July 6, 2024.
I’m Audrey Clement, the Independent candidate for Arlington County Board on November 5. I will be facing off against the winner of the June 18 Democratic Primary J.D. Spain, Republican Juan Carlos Fierro, and a Forward Party candidate Madison Granger.
Regarding the June 18 Primary, Rank Choice Vote (RCV) lobbying group FairVote gushed:
“RCV delivered a majority winner with both deep and broad support in a crowded contest. It also encouraged candidates to conduct more positive campaigns and seek support from more voters – even as their second choice.”
Come again? In an election in which winner Spain got only 3.6 percent of the first round votes of the Arlington’s 181,725 voters, it’s hard to see how his support was “deep and broad.”
Spain’s principal opponent Natalie Roy has already taken issue with the notion that the campaign was positive. In a thank you letter to her supporters, Roy reported that she was shut out by the mainstream Democratic Party establishment and even denied participation in the “endorsement processes of several key progressive organizations.”
Of course Arlington County Independents and Republicans are routinely shut out of the endorsement process, but to shun a Democratic Party loyalist like Natalie Roy takes partisan infighting to a new low.
Whatever else RCV might do, it doesn’t encourage more civility, and it doesn’t encourage participation in elections. In fact there were almost 3,000 more votes cast in the 2021 Democratic Primary [23,181]–Arlington County Board’s most recent winner take all primary election–than the 2024 RCV Democratic Primary [20,338].
Another issue arising out of the June 18 Primary is that the winner resides in a tax exempt property in South Arlington. If elected, he will participate in decisions about real estate taxes on behalf of all county residents.
While I don’t begrudge J.D. Spain any tax exemptions to which he may be entitled as the result of a disability, I don’t think it’s fair for someone who doesn’t pay real estate taxes to make decisions on behalf of those who do.
If elected, I pledge to:
- Propose an ordinance requiring members of the Board and commissions who do not pay Arlington real estate taxes either directly or indirectly to recuse themselves from discussion and votes on taxation matters.
- Seek immediate tax relief for residents and businesses.
- Convene a task force of community stakeholders to study reasonable alternatives to Missing Middle upzoning.
If you share my agenda, then: