Democratic incumbent Jay Fisette according to State Board of Elections data raised about $106,500 as of Oct. 23, 2013; his leading donors according to VPAC data were from the real estate/construction industry ($5,105), businessmen ($4,210), healthcare ($2,910), and defense industry ($2,200). About $14,000 of Fisette’s contributions came from residents who do not live in Arlington; what is their interest in Arlington?
Virginia Public Access Project reports are at:
http://www.vpap.org/committees/profile/home_financials/2840?start_year=2013&end_year=2013&lookup_type=year&filing_period=all
SBE reports at: http://cfreports.sbe.virginia.gov/Committee/Index/9da1603d-869f-e111-8def-984be103f032

His largest single donor was Christine Milliken ($2,120) whose husband is a prominent lawyer representing many of the large developers operating in Arlington such as Vornado Realty Trust, JBG Companies, Clark Realty,
and Gould Property Company. Vornado and JBG own large commercial properties in Crystal City and other Arlington areas. The county board recently allowed higher development in Crystal City despite many neighbors opposition and to the financial benefit of these large developers.

Why did Jay Fisette take money from developers, real estate interests and other private business interests with past and possibly future matters before the Arlington County Board? The Northern Virginia Realtors PAC gave Fisette $1,000; does this weigh on his ability to impartially regulate developers in Arlington? Unfortunately Virginia’s weak ethical laws allow politicians to accept unlimited business funds.

Our Green candidate Audrey Clement raised less than $8,000 with nearly half of this coming from her own pocket, and her other leading contributor the chairman of the Arlington Greens Steve Davis.

Thus, the incumbent Democrat outraised the Green by about 14 to 1.

How can we have fair elections in the United States with corporate and business interests and those of wealthy people tilting the scales of competition?

The U.S. Green Party bars its candidates from accepting corporate and business contributions. Both the Democrats and Republicans are identical in their dependance and subseverience to the money interests. Whatever happened to Abraham Lincoln’s Government of the People, for the People and by the People? Today we have government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich.

Arlington Greens and their community supporters enthusiastically supported the housing authority referendum in 2013, but were unable to overcome propaganda from the two major parties, particularly the Democrats, and some voters adversion to public housing for lower and working class people in Arlington.

The approval share of votes cast in 2013 was very close to the share in the prior referendum in 2008 (a Presidential election year), about 31 percent:
2008 2013
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Yes 32,808 33.1% 19,726 30.8%
No 66,235 66.9% 44,305 69.2%

The Republicans and the Democrats both urged voters to vote no, and distributed sample ballots indicating this.

The Democrats further circulated a mistake prone and misleading document to voters with factual errors. Their most amazing claim is that they really want to keep Arlington a diverse community, “where individuals from all walks of life can afford to live.” What a joke-this is totally at odds to the 11 percent drop in Latinos living in Arlington over the past 13 years and a drop in the number of black residents as well, all or mostly because of higher rents, and the Democratic ruling Party’s failure to have an effective housing program to just maintain the number of lower income minorities living in Arlington!

Working income people of all types simply cannot live in Arlington today. Arlington today does not have anywhere near the number of people from all walks of life living here. Fewer than 10% of Arlington firefighters live here; fewer than 80% of police, and fewer than 40% of public school teachers. Arlington firefighters union supported the housing authority because it could then offer as does the Fairfax Housing Authority today subsidized rental housing for lower earning firefighters as well as teachers, police, county employees and nurses and critical medical staff working at the Va Hospital Center.

Some factual Pinnochio statements on the Arlington County Democratic Committee sheet on the housing authority:

“It (a housing authority) would not bring any new tools, authority, or funding for affordable housing.”Totally wrong on all three points. An authority under Virginia law can underwrite and issue its own housing bonds at low interest rates (something Arlington cannot do today); it can own land and directly operate rental housing (something Arlington County cannot do today), and it can secure HUD funding and HUD credit guarantees for its housing bonds issued, and automatically obtain Federal tax credits. Obviously, a “housing authority” brings new authority powers as elaborated under longtime Virginia law. There are about 22 Virginia jurisdictions with a housing authority today.

“Arlington is creating and preserving more affordable housing units per 1,000 people than any other county in Northern Virginia”
Over the past 13 years, Arlington has lost an average of 1,200 affordable rental units offered by private owners and added only 300 affordable subsidized units, a net loss annually of 900 units annually. Arlington is not creating any affordable units, it is losing nearly 1,000 units a year. Fairfax, Falls Church and every other jurisdiction in Northern Virginia (except for the City of Alexandria) has kept more affordable units than Arlington, and remain more affordable than Arlington. DC is now more affordable than Arlington.

“The county already allocates more than $20 million annually for affordable housing development. Since 1996, Arlington County has spent $132.6 million for housing.” Arlington County spends about $6 million annually for affordable housing development, under the so-called AHIF (Arlington Housing Investment Fund). It does not spend $20 million annually. With those $6 million, the county adds about 300 subsidized apartments (CAFs) annually at a very high cost per unit. The most recent CAFs added at Arlington Mill cost about $250,000 each (with free public land), more than twice what the Fairfax Housing Authority spends per unit.

What is really important is not how much Arlington County spends, but what its results are: the county actually spends annually of its own funds over $30 million for all types of housing assistance including rent subsidies, low income homeowner tax defferal, etc. But its program is very expensive per person helped and ineffective because it has failed to meet nearly every goal set to preserve rental housing. Its high costs mean that mostly the subsidized units do not serve lower income people, but only those making $60,000 and above. Its program is fractured, ineffective and expensive mainly benefiting the developers and contractors who get the county funding.

Beaver Creek Elementary School, Arizona 2013

Recently on a family trip to Arizona,I was impressed by the many solar panels in both public buildings and private homes in that sunny state. The city hall building in Flagstaff, AZ has built solar panels over its parking lot (see attached photo). A public school building in Beaver Creek, AZ has solar panels on a south facing hill next to it.

Admitedly Arizona has many many more days of sun than Virginia, but solar power is still financially feasible for most new public buildings, and if the State of Virginia would provide tax credits like Maryland does, feasible for homeowners and apartments. Clearly solar power is renewable reduces carbon emissions particularly our case in Virginia when a high proportion of electricity is coal generated.

As importantly solar panels on buildings would provide us with energy security as what happens a year ago with Hurrican Sandy leaving many in Arlington without power for 3-5 days.

Unfortunately, the main Arizona private electric utility APS that relies heavily on coal and nuclear is trying to impose fees on solar panel users in Arizon can cut off the growing solar industry there just like the situation in Virginia with Dominion Power.

John Reeder

Arlington Greens Post-Election Celebration at Westover Beer Gardens

Please join us for our 2013 post-election celebration at the Westover Beer Gardens, a locally owned bar and supermarket in Arlington.
The Arlington Greens will gather starting at around 7:15 pm (after the polls close) for a post-election celebration at the Westover Beer Gardens, located at 5863 N. Washington Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22205
http://www.westovermarket.com/_BEER_GARDEN.htmlPlease vote for our Green candidate Audrey Clement for Arlington County Board, and support the housing authority referendum. Thank you all our campaign volunteers and community supporters who have worked so hard to support our candidate and our cause to keep affordable rental housing in our community!

If anyone would still like to work at a poll for the Greens, please email John Reeder [email protected]