By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Voters in Democratic-leaning Arlington County easily reelected County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman (D) to a fourth term and chose Democratic-endorsed newcomer Sally M. Baird for the school board yesterday, as voters throughout the region approved bonds for millions of dollars in spending for schools, roads and parks.

Zimmerman defeated lawyer Michael T. McMenamin (R) and Green Party candidate and activist Joshua F. Ruebner in a campaign in which the challengers raised concerns about county spending on pricey building projects, widespread redevelopment and rising property taxes.

Although the two challengers ran thoughtful campaigns, they faced tough going in trying to oust Zimmerman, who is a powerful force in local Democratic politics. He also sits on the board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

"I think [the win] means I keep doing this job for a while longer," Zimmerman, 47, quipped from a victory party at Cecilia's restaurant on Columbia Pike. "I ran on my record . . . and that gave people a good opportunity to judge what I'm doing and where the county's going and where I'm likely to take it."

Arlington voters, by a wide margin, chose Baird for an open seat on the school board over independent candidate Cecelia M. Espenoza, 48, a Justice Department immigration lawyer and former PTA president. The two relative newcomers -- Espenoza also ran for the board last year -- had been vying to replace retiring Chairman Mary Hynes.

Baird, 42, first made her mark on the political scene last spring when she upset a well-connected opponent in a firehouse primary to win the Democratic endorsement; the grass-roots efforts established there helped propel her to victory in the general election, she said.

Virginia school boards are nonpartisan, but both major political parties typically endorse candidates.

Baird, vice president of production operations for a tax analysis group, has served on the district's Early Childhood Advisory Committee. She campaigned on the importance of early childhood education in narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students. She said beefing up early childhood efforts and retaining qualified teachers are among her top priorities.

"I'm excited to actually get to work and begin doing the job," she said.

Baird and her partner, Karen Foster, have two sons, ages 6 and 3; the elder attends Drew Model School, where the couple have been active parents.

Throughout Northern Virginia, voters approved millions of dollars in bond referendums, with much of the money slated for roads and schools in burgeoning Prince William and Loudoun counties.

In Prince William -- where the population has grown by about 72 percent in the past 16 years -- voters approved three bond questions totaling $370 million, most for road projects. The money will go toward expanding Routes 1 and 28, Minnieville Road, Prince William Parkway and other roadways.

Loudoun, which had two transportation questions in a referendum on $233.7 million in bonds, asked voters to spend $51 million on road improvements that include a new interchange at Route 7 and the Loudoun County Parkway.

Jurisdictions such as Fairfax and Prince William have ponied up money to build roads in recent years because of a lack of state funding, officials said.

"There has not been enough state funding to keep pace with need, and local governments in these outer jurisdictions where congestion is getting worse -- like Loudoun and Prince William -- are in the position of having to do the roads themselves," said Ronald F. Kirby, director of transportation planning for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. "We're so badly behind in road capacity these bonds will help us catch up some."

In Loudoun, $170 million will go toward building schools in a system that is projected to grow from 50,000 students to nearly 70,000 over the next six years. Voters approved bonds for a new high school in Leesburg and new elementary schools in Dulles South and Ashburn, as well as $43.3 million to buy land for two middle schools and one high school near Dulles.

Fairfax voters approved $150 million in two bond referendums with a focus on public safety, including $125 million for major renovations to police stations or new stations in Fair Oaks, McLean and Reston, two new fire facilities and a county animal shelter.

Arlington voters approved five bond issues totaling $207 million, for schools and a recreation center as well as upgrading the county's water treatment plant and paying the county's share of Metro and other capital improvements. Some residents had criticized the bonds, arguing that spending for the new Arlington Mill Community Center was unnecessary and that renovations at Yorktown High School slighted other schools.