election

Garvey Wins Democratic County Board Caucus

By ARLnow.com

School Board member Libby Garvey has claimed a decisive victory in the Democratic caucus for Arlington County Board.

The caucuses were held on Thursday and Saturday. Out of the 4,314 votes cast, 1,915 were cast for Garvey — more than twice the vote count of her closest opponent. In an email, Garvey expressed gratitude to her supporters and to the other candidates in the race.

“I’d like to thank the Arlington elected officials who endorsed me in this race: Senators Barbara Favola, Mary Margaret Whipple, and Patsy Ticer and School Board Members Abby Raphael and Emma Violand-Sanchez. Their assistance was critical in securing this victory,” she wrote. “I would especially like to thank the other candidates. It was a race between five well-qualified Arlington Democrats, and I’m particularly thankful for the kindness they showed me on the campaign trail.”

Garvey will now be the official Democratic nominee for Arlington County Board in the special election that’s being held on March 27. She will face Green Party candidate Audrey Clement and Republican Mark Kelly, who just announced his candidacy this past week.

“This County Board contest was one of the hardest fought in recent memory, featuring five great candidates from various constituencies in Arlington,” Arlington Democratic Chair Mike Lieberman said in a statement announcing the caucus results. “We are proud that Libby Garvey emerged from this caucus as our nominee. She has been an outstanding School Board Member, and we know she will make an excellent County Board Member as well. We look forward to committing our full party resources behind getting Libby elected on March 27.”

The final vote count, as reported by the Arlington County Democratic Committee:

  • Libby Garvey — 1,915 votes
  • Melissa Bondi — 966 votes
  • Terron Sims — 922 votes
  • Kim Klingler — 333 votes
  • Peter Fallon — 178 votes

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dems Hold County Board Caucus — A sizable crowd showed up at last night’s Democratic caucus at Washington-Lee High School. The Democratic blog Blue Virginia notes with some surprise that those who stood in line to vote for a County Board nominee appeared to be “overwhelmingly white and… older” — in contrast to the youth and diversity more often associated with the Democratic party. Those who didn’t vote last night will have a chance to do so on Saturday. [Blue Virginia]

Garvey Leads Fundraising Race — Democratic County Board candidate Libby Garvey is leading the fundraising race with $33,940 collected through Dec. 31, including a $5,000 personal loan and a $5,000 donation from Patsy Ticer’s Senate campaign fund. Melissa Bondi was next with $30,941 in receipts, followed by Kim Klingler, Terron Sims, Peter Fallon and Audrey Clement. [Washington Post]

McDonnell Endorses Romney — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, mentioned as a possible Republican vice presidential pick, endorsed Mitt Romney for president this morning. McDonnell said Romney was “a ‘results-oriented conservative’ who can appeal to Democrats and independents.” [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Arlington Little League Registration — Registration for Arlington Little League’s spring baseball season is now open. The league offers six levels of recreational baseball for boys and girls ages 4-12. The league also has teams for mentally and physically challenged players. Registration is open until March 4 with discounted fees available through Feb. 16. [Arlington Little League]

County Board Candidates Address Issues in Cherrydale Debate

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Tonight, Arlington voters will head to Washington-Lee High School for the first of two caucuses to pick a Democratic nominee for County Board. In advance of the caucuses, six County Board candidates participated in a debate last night at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department.

Here are some of the candidates, in their own words, on a few key issues brought up during the debate.

Affordable Housing

Kim Klingler: “We have large employers here who want to bring the best and brightest to Arlington County. And they want them to live here. So let’s hold some of our business owners accountable to see if they can assist us in providing affordable housing for their staff.”

Libby Garvey: “We can work more with developers on bringing them increased density to provide more affordable housing than they built. And we do indeed need to work with preserving our existing stock, and offering tax incentives or loans to the current owners to maintain the affordable housing that they have now.”

Peter Fallon: “We need to revisit the affordable housing bonus density that is available in the zoning ordinance to incentivize more developers to keep using it … At the same time we need to not sabotage [existing affordable housing]. Columbia Pike — the county’s own study has indicated that the trolley would raise the average affordable rent by 30 percent.”

Melissa Bondi: “I would look at new tools like community land trusts, looking at statewide tax relief for existing affordable housing, and a statewide housing trust fund to help Arlington with the tools we already have in place.”

Audrey Clement: “Create a housing authority that would… [consolidate] all the county’s housing programs under one agency, enabling it to qualify for federal HUD money that it currently still does not qualify for, and leveraging the money that it has to build more affordable housing in this country.

