Reminder to vote for SB candidate in the Arlington Democratic Caucus this week!

[Anonymous]

I feel like they are all playing both sides. I can't figure out who actually believes what.

[Anonymous]

OMG. Will I be voting for Clement this November?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG. Will I be voting for Clement this November?

I know!! But probaby not, no.

[Anonymous]

There is no both sides.


There is one side. The democrat side.

If you want to be elected, you have to pass he litmus last, and a big part of that is supporting AH.

There is no one saying they are against AH.

No one.

No one is even implying it.

[Anonymous]

That should say litmus test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no both sides.


There is one side. The democrat side.

If you want to be elected, you have to pass he litmus last, and a big part of that is supporting AH.

There is no one saying they are against AH.

No one.

No one is even implying it.

I agree that no one in Arlington County who runs as a Democrat opposes affordable housing, but I am a Democrat. I believe in public education. I believe good schools underpin the value of the future _and_ also the value of the house I bought in Arlington. So, I'd like to see someone grow some balls and stand up for schools and explain that what needs to be done requires fiscal restraint in other areas. And if the Democrats can't do that in Arlington, then it is time for some Republicans to take charge before this county goes bankrupt, before my child has another year with 28 kids in her class, before W&L becomes 4,000 students...

[Anonymous]

Voting tonight at Drew!

[Anonymous]

AH is a lost cause this election. We'd need new candidates or a shake up in ACDC. I had to set that aside and focus on who I thought would be best fir schools, so I picked Fallon.

Have any independents announced they are running?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AH is a lost cause this election. We'd need new candidates or a shake up in ACDC. I had to set that aside and focus on who I thought would be best fir schools, so I picked Fallon.

Have any independents announced they are running?

Only Audrey Clement who runs every time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who don't understand AH in Arlington *think* they are helping teachers and county workers have affordable places to live. That's not what is happening though. Because of income restrictions (many set by federal regs) most teachers and county workers make too much money to qualify for the vast majority of AH units in the County. There are some units set aside for "higher income" levels, but they are the exception and not the rule. And AH construction has been extremely profitable for many developers. They are able to make a developer contribution to the County's Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) and in exchange the County board waives certain density requirements so they can build more units in their non-AH apartment buildings. Then many of those same developers get the contract from Arlington County to build the AH buildings, with funds from AHIF. I have spoken with many well-meaning AH advocates (including my own pastor) and their heart is in the right place, but they don't understand how they are getting played by the developers. And they don't understand how building more AH is contributing to the school capacity crisis-- it is not just kids moving into AH buildings, but it is also the fact that developers are trading AH donations for extra units in their non-AH buildings and that also drives up school enrollment. I would love to see one of these churches donate their land to the County to build a new school or daycare instead of just building apartment buildings over the sanctuary.

Yes!!! All the people that are supposed to be helped with the "live where you work" motto (first responders, daycare workers, teachers, police officers), are generally not helped by the AH... biggest group of AH that WE, as Arlington county TAX PAYERS subsidize, are construction workers and cab drivers, the majority of which don't even work near here, but are commuting to FFX county (per studies done on this). AH is making Arlington less affordable for the middle class, while bringing in many kids that need lots of additional support (and more money) in the already overcrowded school system, and they are bringing in those kids only in some parts of the county, which is an even bigger issue, since only some schools are getting overwhelmed with kids that need additional resources, speak not a word of English, etc.

They should set aside affordable units for seniors, and special professional groups, and perhaps some other units (that are much better distributed throughout the entire county) but otherwise let the market largely dictate. As others pointed out, AH is a big money maker for developers and other lobbies, but is costing the tax payer, and taxing our school system.

So, not one person will be openly against AH though, which begs the question: Can we really make a difference with our vote?

[Anonymous]

A lot of AH should be set aside for public servants Luke teachers, police, fire fighters, as well as nurses who work in Arlington, etc.! With much higher income caps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
They should set aside affordable units for seniors

Why?

I'm not opposed to doing it, I'm just wondering why you're dubbing them worthy and other groups not.

[Anonymous]

^^ and that gets to the point.


We are picking winners and losers.
And not just those fortunate enough to win an apartment. We are picking winners and losers amongst home owners. Barcroft actually saw home values decrease in the last few years. Plenty of people worked really hard to afford a home in Arlington, and for what? I've sat in meetings and heard county officials tell concerned home owners , " we don't care about your property values."
Well, that's great if you bought your home before 2000, but if you bought after, you've invested too much and have too much at stake to be flippant.
Too much at stake to watch your neighborhood school slip from 5/6 to 2.
Too much at stake to have an SB member shrug off demographics ( Lander).


I guess that makes me a bad democrat, because I'm not interested in less than for my family, children, and home value.
Isn't that how people in 22207 or wherever feel? Why is it a shock to think south Arlington families would feel different?

[Anonymous]

I went to vote at Drew last night and it seemed like a great turn out - lots of families with their kids, but also a lot of seniors. When we left, there was a line of cars waiting to turn into the parking lot.

Last chance to vote is tomorrow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to vote at Drew last night and it seemed like a great turn out - lots of families with their kids, but also a lot of seniors. When we left, there was a line of cars waiting to turn into the parking lot.

Last chance to vote is tomorrow!

This makes me really happy to hear. Gen X and Millennials have to get engaged in the process.