Campaigns in Arlington’s Democratic primary and School Board caucus are kicking into gear, with three competitive races at the local level.
Candidates Monique “Moe” Bryant and June Prakash are competing for one open seat on the Arlington School Board.
While election officials in Arlington and Falls Church are not expecting an early rush to vote in the Democratic primary, they’re ready for those who do come.
Arlington elections director Gretchen Reinemeyer told ARLnow she expects a relatively modest first-day turnout when early voting begins on Friday.
The race for four seats on the Falls Church City Council is underway.
Incumbents Laura Downs and David Snyder have already qualified for the Nov. 4 ballot. Several other aspirants, including incumbent Marybeth Connelly, have started the process of qualifying, city elections director David Bjerke told ARLnow.
At least for the time being, a new executive order on election matters is unlikely to impact Arlington.
Virginia “already does” many of the things included in the executive order that President Donald Trump signed on March 25, county registrar Gretchen Reinemeyer said.
The Arlington County Board approved funding for a pair of big-ticket infrastructure projects on Saturday.
Officials accepted a $20.7 million grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, advancing plans for a second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station. They also awarded a contract of $9.6 million to rebuild the Arlington Ridge Road bridge over Four Mile Run.
Arlington Democrats are moving back onto offense while the county’s GOP continues its work to build a candidate slate for November.
A monthly meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee last Wednesday attracted at least 100 people to Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School.
Proposals to build more housing in Green Valley and a new restaurant and gas station in Claremont are slated for County Board consideration this weekend.
Potential sidewalk improvements to S. Carlin Springs Road and a reduction in the number of early voting sites are also on the agenda for the Saturday meeting.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has vetoed legislation that would have allowed Arlington County to change the structure of its government for the first time in 93 years.
Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), who sponsored the bill, has vowed to continue fighting for the change that passed both chambers of the General Assembly. Locally, the legislation has the backing of the Arlington County Civic Federation but lacks support from the Arlington County Board.
The hunt is on for the next generation of Arlington voting equipment. When voters will be able to use it, though, is an open-ended question.
The three members of the Arlington Electoral Board will start the procurement process by meeting with prospective vendors at the annual gathering of the Virginia Electoral Boards Association, to be held March 23-25 at The Homestead.
Falls Church officials appear willing to hold off, for now, on moving City Council elections to a ranked-choice format.
“It might be better to wait,” city elections director David Bjerke said at a Monday Falls Church Electoral Board meeting.
Ranked-choice voting, a climate resolution, the contentious Melwood development proposal and the draft Fiscal Year 2026 county budget are all on the agenda for a County Board meeting slated for Saturday (Feb. 22).
Among the highlights:
The Arlington Electoral Board believes three, rather than four, early-voting locations should be fine for June’s primary election.
Board members voted 3-0 Tuesday (Feb. 4) to ask County Board members to consider removing Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center from the list of early-voting sites for the primary.
