Opinion

Patrick Hope: Why You Should Vote For Me

By Ethan Rothstein

Del. Patrick Hope (D-47)

This week, we asked the candidates for competitive House of Delegates races in Arlington districts to write a sub-750 word essay describing why residents of their districts should vote for them on Election Day (Nov. 5).

Here is the unedited response from 47th District candidate Patrick Hope (D):

Over the past two years, Virginia has begun to shed its proud reputation as one of the best states to start a business and raise a family.  Instead, we have become a state less welcoming to gays and lesbians, minorities, and women and more interested in legislating divisive social issues rather than improving our economy and creating jobs.  The partisanship seen across the Potomac River has already filtered its ugly ways into the Virginia General Assembly.  I believe we need to reverse course.

Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam, Mark Herring and the entire Democratic ticket represent change that will refocus Virginia’s attention toward investing more in our public schools and universities, ensuring an adequate transportation infrastructure, guaranteeing our most vulnerable residents have access to affordable health care and services, and protecting our environment and natural resources.  By making these smart investments, while keeping taxes and regulation low, Virginia will once again be a welcoming place for businesses and families.

My personal focus will be ensuring Virginia fully implements the Affordable Care Act and continues to reform its Medicaid program to guarantee quality health care at lower costs.  My attention will also be on seeking reforms to our prison system to make it more cost efficient and to make sure offenders who need treatment receive it, helping to avoid incarceration in the first place.  And finally, I will continue to be the voice for those most in need – those with physical and mental disabilities, our children, and older adults.

This vision for the Commonwealth is one that reflects our Arlington values and it is one that motivates me daily to continue my public service for you.  I sincerely hope to earn your vote on Tuesday, November 5th.  For more information, please visit my website at www.HopeforVirginia.org.

Jeffrey Engle: Why You Should Vote For Me

By Ethan Rothstein

Jeffrey Engle

This week, we asked the candidates for competitive House of Delegates races in Arlington districts to write a sub-750 word essay describing why residents of their districts should vote for them on Election Day (Nov. 5).

Here is the unedited response from 45th District candidate Jeffrey Engle (I):

There are a lot of important issues facing the citizens of the Commonwealth these days. Those of us in Northern Virginia know more than most about the complex problems we are all going to have to face because of the federal government’s inability to negotiate practical solutions. Since the feds fall short of fulfilling their duties in DC, it is that much more important that the government in Richmond steps up and starts focusing on the important work of protecting our citizens. We need a new vision, clear goals, and accountability at all levels. We need true leadership, not partisan leadership.

I have never been a politician, but I have been serving this great country as a problem solver for my entire adult life. I am not done serving, and if the voters of the 45th House of Delegates District vote for me on November 5th I will work with all members of the General Assembly to come up with practical solutions to the serious issues we face. Issues like an education system that is failing our children, a transportation system that costs a lot of tax dollars and a lot of Northern Virginian’s time, and a tax and regulatory climate that is keeping Virginia from being as business friendly as it should be. These issues are not Republican or Democrat issues and they will not be solved by Republicans or Democrats alone.

Ultimately, this election will come down to a fairly straightforward choice, but it’s not the typical choice that voters face in other races, or even at the top of the ticket. This choice is between two men with very different views on the role government should play in your life. I have seen the failure of legislators working at the behest of special interests, and am dedicated to bringing greater transparency and accountability to Richmond. No one, especially not elected officials being influenced by lobbyists, should dictate the relationship between a doctor and their patients. No one, especially not elected officials influenced by special interest groups, should target taxes and regulations on hard working business owners. And no one, especially not those entrusted to represent the interests of the voters of the 45th HOD District, should go down to Richmond and advocate for less parental control of education, lower standards for poor and minority students, and less protection for the rights of law abiding Virginians.

If I am elected, I will make school safety initiatives my top priority. I will work with hard working legislators, educators, and parents to improve our education system and truly focus on preparing the next generation to enter adult life. And I will work tirelessly to protect the rights of all Virginians to live their lives, and enjoy their freedom as they see fit. So I ask that all voters take the time from their busy schedules on November 5th and vote for Jeffrey J. Engle for the House of Delegates.

