Opinion

Last week, we invited the candidates running in competitive races in the June 20 Democratic primary 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 Maureen Coffey, candidate for Arlington County Board.

Arlington is an exceptional community. It has been an overwhelming privilege to spend the last six months talking to people from every part of our community.

I’m running to be your next County Board member because I want to do my part to keep Arlington exceptional. I believe that everyone in Arlington, no matter your background or stage of life, should see a place for themselves in our future. To do this, we need a plan that centers the needs of people in our community and protects and values Arlington’s core identity. We need to balance fixing immediate concerns and supporting a vision of our future.

As a member of my civic association, a former Civic Federation board member, and a leader among the Arlington Democrats, I know Arlington can and should provide better transparency and more effective engagement.  We need to develop overlapping layers of communication that reach across different demographics to bring people into the conversation, meeting them where they are and recognizing that the people closest to the problem should also be most involved in creating the solutions.

Housing availability and affordability remains a critical issue, and as a renter, I know first hand the current dysfunction of housing in Arlington. At the same time we need to consider the impacts of increasing housing and population on our schools, greenspaces, services like child care and mental health, and infrastructure. Our planning and investments should recognize the many interconnections between our areas of need and work together to address the big picture alongside the individual pieces. We should accept that our role is to assess and reassess – and yes, sometimes change course if there are unintended outcomes.

My professional life is spent working on policies that support the real needs of families with an emphasis on gender, racial, and economic equity. Working on family economic stability gives me the skills to see the connections between our issues and think both systematically and proactively about how to solve problems. That expertise is why Governor Ralph Northam appointed me to Virginia’s Family and Children’s Trust to advise on policies that create stable families, support child well-being, and prevent and treat family violence. My experience in both my professional and volunteer roles prepares me to address our biggest issues here in Arlington.

As a member of the County Board, my goal will be developing a plan that enables us to create the community we want, together. To do this well, we have to engage everyone in our community, bringing people to the table to share their perspectives and listen to others.  I am asking for you to join my vision for moving Arlington forward by ranking me on your ballot.

To learn more about me, my specific policy priorities, endorsements, and more, please visit MaureenCoffey.com

Last week, we invited the candidates running in competitive races in the June 20 Democratic primary 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 Jonathan Dromgoole, candidate for Arlington County Board.

Hello, my name is Jonathan Dromgoole. I am a renter, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and an immigrant from Guadalajara, Mexico. My family came to the United States with the hope of achieving the American Dream: buying a home, starting a small business, and ensuring the best education for their children. I am dedicated to making the American Dream a reality for all residents of Arlington.

As the first person in my family to attend college, I had the privilege of studying at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service for my undergraduate degree and later returning to the McCourt School of Public Policy for graduate school. During my time as an undergraduate, I met my now-husband, Juan. Both of us being immigrants—him from Venezuela—we have experienced living in different cities, but we chose to make Arlington our home over half a decade ago.

I am running to be your Democratic nominee for the county board in order to bring our diverse voices to the decision-making table and develop community-driven policies. It is striking that despite nearly 20% of Arlingtonians identifying as Latino, there is no Latino representation on the County Board. Additionally, the average age of Arlingtonians is 35, yet 40% of the population lacks representation. Currently, 60% of Arlingtonians, who are renters, do not have a voice on the five-person board. We cannot claim to make policies in the best interest of all residents if these perspectives are excluded from the decision-making process.

We need a transparent, efficient, and forward-thinking county board that prioritizes inclusivity, expands opportunities for small businesses, and places environmental sustainability and resilience at the forefront of its policies. It is crucial to have leadership that not only rebuilds trust in our civic engagement process, but also goes a step further by meeting communities where they are and engaging with a broader range of voices, beyond those who typically have access to the board.

In our 26 square miles, we have incredible opportunities. Opportunities to expand affordable housing while preserving green spaces. Opportunities to support small, diverse businesses that form the backbone of our community, instead of pushing out talent and innovation because we have made it too expensive to do business in the county. We can lead the way in adopting greener transportation methods, combating climate change by investing in electric buses, expanding the electric vehicle charging network, and ensuring accessible, safe, reliable, and efficient multimodal transportation for all.

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Last week, we invited the candidates running in competitive races in the June 20 Democratic primary 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 Tony Weaver, candidate for Arlington County Board.

I’m running for Arlington County Board because I want to make sure our county has the financial stability and resources needed so that all residents – regardless of the circumstances they were born into – can thrive.

I’m committed to the progressive ideals of promoting education, equity, and environmental sustainability. What sets me apart is that I have a record of service that has given me a ground-level understanding of our community’s challenges, and the business experience and policy know-how to actually implement effective solutions and ensure responsible financial stewardship.

As president emeritus of the Arlington Rotary Club I’ve seen how hard economic pressures have hit many residents. At the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), with which we regularly partner, we’ve been seeing ever longer lines of people coming in for help. It’s unacceptable that people in a county as affluent as ours must struggle with such a basic need.

In partnership with Arlington Community High School – the county’s alternative school – I’ve worked to get college scholarships to young people whose families are scraping by on incomes of $30,000 per year. For many of the students I’ve gotten to know, our scholarships are what’s making it possible to pursue higher education. But the impact Rotary is having only underscores how much more must be done for the students who are falling through the cracks.

The answer lies in a wholesale reinvestment in education. Ensuring, for instance, that Arlington has strong funding streams for teachers – as well as often-overlooked guidance counselors, who currently must serve about 100 students each.

Yet the resources needed for these investments are now under threat from unprecedented economic change. The work-from-home revolution brought on by the pandemic is here to stay. Anyone who has recently walked through Rosslyn and Crystal City can see the empty buildings as Arlington’s office vacancy rate has reached a record 23 percent. The long term impact on the county’s tax base – and therefore on county revenues – could be severe.

As a member of the county’s Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, I’ve been tracking the concerning budget cuts that have already been introduced as revenues have fallen relative to inflation. This includes the elimination of a vacant assistant director position at Arlington Economic Development – the very department whose mission is to attract the businesses that could expand county revenues.

That’s why it is my top priority to stabilize Arlington’s revenues. It’s imperative that we bring in new businesses to fill as much of the vacant office space as possible, while adapting remaining buildings to new uses. And to accomplish this we’re going to need county leaders who are well versed in the needs of both Big Tech and Main Street operations.

In contrast to every other candidate, I have this business experience and knowledge. I’ve worked at a technology firm in Silicon Valley. I’ve founded a venture capital-backed startup. And since returning to my Northern Virginia roots and starting my Arlington-based small business nearly a decade ago, I’ve tripled our revenues.

As a member of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Political Leaders program, I’ve also been criss-crossing the state over the past year speaking to economic policy experts and government officials of other localities. And I’ve been encouraged by what I’m finding when it comes to the potential for helping innovative businesses find a home in our county. 

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