Terron Sims: “We can’t do anything to control property values. So we’re going to be careful with how we invest in certain areas of the county where the affordable housing exists because of market forces. Depending on how development goes in certain areas… we may cause those [lower-income] citizens to go live somewhere else, which is not what we want to do.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

WaPo Endorses Garvey — The Washington Post has endorsed Arlington School Board member Libby Garvey in the Democratic County Board caucuses being held tonight and Saturday. The Post said Garvey and Melissa Bondi “stand out” in the five-way race, but lauded Garvey as “cool, competent and a quick study” while expressing reservations about Bondi’s tax troubles. [Washington Post]

Bondi Statement on Accusations — County Board candidate Melissa Bondi has responded to new allegations against her. The accusations, largely spread by anonymous blog commenters, insinuate that Bondi illegally voted twice in recent elections — once in Virginia and once in Ohio, where she used to live. Bondi says the basis of the accusations — Ohio voting records referencing someone with her exact full name and middle initial — is a result of the fact that her mother is also named Melissa M. Bondi. [Bondi for County Board]

D.C. United Practices at Long Bridge Park — D.C. United held its first outdoor practice of training camp yesterday on the synthetic turf soccer fields at Long Bridge Park. The team practiced at the new county park, near Crystal City, due to poor turf conditions at RFK Stadium. [Washington Post]

Moran Statement on Pipeline Decision — Rep. Jim Moran (D) is reacting to the Obama administration’s decision to reject the a proposed Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. Moran said, in a statement: “I applaud President Obama’s decision to deny the application for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Our collective national interests, whether economic, environmental, or national security, would be better served by reducing our addiction to fossil fuels… Building a pipeline to tap one of the dirtiest sources of fuel and the few temporary jobs it might create are not in our nation’s best long term interests.” [Office of Rep. Jim Moran]

Donna Gets Job in Arizona — Disgraced local chef Roberto Donna is trying to turn over a new leaf in Arizona. The 50-year-old has taken a job as a chef at an Italian restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Arlington County Treasurer’s Office, which is trying to collect more than $150,000 in back restaurant taxes from Donna, has asked the Commonwealth’s Attorney to look into whether the new gig would pay enough to allow Donna to increase his court-ordered payments on the debt. [Washington Post]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Republican Files for County Board Race — Arlington County Republican Committee Chairman Mark Kelly has filed to be the GOP nominee in the upcoming County Board special election. It’s not the first time Kelly has run for County Board. In 2010 incumbent Chris Zimmerman defeated Kelly 57 percent to 36 percent. [Sun Gazette]

Progressive Group Endorses Bondi — Democratic County Board candidate Melissa Bondi has garnered an endorsement from Virginia New Majority, a statewide progressive organization. “As a long-time advocate of affordable housing and Smart Growth, she was worked tirelessly to ensure that the county’s plans for economic development have not been pursued at the expense of the county’s working and poor families,” the organization said in its endorsement. “And, we expect Board Member Bondi to pursue a transportation plan that won’t encourage displacement of low-income communities.” [Virginia New Majority]

ACDC To Offer Free Trips to Caucus — The Arlington County Democratic Committee is offering free transportation to its caucus tomorrow night. (The caucus is being held to select a nominee for County Board.) “Rides will be available from the Ballston Metro every 15 minutes from 6:45PM to 8:30PM,” ACDC said in a press release. “Voters can meet the Ride Coordinator at the top of the Ballston escalators… next to Tivoli.” Thursday’s caucus is being held at Washington-Lee High School, while a caucus on Saturday is being held at Kenmore Middle School.

Four Mile Run Footbridge to Be Replaced — The bike and pedestrian bridge that connects the W&OD and Custis trails near the East Falls Church Metro station is being replaced. The new bridge should be complete in the next couple of months and, unlike the old bridge, will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Greater Greater Washington]

Flickr pool by ddimicky. ACDC is presently an ARLnow.com advertiser.

County Board Candidates Have Varied Education Backgrounds

By ARLnow.com

One of the top issues in the race for Arlington County Board is education and the capacity crisis at our public schools. With that in mind, what kind of education did each of the six candidates receive, and what experience, if any, do they have in the field of education? Per several reader requests, we looked into the educational background of each candidate.

Terron Sims (D) graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, according to his campaign website. Sims has served on the Arlington Public Schools Strategic Plan Steering Committee and on the Committee  on the Elimination of the Achievement Gap.

Kim Klingler (D) graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science degree, according to her campaign manager. She majored in Health Services Administration and minored in Business Administration. Her campaign website says she has previously volunteered at a local elementary school.

Libby Garvey (D) graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, with a major in Politics and a minor in Economics, according to her campaign website. Garvey helped run Mount Holyoke’s Washington internship program in the early 1980s and has served on the Arlington County School Board since 1996.

