarming like giant gnats. This Hitchcockian scene is a typical Tuesday in North Rosslyn.” [Washingtonian]

New Candidate for School Board — Cristina Diaz-Torres has announced that she is running for Arlington School Board to replace Tannia Talento, who is not seeking a second term. Diaz-Torres is planning a campaign launch event on Columbia Pike this Sunday. [Twitter, Facebook]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 18, 2019 at 6:00AM | Updated November 18, 2019 at 8:49AM

Kids wait to cross Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Scooters Can Officially Ride on Sidewalks, Trails — Details about the new, William Shatner-approved permanent e-scooter and e-bike regulations approved by the County Board over the weekend: “Motorized scooters and skateboards will have a top speed of 15 miles per hour, and e-bicycles will have a top speed of 20 miles per hour on streets and trails. When operating on public sidewalks, the top speed of all the devices is restricted to six miles per hour. The devices will not be allowed to operate on sidewalks where a protected bicycle lane is available and may be prohibited from other sidewalks.” [Arlington County]

Progress on Second Ballston Metro Entrance Plan — “At long last, Arlington seems to be making real progress on building a western entrance to the Ballston Metro station — and that includes finding a path to fund the stalled project. County officials plan to set aside an extra $25 million for the Metro station entrance, then ask for $33.5 million in regional transportation funding for the project.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 6, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated November 6, 2019 at 10:16AM

Local Dems Tout Big Wins — “Heading into the critical 2020 presidential race, we’re especially excited about the tremendous grassroots enthusiasm that fueled Democratic victories statewide. This historic victory belongs to the grassroots activists as much as it belongs to the Democratic Party.” [Press Release]

Leaf Collection Schedule Announced — Courthouse, Clarendon and other neighborhoods are on tap for Arlington County’s first vacuum leaf collection pass of the season, starting Monday. [Arlington County]

News

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti Elected Prosecutor as All Incumbents Win Down the Ballot

By ARLnow.com

Published November 5, 2019 at 8:55PM | Updated November 5, 2019 at 10:20PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at Arlington Democrats election watch party in November 2019, when she was elected to office (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 10:20 p.m.) There were no surprises in Tuesday’s general election in Arlington, as Parisa Dehghani-Tafti was elected Arlington’s new prosecutor and all Democratic incumbents won new terms.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney race saw an elevated level of write-in votes — 10% of the overall vote — but the result was never in doubt as Tafti received 90% of the vote. She will take office as the top prosecutor for Arlington and Falls Church starting in January.