Author: Larry Roberts

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Arlington has come through a year of divisive political rhetoric no closer to addressing the key challenges that face our county. Hopefully, we will see in 2015 a renewed commitment to tackling those challenges through a united community and not a divided one.

These key challenges exist outside of political party, the neighborhood one lives in, and one’s preference on the mode of transit for the economically-challenged corridor from Potomac Yard to Skyline through Arlington.

The challenges are not the result of current county policies, county spending priorities, or county politics.

And many of the challenges are due to our successes and not our failures.

More often than not, they are a result of the increasing number of people who choose to live in Arlington because they value our schools, parks, services, cultural amenities, neighborhoods, transit-oriented development and transportation options, diversity, and overall quality of life. They also result from increasing residential property values due to the steady demand for Arlington residences. And they result from growing numbers of families with children in Arlington, something most would consider a sign of success.

At the same time, these challenges arise due to forces beyond Arlington’s control, including a dampening of county revenues and a weakening of Arlington’s commercial tax base — through cutbacks in federal spending (and the job security of federal workers), federal BRAC and sequestration actions that have moved jobs out of Arlington and reductions in federal office space, and state budget cuts. This is in addition to increasingly effective competition from the District of Columbia and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions for businesses, workers and entrepreneurs.

Due to their nature, I believe addressing these challenges requires looking beyond the divisive issues of the moment and overemphasizing the importance of county government operations.

These challenges will not be solved by government only and cannot be solved merely by scrutinizing government performance. While it is important to focus on county government spending, we would face the same challenges even if we could succeed in wringing out every last efficiency from county government.

We will instead solve them by focusing on enhancing our competitive advantages and advancing core values that make Arlington an attractive place to live — not just the important core services of public safety, education and transportation, and sound financial practices — but also recreation, parks, human services, environmental stewardship, housing affordability (not just for lower income people but also for workforce housing and helping people stay in Arlington as housing prices rise), arts and culture, and diversity.

Success in tackling our challenges must involve moving Arlington forward or we will inevitably fall back. Many have fond memories of a past Arlington they may prefer to the challenges of today, but I arrived in a 1970s Arlington with schools closed due to declining overall population and student population, businesses leaving, services declining, and weak economic performance.

Fortunately, Arlington had already made wise and forward-looking land use, transportation, and investment decisions that positioned it to take advantage of increases in defense spending, a recovering economy, a technology boom, and the growing importance of Northern Virginia. (more…)

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

This week, Arlington lost one of its finest community leaders — Dr. Talmadge Williams.

While others were closer to Talmadge and will offer fitting tributes about his many fine attributes and accomplishments, he and I shared many experiences and values. I believe it is fitting for a column titled Progressive Voice to honor someone like Talmadge Williams, who worked tirelessly, humbly and effectively to promote progressive values in Arlington and to promote Arlington County as a progressive community that seeks constantly to move toward Lincoln’s “More Perfect Union.”

Talmadge and I got to know each other through community activities and a shared interest in politics and education. He knew that I was the son and brother of educators and of my roles as an officer and director of a national civil rights organization, helping to elect pioneering African-American elected officials Charles Monroe and Frank Wilson, and working to ensure that Democratic Party organizations at the local and state level reflected the important roles played by African Americans in our County and our Commonwealth.

I knew that Dr. Williams had been pursuing similar efforts far longer, more effectively, and with great passion, skill and grace.

When I reached out to Talmadge to ask him to help me with some of my efforts, he could not have been more encouraging, empowering, and inclusive. Not only did he open doors (literally and figuratively) to homes, churches, and organizations, but he honored me by asking me to help him achieve goals that he was pursuing and participate in organizations he was leading or in which he was an integral figure.

Over the years, Dr. Williams offered advice and wise counsel on an array of issues and community concerns and opportunities. He traveled successfully in so many circles in Arlington that his insights were incredibly valuable and helped move many conversations forward toward solutions. The trust he engendered across the board allowed important dialogues to take place that led to greater understanding and accomplishments.

Though he was humble, Dr. Williams was forceful and firm in his beliefs. His work as president of the Arlington branch of the NAACP showcased his ability to move people to achieve objectives, insist on accountability, and constantly move forward with purpose.

As a proud ambassador for Arlington in regional, state and national organizations, Dr. Williams showed that, in the words of Craig Syphax “his commitment to Arlington County was complete and unequivocal.”

Never one to be satisfied, Talmadge pushed throughout his nearly 40 years in Arlington to move the County to honor its proud legacy — especially, but not limited to, African-American accomplishments — and to build bridges among communities. He pushed Arlington to invest in its future, to govern well, to constantly seek to improve, to achieve justice and fairness, and to create both opportunity and security for all of its residents with a particular emphasis on those in need and those who had faced discrimination.  (more…)