Photo via Engle for Delegate

Rob Krupicka: Why You Should Vote For Me

By Ethan Rothstein

Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45)This week, we asked the candidates for competitive House of Delegates races in Arlington districts to write a sub-750 word essay describing why residents of their districts should vote for them on Election Day (Nov. 5).

Here is the unedited response from 45th District candidate Rob Krupicka (D):

It has been an honor to represent the 45th district over the last year.  I want to thank everybody that has helped me get up to speed after my special election last fall.   I am proud as well of the bipartisan success I’ve already had in Richmond.  In just a short time in the legislature, I’ve been able to secure funding for new mental health services as well as reduce regulations on local restaurants and non-profits.   I have been in the middle of every Virginia education policy debate, leading on the need for high stakes testing reform, new early childhood services and improved access to higher education.  In education, I will always make the success of our students my first priority.

In addition to a number of education measures, my legislative goals include tightening state ethics laws (check out www.VAEthicsReformNow.com), expanding clean energy, improve health care for seniors, and bolstering our local power reliability with more power line undergrounding (you can read about this effort on my blog at www.krupicka.com).

I will always work to support small businesses, veterans, and all hardworking Virginians to find employment in a changing economy. I believe Virginia’s competitiveness requires us to do all we can to attract the high tech, health and professional jobs that are projected to grow over the next decade.

I support reforming & expanding access to health care to cover 400,000 more Virginians, to create 30,000 new jobs, and to make healthcare effective and efficient.

I will always stand up for the right of women to make their own health choices.

I will fight to reduce gridlock and to support the continued expansion of our public transit system in an effort to protect our environment.

As a former local official as well as a past member of the State Board of Education, I understand the challenges involved in implementing the work of the legislature.   I am committed to making sure we have a strong partnership between Richmond and our local communities.  I remain firm in my belief that the best innovation most often happens at the local level.

This year is critical for Virginia’s future and our national reputation for thoughtful government. We have never had statewide elections that present such starkly different visions for our Commonwealth.  After seeing the dangers of ideological extremism play out in the Federal Government shutdown, the need for commonsense and an honest willingness to find common ground has never been more important.   I will work to bring a progressive, results-oriented approach to the legislature, always looking for ways to build alliances.

With 20 years of experience in our community, it is a privilege to ask for your vote on November 5th.  My wife and two daughters all love this community.  We are committed to our public schools, our diversity, our belief in equality and to enhancing our quality of life.  I’d love to hear from you.  Please visit my web site at www.krupicka.com to learn more and follow me on twitter @RobKrupicka.

Audrey Clement: Why You Should Vote For Me

By ARLnow.com

Audrey ClementThis week we asked the two candidates for Arlington County Board to write a sub-750 word essay describing why Arlington residents should vote for them on Election Day (Nov. 5).

Here is the unedited response from Audrey Clement (G):

I’m nine year resident of Arlington County with a doctorate in Political Science and service as a Congressional Fellow. As a long time Green Party leader and civic activist, I’ve worked hard to promote a better quality of life for Arlington residents. As treasurer of the Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation (ACST), I filed suit in 2009 to compel VDOT to assess alternatives to piecemeal widening of I-66 westbound.

In 2008 and 2013 I petitioned to place a referendum on the ballot to consolidate Arlington’s housing programs in one agency to leverage more money for affordable housing. I’ve also lobbied for a ban on plastic bags in supermarkets and chain drug stores and Styrofoam in food retail outlets. A ban bag is needed because all the bag tax bills introduced in the General Assembly to date have been defeated. Unlike a bag tax, which requires legislative approval, a bag ban is legal in Virginia right now, because the Virginia Waste Management Review Board calls the shots on waste reduction measures, not the legislature.

I think Arlington needs a change in leadership because County Board doesn’t understand that sustainable growth and so-called “Smart Growth” aren’t the same. As new office towers go up overnight, employers move into the county, spurring demand for housing that drives up rents and real estate assessments and promotes excessive infill development. Nevertheless County Board continues to award developers with more density—50% more in Crystal City and Pentagon City alone. As a result, the supply of affordable housing in this county has been cut by two-thirds in one decade. This isn’t sustainable.

