We recently invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 4 General Election to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Below is the unedited response from Bob Cambridge, who is running for County Board.
I am Bob Cambridge, a resident of Arlington since 1982. I ran as the Republican candidate for County Board in July of 2020 and got hammered. So why am I running again? While running I met a lot of good people and running is an opportunity to get viewpoints out there and to learn from others.
I am motivated by several current issues. For example, female sports leagues were formed to provide opportunities to biological females who, as a group, otherwise would be at a severe disadvantage in competition with males who, as a group, tend to be faster, taller, heavier, stronger, and have a longer reach. Females do well versus males when the challenge is intellectual rather than physical, so I am not aware that there is a female chess league. Allowing males to intrude in female leagues takes away from biological females opportunities created specifically for them. LGBTQ+ students should not be bullied or denigrated, but accommodating their wishes by disregarding the interests of all other students is a step too far and is neither fair nor safe.
I am also concerned that Arlington is becoming unaffordable. I note that taxes and the tax portion of rent – the dollars out of my pocket – have increased every year 1982 to 2025 with only two exceptions when the tax dollars due stayed the same as the amount due the prior year. Arlington is in a favorable location and is a great place to live, but I believe and am concerned that there is an additional reason for the high taxes.
Most years there are bond questions on our ballots. Arlington has been issuing bonds for many years, generally for stated purposes – Metro, schools, parks, roads, and so on – that I am inclined to support. Arlington County publishes every year a Comprehensive Financial Report. That is something they must do if they want to sell bonds. The 2025 report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, has not been made public yet. I am an attorney, not an accountant, but I read the 2024 report. I found on page 274 of the 371-page 2024 report a stunning fact. EVERY YEAR 2015 TO 2024 ARLINGTON COUNTY SPENT MORE MONEY THAN IT RECEIVED IN REVENUE! I looked in the 2014 report, page 169, and found that EVERY YEAR 2006 TO 2024 ARLINGTON COUNTY SPENT MORE MONEY THAN IT RECEIVED IN REVENUE! How can you do that? You can issue bonds (incur more debt) to pay off debt service (principal, interest, and middleman fees) due on previously sold bonds. Isn’t that a Ponzi scheme? Apparently not. The arrangement is legal as long as the annual reports do not conceal the Ponzi- like practice.
Arlington’s debt service has been a larger and larger number since 2015. See page 289 of the 2024 Report. Debt service has been a larger and larger number since 2006. See page 185 of the 2014 Report. Debt service has been a larger and larger number since 1997. See page 172 of the 2006 Report. In 2024 $174 million of our taxes went right back out the door to cover debt service. See the 2024 Report, page 289. In a Ponzi scheme, debt goes up and up until it is not sustainable. Can what happened to Stockton, California happen to Arlington? Google Stockton California bankruptcy.
We have apparently been kicking Arlington’s debt problem down the road at least since 1997. At some point that has to stop and the sooner we address Arlington’s debt the better. I ask anyone who reads this writeup to do three things. (1) Do not believe me, an attorney and, worse, a politician. Check out for yourself the information cited. (2) Question my assessment and if you find out I am wrong, please tell me. I would be grateful. I have to live here too. (3) If my assessment is not wrong, please tell your neighbors and friends and ask them to tell their neighbors and friends. This problem cannot be ignored indefinitely. You may note that addressing Arlington’s growing debt preempted my asking you to vote for me. Resolving Arlington’s debt problem is more important than any particular candidate winning the election. That is a concern that I believe must be made public, and that is why I am running.
Please email me at [email protected] with your comments and viewpoints. The reports cited above can be found on Arlington County’s web site at https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Departments/DMF/Arlington-County-
Accounting-Reporting-and-Control.