IN CAUCUSES THURSDAY and Saturday evenings, Arlington Democrats will choose a candidate to fill a vacant seat on the five-member County Board. Given the county’s heavily Democratic leanings, the victor in the party contest is also likely to win the general election March 27 and fill the position vacated recently by now-state Sen. Barbara A. Favola, also a Democrat. While the winner gains the right only to finish out Ms. Favola’s term before facing a fresh election in November, he or she would likely have the inside track to securing a full four-year term.
All five Democratic candidates are qualified, but two stand out as particularly substantive and would bring valuable perspectives to the board: Libby Garvey, a 15-year member of the Arlington School Board who has also chaired it three times; and Melissa Bondi, a veteran community leader on land use, affordable housing, the environment and other issues. We think Ms. Garvey is the better choice.
Ms. Garvey’s expertise, as her background suggests, is in overseeing the county’s top-notch school system, now facing an expected influx of 3,300 new students over the next five years — more than 15 percent growth. Granted, she has not dealt directly with affordable housing, transportation and some other meat-and-potatoes issues confronting the county board. But the leadership skills are transferrable and the substance can be mastered, and Ms. Garvey is highly regarded as cool, competent and a quick study.
Ms. Bondi is also widely admired, not least for her deep knowledge of community issues central to the board’s mission. She was instrumental in striking a deal — and seeing it through to enactment in Richmond — between developers and advocates of affordable housing, which has resulted in Arlington making significant progress in maintaining and expanding its stock of accessibly priced dwelling.
However, we are troubled that Ms. Bondi faces a federal tax lien for more than $19,000, filed by the IRS in 2009, and was overdue in paying vehicle taxes in 2004 and 2005. Ms. Bondi says she became aware of the federal lien only in the last couple of weeks and is making every effort to resolve it. She did pay off the vehicle tax (a small sum, she says) in 2005 — albeit only when the County Treasurer’s office threatened to seize her car. We understand that people make mistakes, but we also think candidates for public office should pay their taxes. It seems that Ms. Bondi, her other strengths notwithstanding, did not.
Loading...
Comments