To be sustainable, basic public infrastructure must keep pace with new residential and commercial construction. Sustainability also requires the County Board to create a housing authority to leverage more money for affordable housing, just like all the other jurisdictions in Northern Virginia. Otherwise those who move into the County are stuck in a never-ending cycle of tax and rent increases as others are recycled out. To be sustainable, we need to do more than accumulate LEED points. We need truly energy efficient buildings and on-site renewable energy. To be sustainable, we must appreciate the difference between needs and wants.

  • We don’t need an $80 million aquatic center, when Northern Va. is already drowning in public pools.
  • We don’t need a $310 million trolley when bus service can be upgraded at a fraction of the cost.
  • We may want a cultural center and a black box theater. But we must get the private sector to finance them, not the taxpayers.
  • We may like the already over capacity Taj Mahal high schools recently constructed in this county. But what we need is to expand classroom space at a reasonable cost even if that means building up or renovating rather than building new.

If elected to the County Board, I will promote fiscal responsibility without sacrificing the health and welfare of its residents.

I pledge to make developers pay their fair share of infrastructure costs. I also plan to fully fund libraries, schools, and programs for youth, seniors, and the disabled, emphasize recycling and renewable energy; and hire an Inspector General to audit the County’s budget. You can find out more about my Campaign for a Greener Arlington by visiting AudreyClement.com. Vote Clement for County Board on November 5th.

Jay Fisette: Why You Should Vote for Me

By ARLnow.com

Screen grab of County Board member Jay Fisette discussing Gov. McDonnell's transporation planThis week we asked the two candidates for Arlington County Board to write a sub-750 word essay describing why Arlington residents should vote for them on Election Day (Nov. 5).

Here is the unedited response from Jay Fisette (D):

Dear Fellow Arlingtonians –

Arlington has evolved into a vibrant urban community that has retained our traditional sense of caring and connectedness. We boast top-notch services, outstanding public schools, a robust transportation system, low crime and the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia.

Many thoughtful people are responsible for today’s Arlington, and I am excited to continue to do my part to move our community forward. I am especially proud of my past efforts to maintain sound fiscal policies and support our public schools, and my leadership in developing our Community Energy Plan, Capital Bikeshare program, pedestrian safety improvements, affordable housing programs and e-government enhancements.

We face several challenges, including housing affordability, growing student enrollments, and the job losses resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and from dysfunction in Congress. With the first two of these, we are victims of our own success – as Arlington is a desirable community to many, including more families with young children. I am prepared to tackle these issues and find creative, smart solutions that build on our assets. I am committed to thoughtful long-term planning and collaborative problem solving.

Protecting our Triple AAA bond rating and fiscal integrity is a priority. As a former auditor with the Government Accountability Office, I hate waste and will seek value for every dollar spent. I will balance the short-term budget decisions with the long-term capital infrastructure investments that will ensure our vitality and competitiveness in the future.

I am driven to create a sustainable community on all fronts, thus will work to implement Arlington’s energy reduction strategy. In 2010, I established a Community Energy & Sustainability Task Force, to take up the challenge of developing goals and concrete targets for reducing our energy use. Arlington now has an aggressive and achievable energy reduction strategy that will advance our economic competitiveness, enhance energy reliability and protect our environment. We will save residents and businesses money while enhancing our community’s sustainability.

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The Right Note: On the Radar

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Mark KellyThe county staff response to the Urban Agriculture Task Force’s recommendations will be formally presented at a County Board work session Nov. 12. The most high profile among the recommendations is the consideration of allowing Arlingtonians to keep backyard chickens. If accepted, individuals would be able to have as many as four hens so long as the coops are set back 20 feet from their property lines, and a majority of their adjacent neighbors agree.

The biggest question seems to surround enforcement. How will the county enforce the inspection requirements for new coops as well as ongoing policing to ensure chicken owners stay in compliance? What will they do about people who do not file plans but put coops in their backyards anyway? Will fees for coops and fines for failures to comply cover any need to hire new county code enforcement personnel? Assuming revenue generated by chickens will not cover any costs, how will new personnel be paid for?

