Arlington Board Candidates Disagree on Major Projects, School Funding

Major Arlington County projects like the and proposed Columbia Pike trolley and the amount of money the local government gives to the school system provided ample fodder for a candidate forum Tuesday night.

Democrat – a school board member who, if elected, would again cement the one-party dominance over local government – found herself between Republican Mark Kelly and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement, both of whom want to cut or eliminate tax dollars going to things like the Artisphere and a new .

Kelly and Clement also both oppose a planned $250 million streetcar project along Columbia Pike. Kelly called it a “boondoggle” that will “wreak havoc” on existing businesses, and Clement believes better transportation could be brought to the area at a fraction of the cost by making improvements to the existing bus system. Garvey said she had questions about the project, and disagreed with Kelly that it had been “studied to death.”

Garvey played up her experience at the forum, hosted by the Arlington County Civic Federation, saying that the board needs someone who can manage growth and change as it comes to Arlington.

“I know how to do this job,” she said.

Kelly said he wants to “put the brakes” on in the Courthouse community. He wants the county to hold off on filling 37 full-time vacant positions. And he wants the county and Arlington Public Schools to put their checkbooks online.

“If you force folks to put all their expenditures online, you’re going to see a lot more responsibility in what they spend money on,” Kelly said. “Looking at specific items, as well as an overall culture of transparency and accountability will help us find savings.”

Kelly also wants to cut the real estate tax rate, whereas the sitting board is considering raising it so that the average homeowner will pay more than $5,000 annually for the first time.

Clement wants to proceed with the homeless shelter, wants to expand library hours and wants to replace trailers with classrooms on the school side.

“The change in vision Arlington County requires … is to switch out of an elite democratic model where a cadre of leaders provides us with direction and we’re more or less required to go along,” Clement said. “We need to go to a grassroots democracy model where forums like these provide the primary not secondary inputs to the priorities developed by county board.”

Clement, too, wants to consolidate all of the agencies that deal with affordable housing in Arlington County under a single umbrella in order to better leverage grant dollars.

Under a revenue-sharing agreement, Arlington County currently gives 46.1 percent of local taxes to the school system.

Clement suggested increasing that to 50 percent. Kelly wants to the school board and superintendent to make the case for the money it needs each year before the county board. Garvey said the current agreement is in place because both sides used to spend too much time arguing over a relatively small amount of money, which wasn’t helpful to either party.

Kelly and Clement both want to hire an inspector general to audit the county’s books.

The pair tried to paint Garvey as the establishment candidate. Garvey reminded the audience that no sitting board member supported her during her primary run, and that her victory was "a wake-up call" to the county board.

The special election to fill the vacant seat on the Arlington County Board is March 27.