Reeder Stands Firm
Friends, colleagues tout Green Party candidate’s convictions.

By David Schultz/The Arlington Connection
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=321046&paper=60&cat=104
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

ROGER COREY used to work with John Reeder at the U.S. International Trade Commission before Reeder’s recent retirement.
They’d often argue about political issues, with Reeder taking staunchly liberal stance and the Corey, an avowed contrarian, taking the opposite. Despite working together for more than 20 years, Corey rarely claimed victory. “He always stood by his beliefs,” Corey recalled. “He didn’t waver.”

It’s this kind of conviction that has spurred Reeder (G), a first-time political candidate running for a seat on the Arlington County Board, to run for office on a third-party ticket in a county dominated by Democrats. Reeder deeply believes that it will take someone from outside of the political mainstream to tackle the biggest issues facing the county today.

“Politics is a competition of ideas,” Reeder said. “I think a lot of voters in Arlington are really upset with the County government. … It happens in a democracy. Problems build up.”

HOUSING has been one of the constant themes that runs through Reeder’s years of community activism. He first became involved in local civic affairs after forming a tenant’s association at his apartment and taking his landlord to court to get the heat turned on. “That’s one of the most important facets of life, having a place to live,” Reeder said.

Since then, Reeder has worked tirelessly, both through secular activist groups and through Our Lady Queen of Peace, the South Arlington church he attends, to ensure that people from all walks of life can afford to live in the county. “John is a very compassionate man,” said fellow activist Pricilla Haskins. “He believes in equality for his fellow man.”

Haskins is a 59-year-old retired nurse who has been diagnosed with diabetes and lung cancer. She met Reeder two years ago when she was living in an apartment complex on Pierce Street that had been sold by its owner to a local development company. Reeder not only helped her and her fellow tenants organize, Haskins said, but he also helped her on a personal level.

“He has come to my rescue,” she said. “Sometimes when I didn’t even have any food to eat he’s helped me to buy food. … He’s been there both from a moral standpoint and even from a financial standpoint.”

HOUSING has also been one of the major issues in Reeder’s campaign against two-term incumbent Board Member Barbara Favola (D). Reeder has come out in favor of a referendum on this year’s ballot that would create a public housing authority in Arlington while Favola has opposed it.

On other issues, Reeder has been surprisingly conservative. He has frequently called for a scaling back of County spending and has opposed public funding of a new arts facility in Rosslyn. “I would like to go through the whole County budget with a fine-tooth comb,” he said. “I support the arts but we have way too many public facilities to be spending on an arts facility. It’s not essential.”

Instead, Reeder said he would look to increase County funding for people with mental disabilities and for the elderly. “The County should be providing people like that with help,” he said.