The recommendations are a priority for 2013 Board Chairman Tejada, so look for him to try to push these along before his term ends Jan. 1.

Next month, the County Board will consider what to do with excess revenue in the closeout process. Based on recent history, they could have up to tens of millions of dollars to spend outside of the regular budget process. Remember that in a couple months when the County Manager and County Board tell us we have to pay more in property taxes or fees next year because we have a “budget shortfall.”

The Potomac Yard Harris Teeter re-opened after an 18 month closure caused by a sewage backup that was not of their own making. Harris Teeter has sued Arlington County for $1 million in damages, alleging negligence for the backup. Reports on the causes at the time would lead one to believe Harris Teeter may have a case. If so, hopefully the county will settle this quickly rather than burning up time and legal fees for any outside counsel. The Board, as you may remember, ran up well over $1 million in legal fees to sue everyone they could think of during the HOT lanes fight.

Residents across the South Arlington neighborhoods near the Pentagon were largely opposed to the PenPlace development approved by the County Board in September. Among residents’ concerns about the development’s impact on the neighborhoods were traffic, public safety, services, like grocery stores, and parks.  Less than a month later, the Board approved an updated Arlington Ridge Neighborhood Conservation plan which covers some of the area near the PenPlace development. The Arlington Ridge plan had not been revised in 40 years.

Kudos to local residents whose concerns about the Crystal City Sector Plan and PenPlace were largely ignored when the County Board approved the plans. After the Crystal City Plan went through over their objections three years ago, they made sure to tee up the new conservation plan to push the County Board to accept when their PenPlace objections met the same fate.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

Peter’s Take: New Spending Needed to Increase High School Capacity

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotAs reported by ARLnow.com and the Sun Gazette, the Arlington Public School staff recently made a  presentation on high school capacity. The presentation asked the School Board to issue a public statement that the looming need to increase capacity at Arlington’s comprehensive high schools CANNOT be solved by building a new high school. Why not? It’s way too expensive.

How refreshing to see this degree of sensitivity to capital project costs!

The APS staff report does make it clear, however, that additional capital spending will be required to address high school capacity needs. That’s not a surprise. Excellent progress on many educational fronts continues to attract more and more families and students to Arlington and to APS.

The new high school capacity report further underscores the need to set priorities among all Arlington capital projects. As the Sun Gazette high school capacity story warned, “with both the school system and the county government … approaching their self-imposed limits on bond debt — options are further constrained.” We can’t afford every project.

Since both school system and county government capital projects ultimately are funded by the same tax base, we need to move rapidly toward a more unified, integrated and rigorous system of setting capital spending priorities for all capital projects. Such priorities should NOT be selected within artificial silos in which county projects on the one hand and school projects on the other hand are only evaluated and prioritized separately within such silos.

As I have written previously, the highest priority should be given to expenditures on core government services. Since public education is one of the most critical of those core functions, Arlington’s public schools deserve the highest priority for capital spending. Arlington’s new Wakefield High School building is an excellent example of a recent APS capital project that stuck to the basics. The new Wakefield building has received strong community reviews.

The Arlington Mill Community Center is another recent Arlington County capital project that has been widely praised.

By unfortunate contrast, extravagant and wasteful spending on non-essential design elements has characterized several other recent Arlington County projects like the Aquatic Center, the Clarendon dog park, and the $1 million Super Stop.

As we begin planning for next year’s critical revisions to Arlington’s Capital Improvement Plan, let’s learn from our successes.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Morning Poll: Marine Corps Marathon

By ARLnow.com

Marine Corps Marathon scenes in Pentagon City (photo by ARLnow.com)The Marine Corps Marathon will take place on Sunday.

Some 30,000 registrants will run the 26.2 mile course that starts near the Pentagon, runs through Arlington and D.C., before ending at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn. Tens of thousands of spectators will line the course, holding signs and cheering on the runners.

How will you be participating, if at all?
 

Morning Poll: Construction Noise

By ARLnow.com

Construction on Columbia Place development (file photo)In a letter to the editor of the Sun Gazette last week, Arlington resident Karen Lamb said that construction noise has gotten worse in Arlington in recent years.