Peter Fallon (D) graduated from George Washington University with Bachelor of Accountancy degree. He has served on Arlington County’s Marymount University Task Force and was appointed by the School Board to serve on the Yorktown High School building level planning committee.

Audrey Clement (G) received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Political Science from Temple University, where she also worked as a teaching assistant. Clement says she spent some of her time as a Congressional Fellow working on special education issues.

Melissa Bondi (D) studied Physics at the University of Rochester but did not complete her degree. She attended the university from September 1989 to December 1991, according to records at the National Student Clearninghouse. She has worked on local campaigns for Arlington County School Board, according to her campaign website, and has been endorsed by School Board member James Lander.

County Board Candidates Strike Note of Fiscal Conservatism

By ARLnow.com

The six candidates for County Board each struck a note of fiscal conservatism at local civic association debates this week.

Even as Arlington has avoided the worst of the stagnant economy, fears about the impact of federal spending cuts on Arlington’s tax base, combined with the reality of a burgeoning school population, has ushered in a slate of candidates largely devoid of ideas for sweeping new county initiatives. Instead, candidates are talking about prioritizing spending and, perhaps, pulling back on big ticket items like the struggling Artisphere cultural center and the planned Columbia Pike streetcar and Long Bridge Park aquatics center.

Iraq veteran and West Point graduate Terron Sims was perhaps the most blunt of the five Democrats in race when it came to spending.

“We do need to prioritize,” Sims said. “We spend money as though it’s coming out of trees… Though we have the money, that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to spend the money.”

“I’m disturbed at the trolley’s cost,” Sims said of the Pike streetcar’s $250 million price tag. “As for the Artisphere, it’s a failed investment, or at least it appears to be at this time.”

Peter Fallon, an Arlington County Planning Commission, was also candid about his views on spending — particularly when it comes to the streetcar.

“Let’s face it, we need to do a much better job of deciding what we need versus what we want and what we can have,” Fallon said. “I am certainly very pro-transit… however, I am not convinced that $250 million for a five mile rail in the ground is necessarily the way to go.

“If I’m on the County Board, I’m not going to sign off on it until I’m convinced it’s the right thing to do for all of Arlington, and I have not seen that analysis yet,” Fallon added. “There are cheaper ways to enhance traffic and transit throughout Arlington County.”

School Board member Libby Garvey said that some big ticket items sound good in theory, but must be put in perspective when it comes to other needs.

“I think the streetcar sounds like a great project, I think the [proposed Long Bridge Park] aquatics center sounds like a great project, the Artisphere had really good possibilities — they all sound great,” she said. “Meanwhile, our schools are busting at the seams, our police force has not had an increase in 10 years. There are a lot of issues we are facing, and the news is we cannot do it all — or we cannot do it all right now.”

“We need a strategic plan to pick out what our priorities are and decide what we’re going to do first,” Garvey continued. “So if we put money into an aquatics center but we don’t build a school, we’re saying that the aquatics center is more important than a school. Our budget statements are value statements.”

(more…)

Mud Slinging in County Board Race Targets Bondi

By ARLnow.com

Over the past two nights, civic association debates between the six candidates running for County Board have been a remarkably civil affair. The candidates — five Democrats and one Green Party member — touted their records, focused on the issues, politely disagreed with some county policies, and refrained from directly criticizing one another.

Behind the scenes, however, mud is being slung, and it’s being directed at one Democratic candidate in particular: Melissa Bondi.

For the past couple of weeks, Republicans and Democrats alike have been bombarding local media outlets with dirt on Bondi — on and off the record — claiming she failed to register a car in Arlington and she has been late in paying her taxes on multiple occasions.

In an interview with ARLnow.com on Tuesday, Bondi had some answers, but professed surprise at the most serious charge: that she failed to pay the IRS $19,252.23 in taxes accrued between 2005 and 2006, resulting in a federal tax lien being filed in March 2011. (See: document provided to ARLnow.com.)

According to Bondi, she was not notified about the lien at the time and only found out about it this week via a post on a local blog. She said she immediately contacted the IRS and tried to find out why the lien was assessed.

“I learned about when I learned about the blog post, and I was shocked and extremely concerned,” Bondi said. “I believe it’s an error, I believe it’s a mistake. I don’t know what the circumstances are, but I’m anxious to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.”

Asked if she has, to her knowledge, paid all her federal taxes “in full and on time,” Bondi said yes.

But according to the Arlington County Treasurer’s Office, Bondi has not always paid her local taxes on time. A FOIA request filed by a local resident reveals that Bondi was twice delinquent in paying Arlington personal property taxes on her car. In 2004, Bondi was 14 days late in paying the tax. In 2005, she was 53 days late, and only paid “following a threat of seizure by the Treasurer’s office,” according to Treasurer Frank O’Leary.

