In the News: Reeder says that schools and affordable housing should take precedence
Reeder Criticizes Favola’s Priorities
The Green Party candidate for County Board says that schools and affordable housing should take precedent.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
COUNTY BOARD candidate John Reeder attacked the record of his opponent, Barbara Favola, and described himself as the “change candidate” in a debate last week.
Reeder, who is running on the Green Party ticket, said that the quality of the community has “greatly deteriorated over the last decade” and told prospective voters that “If you like the status quo, stick with her. If you’re unhappy and want change, vote for me.”
A ten-year member of the County Board, Favola cited her record on such issues as the economy, affordable housing and the environment.
“We have the lowest unemployment rate in the commonwealth,” she said. “All of our public high schools are ranked in the top one percent nationally. We have received regional and national recognition for our creative solutions to increasing the supply of affordable housing. Most Arlington residents are happy with the services provided by the government.”
HOUSING WAS a major issue at the annual Arlington Civic Federation debate last week.
Reeder, a former international trade economist with the federal government, criticized the County Board’s efforts to create housing for low wage earners, saying that Arlington has lost 13,000 affordable housing units since 2000. “What we’ve done has not worked,” he said. “The County Board’s record on affordable housing is deplorable.”
Reeder also came out against the County Board’s recent l decision to allow accessory dwelling units in single family homes, to be rented. “I didn’t think they were really reaching the goal they were purporting to achieve,” he said. “They will not be affordable housing.”
Favola agreed that affordable housing is a challenge in Arlington but said that the County Board has made great strides in this area.
“Arlington has created more affordable units per 1,000 people than any other jurisdiction [in the Washington area],” she said. “We work very hard at putting our values to work because we really are a welcoming community and we want everybody to have an opportunity to live here.”
Favola also said that the Board placed numerous restrictions on the accessory dwelling measure to prevent overcrowding. “We probably should have answered more questions on the rather restrictive policy that the Board actually ended up adopting,” she said. “Few people understand what the Board actually did adopt.”
REEDER also criticized the spending priorities of Favola and the County Board. He said that the money spent on projects such as the North Tract/Long Bridge Recreation Center and the Columbia Pike Trolley were ill-spent and should have been used to upgrade Arlington’s high schools and libraries.
“Rising tax revenues have encouraged Ms. Favola and her Democratic colleagues to spend money on some truly inessential projects while neglecting real needs like rebuilding Wakefield High School,” Reeder said.
Reeder said that cutting wasteful spending would be his first priority if he were elected to the Board. One of the first projects he would look to excise would be the Columbia Pike Trolley, which would stretch from the Pentagon to Skyline in Fairfax County. Columbia Pike would be better served with rapid bus transit, he said.
“The true purpose of this is to subsidize development,” Reeder said. “Who will this benefit? Clearly, those who own land on Columbia Pike.”
Favola disagreed that rapid bus transit would better suit Columbia Pike. “Trolleys are far more environmentally sound than rapid bus lines,” she said. “Also, more people will use trolleys than bus lines. That’s just the way it is.”
Funding for this project is in doubt after the General Assembly’s transportation package was invalidated in court earlier this year. But Favola said that the Columbia Pike Trolley could be funded through local revenue.
“The County Board did apply a 12.5 cent tax on the real estate owned by commercial properties this past year so we will be getting funding from that,” she said. Favola voted against instituting this tax when it was before the Board this spring.
REACTION to the candidates was mixed. Former Yorktown High School PTA head John Vihstadt said that he was drawn to Reeder’s stances on spending issues. “Reeder struck a surprising chord when he talked about the county’s lean fiscal position right now and the relative priority of certain capital projects,” said Vihstadt. “His remarks will also appeal to a lot of Republicans who will sympathize with his perspective on different spending priorities.” Kathryn Scruggs, the head of the Arlington Education Association who was also at the debate, said that Favola’s record appeals to her as a voter. “I favor Favola even though I don’t always agree with her,” she said. “I think she has the experience and the vision.”