Arlington’s five-member legislative delegation heads into the General Assembly’s home stretch with a large number of its bills still alive.
Among the most successful was Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3), who got 21 pieces of legislation through the House of Delegates before crossover, the period when bills move to the opposite house for consideration.
While questions around congressional redistricting will remain unresolved for months, campaigns for two seats that could represent Arlington are in full swing.
For now, all eyes are on an April 21 statewide referendum on whether to authorize dramatically redrawn districts for the U.S. House of Representatives. But that isn’t stopping candidates, political parties and officials in Arlington from launching into election season.
Falls Church officials are awaiting developments in Richmond to determine whether the city’s Planning Commission will get back powers that the General Assembly stripped last year.
However, legislation to restore the old arrangement could face an uphill battle.
New legislation advancing in the General Assembly seeks to address overlooked challenges for men and boys amid growing concerns about educational, career and mental health outcomes.
The House of Delegates Rules Studies Subcommittee has recommended a bill from Del. Josh Thomas (D-21) to create a permanent Boys and Men Advisory Commission that would issue annual reports with legislative recommendations. Thomas says it would be the nation’s first commission with this focus.
Before Arlington moves to change its form of government, it needs to educate more residents on what the current structure is and why reforms might be needed, one County Board member believes.
“Walk down a street in Ballston, Columbia Pike, anywhere — most folks will look at you like a deer in the headlights” when governance is brought up, Julius “J.D.” Spain, Sr., said at the Jan. 13 Arlington County Civic Federation meeting.
Northern Virginia Democrats were in high spirits at the inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger this weekend, looking toward new opportunities for a variety of bills held back by the previous administration.
Legislators and political observers expect fewer vetoes and more collaboration with Democratic policymakers — including those in Northern Virginia — under Spanberger, a centrist Democrat who emphasized bipartisan solutions to issues like housing and health care costs on the campaign trail and in her inauguration speech.
Representatives of both the business community and organized labor voiced skepticism at a recent forum that an end to Virginia’s right-to-work law is on the horizon for 2026.
“Right to work is not a big thing to us right now,” said Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26.
Aurora Hills Library will be the lone Arlington polling place for Democratic voters to choose a nominee for February’s special election tomorrow (Tuesday).
Polls in the firehouse primary to replace State Sen. Adam Ebbin, who announced last week that he is taking a position in the Spanberger administration, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the library, located at 735 18th Street S.
Several Democratic policymakers have high hopes for a bill to crack down on assault weapons once Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger takes office.
Legislation to outlaw any sales or transfers of new “assault firearms” passed both chambers in each of the last two legislative sessions, but was vetoed upon reaching the desk of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The race is on to succeed State Sen. Adam Ebbin, who announced Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 7) he would resign in February to take a post in the Spanberger administration.
In the hours after his announcement, one current and one former member of the House of Delegates launched bids for the seat.
The unexpected departure of a major pro-transit voice in the Virginia General Assembly has created a void that an Arlington legislator appears primed to fill.
Del. Adele McClure (D-2), who sits on the House Committee on Transportation, has provided a key voice in various recent discussions on transit. In the 2026 General Assembly session, she could step into the shoes left behind by former Del. Mark Sickles (D-17), who is leaving his elected post to become Virginia’s next Secretary of Finance.
A Democrat is taking over for a Republican on the Arlington Electoral Board in the new year.
David Leichtman, a veteran political activist, will succeed electoral board vice chair Richard Samp, a Republican whose term expires Dec. 31.