“I moved here in 1994, and it was relatively tranquil,” she wrote. “Now, there is new construction going on all over, trees are being leveled, hilltops razed and the sound of construction equipment is everywhere, with the incessant beeping of bulldozers backing up… no longer can I have breakfast or lunch in the gazebo, and forget sleeping past 7 a.m.”

The noise is “unbearable ” and the county has refused to do anything about it, Lamb continued.

Are you being bothered by construction noise? Has it been getting worse recently?
 

Peter’s Take: Gov’t Shutdown Hurts GOP in Arlington

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotIn a May column written immediately after Virginia Republicans nominated their extreme statewide ticket, I predicted that ticket would be a turnoff for many Arlington Republicans. Prior to the federal government shutdown, this GOP extreme team more than fulfilled my predictions.

The Arlington GOP was unable to recruit anyone to run alongside the extreme team for any other elected position on the Nov. 5 Arlington ballot: no state Delegate candidates, no County Board candidate, and no School Board candidate. All of that was before the national GOP engineered the government shutdown.

By overwhelming margins in two recent independent polls, the public has assigned primary blame for the shutdown to the national GOP — not to President Obama or national Democrats. This common-sense conclusion is very likely shared by even more lopsided margins in Arlington — and not just because Democrats in Arlington have won recent general elections with roughly two thirds of the vote.

Compared to those polled nationally about the shutdown, Arlington has a much higher number of voters in private sector jobs that depend—directly or indirectly—on the federal government. Many Republicans hold those Arlington private sector jobs. A lot of those Republicans have lost money or been furloughed because of the loss of federal contract revenue attributable to the shutdown.

If the Republican candidate for Virginia governor had been a moderate with a long record as a problem-solver and bi-partisan consensus-builder, he credibly could have distanced himself from the GOP-led shutdown disaster. He could have minimized the damage to his candidacy in our community.  Alas for Arlington Republicans, that is not the case.

With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, Arlington Republicans instead find themselves saddled with Ken Cuccinelli at the top of their ticket. He is a candidate who has embraced for years the most extreme faction of the Republican Party that:

  • engineered the federal government shutdown, and
  • remains defiant and proud about that “accomplishment.”

On Election Day this year, the effects of the shutdown still will be quite fresh in the minds of Arlington voters. While Ken Cuccinelli has preached the gospel of job creation, he has practiced the politics of job destruction.

All three extreme GOP statewide candidates — Cuccinelli, Jackson, and Obenshain — will suffer at the polls because of the Cruzification strategy pursued by their national Republican leaders.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

The Right Note: Unanswered Questions

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Mark KellyTerry McAuliffe finally released a summary of his 2012 tax returns. The release came on the heels of reports a company McAuliffe invested in was stealing the identities of the terminally ill.

McAuliffe claims he was a “passive investor in a life insurance annuity pool,” but the lawyer for the convicted Rhode Island estate planner Joseph Caramadre said investors knew he was exploiting a loophole to give investors a portion of the death benefit. If so, most of us would ask questions. Did you know what type of investment you had made? How and when did you become a passive investor in such a scheme? What type of people would you be connected to who would steer you to this type of shady investment?

The McAuliffe campaign did not release the sources of his $9.5 million income for 2012. So, valid questions remain about how much McAuliffe profited from the aforementioned identity theft scheme or from GreenTech Automotive. GreenTech, you may recall, is under investigation into whether it was a cash-for-visas scheme.

No one except Terry McAuliffe knows for sure how much he knew about alleged wrongdoing either situation. In GreenTech’s case, we know McAuliffe has portrayed himself as a hands on “jobs creator” — or what, in reality, turned out to be a “virtually no jobs” creator. If McAuliffe was actively involved in GreenTech as he claims, he must know a lot more than he is saying publicly.

Quite frankly, the McAuliffe campaign believes he is going to win on November 5th. And, if the polls are correct, the belief may be well-founded. So, he has clearly made a strategic decision to try and run out the clock on this storyline. But, these are serious questions about the business dealings of a man who wants to be our governor and who says he wants to create jobs.

Before election day, it would be nice to know what Terry McAuliffe did know and when did he know it? My advice: don’t hold your breath waiting for the answers.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

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