Saturday, March 24, 2012

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

Friday, March 23, 2012

'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

Thursday, March 22, 2012

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

Monday, March 19, 2012

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