A win is a win, no matter the margin of victory, say the co-chairs of a local campaign in support of school bonds.
“We do not target specific vote percentages,” Abbas Ravjani and Kari Garcia told ARLnow as they continued to promote the $80 million school bond, one of five local bond referendums on the county’s Nov. 3 ballot.
Three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot have prompted public messages from local Democrats and Republicans, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and a variety of advocacy groups.
Arlington Democrats are supporting all three, which focus on reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and restoration of voting rights for convicted felons who have been released from incarceration. Party members “voted overwhelmingly” earlier this year to support the trio, party officials said.
Arlington leaders are laying the groundwork for a 2027 referendum asking voters to increase the local sales tax from 6% to 7%.
“Arlington is very seriously considering it,” County Board member Maureen Coffey said at the July 2 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors.
David Sisson has become the second independent to qualify for the County Board election in November.
Sisson — a member of the county’s Transit Advisory Committee and executive vice chair at the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance (NVAHA) — joins perennial protest candidate Audrey Clement in having filed paperwork and the requisite 125 petition signatures.
County voters are likely to see nearly a quarter-billion dollars spread over five local bond referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Revenues from future bond sales would support County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed new 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement plan, unveiled on Tuesday evening.
Arlington stands to be divided into two congressional districts following last night’s statewide referendum, which narrowly passed with overwhelming support from local voters.
The “yes” vote rolled up about 80% of the vote in Arlington, based on preliminary vote totals released last night by the Virginia Department of Elections. This helped the measure squeak by statewide with about 51.5% of the vote — a majority of about 90,000 votes out of more than 3 million cast, according to preliminary figures.
Roughly 37% Arlington voters have cast ballots in the statewide redistricting referendum as of this afternoon.
About 14% of voters visited a polling place as of 1:30 p.m., while 23% of local voters cast ballots early, according to the latest numbers from Arlington’s elections office.
A public messaging brawl over Virginia’s upcoming redistricting referendum has gotten even messier with new mailers prominently displaying out-of-context quotes from former President Barack Obama.
The front of the mailers, which some Arlington households received last week, urges residents to vote against redistricting and quotes Obama as saying, “Let voters decide, not politicians.” Obama actually supports redistricting, and his quote is taken from a pro-redistricting ad released a few weeks ago.
Arlington Public Schools students will have off during a statewide redistricting referendum following a divided School Board vote last week.
In a 3-2 vote last Thursday, School Board members voted to give students the day off on Tuesday, April 21. The decision represented a split between a majority who saw logistical and safety concerns in keeping students in class, and those who did not wish to lose another instructional day and force parents to scramble for daycare options.
Falls Church is considering changes to trash and recycling services, but city leaders say a voter referendum is unlikely.
The changes could decrease the financial burden on some property owners while increasing fees for single-family homeowners.
Gerald Ford was in the White House the last time Arlington voters rejected a school bond in a local referendum.
But the two local residents tasked with making sure such ancient history doesn’t repeat itself are taking no chances as they make the case for passage of the 2024 school bond.
Arlington’s Democrats and Republicans have squared off with diametrically opposing positions on the county’s package of bond referendums.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee earlier voted to support the five bonds on the Nov. 5 ballot, while the Arlington County Republican Committee more recently opted to oppose all five.
