Garvey Has No Problem With County Board-School Board Extravagant Spending

Hi Yupette,

I attended the County Board - School Board budget work session tonight at the School Board. Libby Garvey went along with County Government's extravagant spending agenda. It was as though she was appointed to the County Board on Tuesday by Zimmerman.

The most shocking discussion occurred when the County Board and School Board gloated over a new baseball field to be constructed at W-L High School for at least $1 million. This will not be a synthetic field and much time was spent discussing the difficulty of starting a Bermuda grass playing field. Nothing at all said about when real classrooms would replace trailer classrooms at W-L.

That's what we deserve for allowing one-party government to control Arlington for the past 32 years.

K.L.

'Fiscal Responsibility' Wins 9-Month Term On County Board

Congratulations to Fiscal Responsibility, which won a 9-month term on the Arlington County Board today, narrowly edging Lexus Liberal Libby Garvey.

Fiscal Responsibility will enjoy a short tenure on the County Board, until an expected heavily-Democratic vote for Obama-Kaine-Moran in the November elections.

After January 2013, promises made behind-closed-doors to parents and special interests by Libby Garvey during the closing weeks of the March 27th County Board special election will end Fiscal Responsibility's term on the County Board. Libby will support the Pike streetcar and the current County Board's other pet projects and special interests. The cost of Libby's promises made to PTA insiders for elementary sports-recreation-community-education centers alone amounts to more than $300 million.

Libby will defeat Fiscal Responsibility on the County Board in January 2013 by trading hundreds of millions in tax revenue for parent and special interest votes Libby received in the March and November elections.

Thanks to Fiscal Responsibility for running for County Board in today's Special Election.

Linda, 22207

Arlington Would Lose AAA Bond Rating With Garvey on Board, Quality of Life With Kelly on Board

Hello,

Have you seen the commercial real estate news? Area economy is slowing because of federal government cutbacks, higher energy costs, freeze in federal workforce's salaries. In-fill redevelopment is being put on hold, for example Akridge's plans to redevelop 500 N. Washington Street in Falls Church.

Libby Garvey's made so many promises to parents for new schools, together with her tacit endorsement of the County Board's pet vanity projects, that Arlington would surely lose its AAA bond rating if she were elected.

Mark Kelly is fiscally conservative all right, except when it comes to his friends the developers, who he would encourage to totally urbanize Arlington with a huge helping of taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Electing Kelly or Garvey to the County Board would be a lose-lose for Arlington residents. Each is committed to their respective ideology - Lexus Liberalism and Tea Party Conservatism.

In candidate debate after candidate debate Audrey Clement proved herself to be the candidate who would serve the best interests of Arlington residents, not the unrestrained social welfare and corporate welfare interests.

We urge Arlington voters to elect Audrey Clement tomorrow. You can vote at your usual polling place from 6 AM to 7 PM.

Cindy and Susan

Voice-Action Meeting - Audrey Clement is the Only County Board Candidate Truly Committed to Affordable Housing

Hello, Yupette:

I am an Episcopalian and am committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ as related in the New Testament.

I attended the Voice Action affordable housing meeting at St. Mary's Church today.

Audrey Clement was the only County Board candidate that did not talk about her faith and herself, but talked what she and the Arlington Green Party have done and are trying to do for the homeless and to build and renovate truly affordable housing in Arlington.

So, I'm voting for Audrey on Tuesday. You should too.

God Bless,

Janet

'Libby Garvey Could Care Less About Infrastructure...Check Out Her Own Neighborhood'

Hello,

Like many Fairlington households, we received an oversized postcard from South Fairlington resident Libby Garvey's campaign. She promised to 'Work to ensure sufficient support for public safety, infrastructure maintenance, etc....'.

Like everything else Libby says and does that statement and others like it are blather from someone who's watched the public infrastructure in her own neighborhood deteriorate.

Fairlington's streets are a mess and we have third world street lighting. Whatever money has gone to fix infrastructure has come because Libby's neighbors hounded the County Board.

In fact, Libby is seldom seen in Fairlington, except on Election Day. She's too busy traveling elsewhere.

Oh, she has big plans for Abingdon School. But we already have two community centers, an increasing volume of traffic, and our streets are becoming so-called 'linear parks'.

Fairlington and the reset of Arlington need our streets paved now, not after the last Taj Mahal elementary school / recreation center / community center is completed, ten years from now.

Libby's been repeatedly asked by Fairlington residents to call the County Board about needed infrastructure maintenance. And she's repeatedly refused.

No way am I going to vote for her on Tuesday.

Here's a photo of the street in her neighborhood.

Cindy

Waverly Hills Debate Indicates School Board and County Board Share Serious Problems

Hello, Yupette:

I attended the Waverly Hills candidates' debate last night, which was delayed for a half-hour until Libby Garvey showed up.

Audrey Clement won the debate. Libby Garvey lost the debate when she and Audrey Clement showed that the County Board and School Board share similar serious problems, among them failure to communicate and failure to include parents and citizens in the decision-making process.

Libby again related how many problems she found when she was first elected to the School Board in 1996. But the School Board was controlled by Democrats in 1996, and Mary Hynes was elected in 1994. For much of the remainder of the debate Libby criticized the County Board for a laundry list of failings, most important, to her, the County Board's failure to 'strategize'.

