My Choice for Arlington County Board: Libby Garvey

by: lowkell

Sun Jan 15, 2012 at 19:00:00 PM EST

First off, this is not an endorsement against anyone. In fact, I believe that everyone running brings strengths to the table - some more than others - and I admire them for putting their names out there for this position. Given how harsh, including harshly personal, politics can be, that takes guts. Also, I hope that the four candidates who are not nominated next Saturday will stay involved in making Arlington the best community in the region, in Virginia, and in the country for that matter. Their talents and abilities certainly would help us achieve that objective.

Having said that, of course we can only vote for one candidate out of the five running, and my choice is Libby Garvey. Why? Several reasons. One factor I took into account is relevant experience for this position. Clearly, Libby Garvey - the only elected official in this race - has the most of that, having served on the Arlington County School Board - including five times as Chair - since 1996. In that capacity, Libby has had responsibility for managing approximately 38% of Arlington's total budget expenditures (the school budget for FY 2012 is nearly half a billion dollars). In addition, as Libby pointed out in her Blue Virginia interview, "Arlington Public Schools employs more people than anyone in the County except the Federal government," including people to run "a large transportation and food service system." The fact is, Libby is the only one in this race with that kind of relevant, Arlington-related experience, and it means that she has an excellent chance of being an effective member of the County Board starting on Day #1. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at.

We've come so far as a school system because the School Board has had clear goals and priorities and stuck to them. We are transparent. We monitor how we are doing and report to our taxpayers - even when the reports aren't so good.

And we keep looking ahead to work strategically. For example, we pressed forward with getting Wakefield High School designed and built. Because we were ready, we could take advantage of suddenly lower construction costs and saved the taxpayers about $30M. Wakefield will be an asset to the entire community.

Another quality I think is crucial for the next County Board member is independence. By that, I mean that the member will think through things on their merits, not on what's being pushed by anyone else or what might win them favors with powerful interests. Having known her since 2005, I can attest to the fact that Libby's independent to the point of feistiness, but in a productive sense, not to the degree that she wouldn't be able to work effectively with other County Board members. Part of being independent and even feisty is that you've got to be willing and able to articulate forcefully for your views and what you believe is right, even if it is not what powerful interests - or other powerful members of the Board - want you to do. I'm confident that Libby Garvey will do that on the County Board.

I also very much appreciate that Libby is thorough, methodical, logical, and driven by empirical evidence/metrics. From what I've observed, Libby believes in a culture of constant improvement, in setting clear goals and priorities, in working with the community, and with using a strategic mindset to think through priorities and how best to set them. All of those skills will be crucial in coming years as we work through a potentially transformative period for Arlington, and for the region in general, as the government downsizes after a period of rapid, post-9/11 growth. As Libby says, "if we don't know where we want to go and aren't clear about it, we won't get there." I don't know about you, but personally I'd like us to "get there," preferably in the best shape possible.

Along these same lines, I've been impressed with Libby's emphasis on "managing change" in a time of tight budgets. That doesn't mean austerity, or in mindless fiscal "conservatism," but it does mean looking at things dispassionately, with an eye towards giving the taxpayer the best value for their hard-earned money. It also means carefully examining all proposed expenditures, particularly on high-profile projects supported by powerful people and interests, with an attitude of healthy skepticism. I believe that Libby will bring that attitude to the table.

It almost goes without saying that Libby is a strong progressive, committed to diversity, fairness, equality under the law, human rights and dignity, environmental protection, and transparent, responsive, good and honest (aka, ethical) government. These are values that most Arlingtonians - including the other candidates for County Board - share, and having gotten to know Libby since 2005, I'm confident that she shares them just as strongly.

Finally, the fact that Libby's been elected numerous times in Arlington, has served for so many years, and is known by so many Arlingtonians, means that there's essentially zero chance of unpleasant surprises with her. In other words, Libby's been fully "vetted," and unless we've all missed something for the past 15 years or so, there are no "skeletons" - ethical, financial, whatever - in Libby's closet that we need to be concerned about. That might not seem like a big deal for local office, but as this campaign has shown, people new to the world of politics can sometimes find the going rocky, turbulent, etc., as they come under levels of scrutiny - and criticism, sometimes (unfortunately) personal - they've never faced previously. None of that scrutiny would be anything new to Libby Garvey, and as far as I'm aware, nobody's ever questioned - or even hinted at questioning - her personal and professional ethics. As Libby says, "The appearance of a conflict is as important an issue as an actual conflict of interest. Citizens must have confidence in their elected officials." I couldn't agree more, and am confident that Libby Garvey will maintain that high standard as our next Arlington County Board member. I strongly encourage all Arlington Democrat to vote this Thursday (7-9 pm, Washington and Lee High School) or Saturday (11 am-7 pm, Kenmore Middle School) for Libby Garvey. Thanks.

P.S. I just realized, this may be the first (and last?) time that Mary Margaret Whipple, Barbara Favola  and I agree on an endorsement. I'm not sure what to make of that, just thought I'd point it out though.