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Welcome!

Arlington's Republican Party

Coming events
• Mon., Aug. 16: Kelly for County Board ice cream socail
• Mon., Aug. 16: Murray for Congress meet & greet
• Mon., Aug. 16: YR meeting
• Thu.-Sun., Aug. 19-22: Arlington County Fair
• Tue., Aug. 24: ARWC summer event
• Wed., Aug. 25: County Committee meeting

Big turnout for GOP picnic << Updated

More than 100 Republicans braved the hot weather for the 3rd annual Arlington GOP Summer Picnic on July 24 at the Knights of Columbus.

Del. Barbara Comstock (R-McLean), whose district is just west of Arlington, spoke about Republican progress in Richmond, and predicted GOP gains in Congress this fall. And Patrick Murray discussed the encouraging trends in his campaign for Congress.

Thanks to all who attended, and special thanks to our generous sponsors.

Election petitions submitted << Updated

Petitions to change Arlington's election system were submitted on July 14. More than 16,000 signatures were collected for the plan to change the way the County Board is elected.

The Republican County Committee voted in February to support the petition drive, launched by local firefighters, which would elect County Board members by district and all in one year. Arlington currently elects Board members at-large, and on a staggered basis.

County election officials are reviewing the petitions (see latest update). If enough valid signatures were collected, the plan will go on the ballot for a voter referendum this November. See more on the petition intiative and news coverage of the "change of government" initiative.

Allen boosts Murray at kick-off << New

More than 200 area Republicans joined former U.S. Sen. George Allen on July 15 to kick off the Patrick Murray for Congress campaign. The event was at Arlington's Army Navy Country Club. See more on the Murray kick-off.

Allen said the government should take some cues from pro sports, as he discussed his new book "What Washington can learn from the world of sports".

Murray won the GOP primary for Congress in June, and is gearing up for his campaign against discredited incumbent Jim Moran this fall. See more on the 2010 campaigns, including primary election results and news coverage of the Congressional campaigns.

Kelly launches bid for County Board << Updated

Mark Kelly kicked off his campaign for the Arlington County Board at a well-attended reception in Cherrydale on June 23. Kelly was nominated at a GOP County Committee meeting on May 26 (see news article).

Kelly called for fiscal responsibiltiy to protect Arlington taxpayers, and he pledged a vigorous campaign. He'll face tax-hiking Democrat Chris Zimmerman in November. See more on the 2010 campaigns, and news coverage of the County campaigns.

Kelly has been active in a variety of GOP and community activities. He and his family live in the Aurora Hills neighborhood in South Arlington.

Our blog is back!

The Arlington GOP blog is back in business. Read the latest posts about Arlington politics and government -- the County Board's out-of-control spending and off-the-wall lawsuits, the clumsy attempt to move the Pike library, Jim Moran's delusional view of the U.S. economy, and more.

We invite you to visit the blog regularly. You can also follow the blog by subscribing, or through the RSS feed.

Zimmerman hikes transit fares, pushes new taxes;
but blocks cost savings and Metro reform << New

County Board member Chris Zimmerman (D) first increased taxes on Arlington homeowners, after refusing to trim the County budget. Then Zimmerman, who also sits on the Metro transit board, supported the biggest-ever fare increase for local commuters, while blocking efforts to control costs. He's also pushing for new regional Metro taxes that he would control. But Zimmerman refuses to acknowledge Metro's management problems, and he's opposing efforts by Gov. McDonnell to reform the transit agency.

County snubs more neighborhoods << New

The all-Democrat County Board keeps finding new ways to ignore the wishes of local neighborhoods across Arlington:
• Columbia Pike library: The County tried to move this popular branch to a new site two miles away, until irate residents forced the County to back down (see news).
• E. Falls Church: The County wants to push high-rise development into this single-family home neighborhood, against local wishes (see news).
• Chain Bridge Forsest: The County insists on spending $200,000 to reconfigure streets in this quiet residential area, although neighbors wanted only a few stop signs and speed humps (see news).

It's time to elect a new County Board member who will listen to Arlington neighborhoods

McDonnell calls for reform of Metro << New

Gov. Bob McDonnell is insisting on reforms in the selection of the Metro transit agency board members (see news article). The current Virginia members of the WMATA Board (including Arlington's Chris Zimmerman) have been obstacles to improving the transit agency's dismal safety and financial record.

Under McDonnell's reform, some of the Virginia representatives would be selected by the governor. That's what is already done in Maryland and D.C -- and the Washington Post has endorsed that view (see editorial). But Cong. Jim Moran (D-8th), State Sen. Mary Whipple (D-Arlington) and other Northern Va. Democrats are trying to block the Governor's reform.

County Board spends $750K to play race card << Updated

The all-Democrat County Board was widely ridiculed in 2009, when it claimed that smoother traffic flow on I-395 would somehow constitute racial discrimination. And by June 2010, the Board had spent nearly $750,000 on legal fees to pursue the foolishness.

The frivolous allegation was in the County's lawsuit to block high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. It marked yet another example of over-the-top litigation by the Arlington Board, as it continues to bash motorists and stifle highway improvements.

In late 2009, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors (who also oppose the HOT lanes project) refused to join the Arlington lawsuit, because of the County Board's outrageous race-baiting.

County budget: Yet another tax hike << Updated

It's official: Arlington's all-Democrat County Board has raised taxes again for 2010, along with various fee hikes. The final decision was announced at the Board meeting on April 24.

The Board increased the real-estate tax rate by 8.3 cents to a total of 95.3 cents, one of the largest hikes in recent history (and on top of the 2.7-cent increase last year). And the Board is raising a variety of fees: for water, sewer service, trash pickup, car-tax decal, as well as parking tickets.

The total burden on the average Arlington homeowner will go up by $350 to more than $6000.

At budget hearings in March, many citizens called for greater budgetary restraint. On April 6, the non-partisan Civic Federation recommended a smaller increase in the tax rate (6.3 cents). But the Board ignored those suggestions, and adopted a tax increase even larger than the County Manager had recommended.

Most localities in Northern Virginia have held the line on average homeowner tax bills in recent years, but Arlington continues to tax more.

Gillespie a hit at ACRC reception

Dozens of Arlington Republicans enjoyed an evening with former GOP national chairman Ed Gillespie at ACRC's spring fundraising reception on May 13. Gillespie is an accomplished leader for the party in Virginia and at the national level. He predicted a Republican takeover of the U.S. fhis fall, including several GOP pick-ups in Virginia.

McDonnell names Foster to State Board

Gov. Bob McDonnell appointed former Arlington School Board chairman Dave Foster to the State Board of Education. Foster was elected to two terms on the Arlington Board (1999-2007), and has an extensive record of civic involvement.

Contribute online

Show your financial support for Arlington's Republican Party, and help us prepare for 2010 and beyond. You can contribute online by credit card, or send a check.

Keep up-to-date with RSS << Updated

Our RSS feeds will help you stay informed. Subscribe to our new blog feed for news of politics and government in Arlington; and to our events feed for updates on GOP activities in the area. Both feeds are updated regularly - subscribe now! (New to RSS? Learn more about it.)