O’Leary, who’s supporting the campaign of County Board candidate Terron Sims, did not mince words when sharing his professional opinion of Bondi with the Clarendon Patch.

“She is a scofflaw and tax evader,” O’Leary told the website. “If I sound a little angry about it, I am. She simply ignored us.”

Asked about the past delinquencies, Bondi would only discuss her current county tax situation.

“I believe I am fully paid up with Arlington County with any obligations I have,” Bondi said. “I try to be responsible on my obligations, and I believe I am responsible on my obligations.”

If there were any tax delinquencies, she said, they were not intentional.

The questions surrounding Bondi’s personal property taxes don’t stop there. Critics say Bondi kept a car in Arlington from 2006 to 2008, despite the fact that her car was reported as sold and removed from Arlington’s personal property tax rolls in February 2006.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Group to Discuss Backyard Chickens — Arlington’s Committee of 100 will take up the issue of backyard chicken raising at its meeting tonight. Among the speakers are an official from Albemarle County, where urban chicken keeping is allowed; the founder of the Arlington Egg Project, which is pushing the county to change its restrictive poultry ordinance; and an Arlington resident who lives next door to a neighbor who raises chickens. [Committee of 100]

‘Office of Latino Affairs’ On the Back Burner — Corrected at 4:30 p.m. — A proposal to create an Office of Latino Affairs in Arlington is still on the back burner, the Sun Gazette reports. An earlier version of this item erroneously stated that County Board member Walter Tejada supports the creation of the office, and neglected to link to the Sun Gazette article. Tejada tells ARLnow.com that he supports improving services for Latino residents, but doesn’t think the creation of a separate county department is necessarily the best way to go about it. “I don’t think it’s the thing to do,” he said. [Sun Gazette]

Candidates Weigh in On Issues on GGW — Three (out of five) candidates for County Board weighed in on issues from the Columbia Pike streetcar to the Crystal City sector plan via the website Greater Greater Washington. Melissa Bondi, Libby Garvey and Kim Klingler responded to a candidate questionnaire issued by the site. [Greater Greater Washington]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Favola Endorses Garvey — State Senator-elect Barbara Favola has endorsed School Board member Libby Garvey in the special election race to fill her former County Board seat. Calling Garvey “a proven leader,” Favola said in a statement that Garvey had the skills, experience and values to be an effective County Board member. “Libby will work to protect our core services including human services, affordable housing, and public schools as we continue to grow and change as a community,” Favola said.

Moran to Face Primary Challenge — Rep. Jim Moran (D) is facing a potential primary challenge this year. Fairfax County resident Will Radle says he will challenge the long-time incumbent in this year’s Democratic primary. One reason Radle cited for challenging Moran: “the congressman’s ineffectiveness securing more take-home pay for federal employees.” (On Friday, however, Moran issued a statement calling for federal employees to receive a larger cost-of-living increase than the 0.5 percent raise proposed by the Obama administration.) Radle has previously run for office as an Independent Green and a Republican. [Alexandria Times]

Clinic Director Named ‘Washingtonian of the Year’ — Nancy Pallesen, the executive director of the Arlington Free Clinic, has been named one of Washingtonian magazine’s “Washingtonians of the Year” for 2012. [Sun Gazette]

Flickr pool photo by Alex

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Eleventh Street Lounge to Close — An employee says Eleventh Street Lounge in Clarendon is planning to close by the end of the month. Like its neighbor, Potomac Crossfit, Eleventh is closing to make way for a new office development. [Clarendon Culture]

County Board Candidates Tepid About Streetcar — The five remaining Democratic candidates for County Board spoke at a forum organized by the Arlington County Democratic Committee on Wednesday. On the topic of the Columbia Pike streetcar, most candidates expressed reservations about the pricy project. Only one candidate, Melissa Bondi, expressed full support for the streetcar. [Sun Gazette]

APS an Example of How to Reduce Achievement Gap — Arlington Public Schools’ highly successful efforts to reduce the achievement gap between low income students, Black and Hispanic students and affluent, white and Asian students is the subject of a new book. The book, Gaining on the Gap: Changing Hearts, Minds and Practice, was written by several APS administrators. Its suggested approach to reducing the achievement gap is being called “stunningly reasonable” by one Washington Post columnist. [Washington Post]

APS Adds State Honors — Ten Arlington County schools have earned state honors for learning and achievement this year, a gain from the seven that won awards last year. Arlington was actually one of the few school systems making gains in state recognition — both neighboring Alexandria and Fairfax County won significantly fewer awards this year. [Washington Examiner]

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