But to those who own cars and frequently utilize street parking, even the loss of a couple of parking spaces in a crowded area like Rosslyn can seem like an encroachment. Doubly so if you don’t believe Bikeshare is an efficient use of tax dollars.
Thus, when someone at the Arlington County Republican Committee observed the loss of eight parking spaces for CaBi’s four new Rosslyn locations, he or she took to blogosphere to vent.
Arlington Republicans Look to 2011 — Mark Kelly, who just lost his bid to unseat Chris Zimmerman on the county board, says that 2011 represents the Republican Party’s best chance of getting a toe hold in Arlington politics. Voter turnout should be very low, since there will be no federal races on the ballot. Two county board, a school board and a number of state legislative seats will be up for grabs. More from the Sun Gazette.
Rousselot Launches Bid for State Party Chair — Peter Rousselot, who served as chairman of the Arlington County Democratic Committee from 2006 to 2010, is seeking to the chairmanship of the Democratic Party of Virginia. Rousselot says the DPVA should focus on “maximizing the ability of Democratic candidates to win statewide races in Virginia.” One expected rival for the position is Brian Moran, former gubernatorial candidate and brother of Rep. Jim Moran. (That is, if Moran is legally qualified to be state party chair.)
Congressman Jim Moran, county board member Chris Zimmerman and school board member Sally Baird were all re-elected. All four proposed county bond issues, each supported by the Democrats, passed. No bond received less than 62 percent of the vote.
At the Democrat’s victory party in the Westin hotel in Ballston, Moran declared victory early, but tempered his remarks with a warning about challenges that lie ahead for the party.
Election officials called police when a Republican precinct captain became unruly outside Patrick Henry Elementary School in Arlington Heights this afternoon.
The man, a local resident named John Moroz, Jr., said he was passing out voting guides outside the school — as he has done every year since 1998 — when a voter directed profane language at him for being a Republican.
“The numbers we’re getting back show a higher than 2009 turnout, which gives us room for optimism,” said Mike Lieberman, chairman of the Arlington County Democratic Committee. He emphasized that county Democrats are “cautiously” optimistic.
“Given how strange this year is we’re not taking anything for granted until we see the actual numbers come in,” he said.
If the election results go their way, the Tea Party will be partying in Arlington on Nov. 2.
The Clarendon-based Leadership Institute, a sort of conservative political training camp, will host “an election night victory party for 350 conservative and Tea Party activists.”
County Launches Housing Blog — Under One Roof aims to be “a broad and accessible news portal on housing and more in Arlington County. It will feature “blog posts on a broad range of topics including affordable housing, green building, construction, neighborhoods, homeless and housing assistance.”
Fire Houses Open to Public This Weekend — To mark Fire Prevention Week, Arlington’s 10 fire stations will hold a countywide open house from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. There will be fun for the whole family, including fire stations tours and activities for kids.
Bayou Bakery Opening Set — Cookbook author David Guas is hoping to open his Bayou Bakery coffee bar and eatery concept by November 1. The restaurant, which is taking over the old Camille’s space at 1515 North Courthouse Road, will feature Louisiana-style pastries, sweets, sausages, and other savory selections.
Rosslyn CVS To Renovate — The CVS at 1100 Wilson Boulevard will be getting a major facelift. The 26-year-old, nearly 10,000 square foot pharmacy will get a new layout, new window displays and new finishes throughout the store. No timeline was given for the construction. More from the Washington Business Journal.
ACDC Kicks Off Campaign Season — Last night, the Arlington County Democratic Committee officially launched its campaign to maintain electoral dominance in the county. But looking forward to November contests that include a challenge to incumbent county board member Chris Zimmerman, Democrats aren’t counting their chickens quite yet. “We are not going to take anything for granted [this] fall,” ACDC chair Mike Lieberman tells ARLnow.com. The Democrats’ campaign season will kick into high gear on Monday at the party’s annual Labor Day Chili Cookoff.
Dems, GOPers Swipe Each Other’s Swag — Stop us if this starts sounding like symbolism. In an effort to appease their respective constituencies, the local political parties decided to start stealing from one another. The petty political thievery took place at the recent Arlington County Fair. The Sun Gazette has the details.
Murray, who defeated Berry in June’s Republican primary, raised the ire of many local Republicans by sending out a controversial last-minute mailer about Berry. One local conservative blogger called the mailer “foul” and “disgusting,” although Murray maintained that his campaign’s conduct was aboveboard.
Nonetheless, two months after the mailer went out, Berry appears to be trying to bury the hatchet.
Despite a lopsided fundraising disadvantage, retired Army colonel Patrick Murray managed to narrowly defeat his organized and well-connected opponent, government attorney Matthew Berry, in a contest to see who will face ten-term Democratic congressman Jim Moran in the fall.
Berry called Murray to concede the race just before 9:00 last night. Murray won with 7,133 votes, or 51.75 percent of the vote, to Berry’s 6651 vote, or 48.25 percent.
The former government lawyer has a more than 2-to-1 fundraising advantage over his opponent, retired Army colonel Patrick Murray, and Berry says his campaign’s internal numbers “look very good.”
Voters “seem to be responding well to our positive message,” Berry said. He has spent much of the past 48 hours knocking on doors, calling likely voters and attending events.