Both Audrey Clement and Republican Mark Kelly (whose children attend Arlington's public schools) focused on 'needs first' priorities, e.g., basic infrastructure needs. However, Audrey attacked the credibility of Libby Garvey's statements about the Arlington School System's management by relating the conversations she had with Tuckahoe Elementary School parents who are outraged by the failure of the School Board and school administrators to communicate with them and include them in decision-making. Libby did not refute Audrey's assertions.

By the end of the debate Mark Kelly was stating that he agreed with Audrey. Only Audrey Clement had a strong platform and stated what she would and would not do if elected to the County Board. Libby Garvey did not commit to anything except to try to make the County Board 'strategize'.

Joan 22207

Portland, SF, Toronto, Boston Bicyclists Fear Streetcars, Tracks

Hello Yupette,

I was traveling to the West Coast last week. Streetcar accidents and accidents from tires slipping along streetcar tracks are a big topic of conversation among bicyclists in Portland. Something to think about when the streetcar is discussed here. Also, there are quite a few accidents involving streetcars and motor vehicles in San Francisco. I've also visited Boston and Toronto on business recently. Same thing there. Why isn't that being discussed here?

Regards,

Ron

ACE Articulated Bus or Deuce Double Deck Bus - Vegas Transit Riders Win Both Ways

Hello,

Want to know what we're missing by focusing on a stupid streetcar? Why did WMATA conclude that Arlington could get the same quality transit service from articulated buses as from a streetcar system for $200 million less? Here are links to three YouTube videos which show the wildly popular Las Vegas Deuce double-deck bus and ACE articulated bus in operation.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=dctwqxy6Ohg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-RJUc6hUM

Deuce and ACE together on the Vegas Strip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x30ivqQEGao



Cindy

Pike Middle Class Increasingly Unhappy about Proposed Streetcar, Gentrification

Hello, Yupette,

I was unhappy to see that the Arlington County Board and Fairfax County Board don't want to even mention alternatives to the Pike streetcar, although enhanced bus service would serve Pike residents equally as well as streetcars at 1/5 the cost.

It's time to state what the Arlington County Board's twin agendas are: racism and elitism. They want all minorities and the middle class out of Arlington. They want every building on the Pike to be another Penrose Square or 5500. They want miles of upscale restaurants. They want restaurant employees to commute 40 miles one-way, just like Clarendon and Shirlington.

Well, I want the County Board out of office. They're nothing bunch a bunch of racists and elitists, including Walter Tejada.

Same thing occurred in Alexandria with waterfront development and now the real Democrats are going after PlutoCrat Elitist Bill Euille to vote him out. About time.

Same must happen in Arlington, starting with electing Audrey Clement on March 27th. While we're at it, time to fire the gang that's making Arlington an 'New Urbanist Redevelopment Opportunity'. Starting with Barbara Donnellan.

Thanks for your blog.

K.L.

When Will My Street Be Repaved? County to Spend $320,000 for 'Designer Fence' at Water Pollution Control Plant

Hello, Yupette,

In case you want to know where the money to repave your crumbling street is going, check out Item 23 on the County Board's agenda this Saturday. The County will give an artist $320,000 - $350,000 for a 'compelling innovative design concept for the fence that separates South Eads Street from the water pollution control plant.' The length of the 'designer fence' will be 1600 feet. This will be in an area of S. Eads street where the WMATA bus maintenance facility is across the street from the wastewater treatment plant. There is already an expensive fence surrounding the water pollution control plant that was recently installed.

Bethany

Arlington 'Counter-Terrorrism' Exercises Referred to Arlington Greens as 'Terrorists' in Training Scenarios

Hello Yupette,

More bad news regarding the rightward drift of Arlington County Government.

There was a big 'anti-terrorist' training exercise in Arlington this morning. Police, Fire, EMS, ATF, FBI, etc., all took part.

Apparently anyone who is to the left of the Arlington County Democratic Committee and/or doesn't go along with ACDC's program is a 'terror suspect' these days.

So local 'law enforcement' characterized 'Greens' as 'Terrorists' in several SWAT Team training scenarios.

What next? Round up anyone who doesn't go along with Zimmerman's program and throw us all in a concentration camp?

Stay tuned.

2100

'Pike Transit' Meeting - All About Streetcars and Pike 'Clarendonization'

Hello,

We received e-mail from several persons who attended yesterday's 'Pike Transit Policy Committee' meeting at the Annandale Government Center on the Pike. The two elected officials who attended were Jay Fisette and Penny Gross (the Fairfax County Supervisor whose district includes the Pike within Fairfax County). Also transportation lobbyists, county staff, planners, corporate facilitators, developers, and their attorneys.

None of these people cared about what the alternative transportation analysis determined and none of them care about what the environmental analysis will determine. They want to massively lobby the Federal Transit Administration so they can get their streetcar system funded and the equivalent of Clarendon constructed on the Pike. They didn't talk about transportation, they talked about development. Much of what they talked about was a proposed streetcar station at Skyline which Vornado and Target are heavily involved in planning. None of the 'decision makers' at the meeting cared at all what Arlington and Fairfax County residents think...we're just nuisances to them.

Cindy