A bus passes The Ellen Bozman Government Center, where the Arlington County Board meets. Photo by Arlington County on Flickr.

June 20 is the Arlington County Board Democratic primary, which will likely decide who wins the general election in November and thus who joins the Board next year. This is a big year for the County Board race, as members Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol are stepping down after two terms. They’re also the biggest supporters of Arlington’s new “missing middle” zoning, which passed in March and will allow duplexes, townhomes, and little apartment buildings in much of the county.

Missing Middle was already a campaign issue before last week, when a group of residents sued to block the change, which was supposed to take effect in July. The two new board members could have a big say in how the new zoning goes forward (or if, depending on how the lawsuit goes).

That’s why we reached out to the six candidates and sent them a questionnaire. We’re sharing the responses we received here as a service to the public. Questionnaire responses also inform our endorsement decisions, which we’ll announce in early May.

Wait, how does this work?

This year, Arlington County will be the first place in Virginia to try Ranked Choice Voting, which became legal statewide in 2020. On your ballot, you’ll be able to select up to three people for the two vacant County Board seats. Your first choice will get counted first, and if that person gets more than 33%+1 of the vote, they’ll win. If they don’t, your second choice will get counted, and then your third, in that order.

Virginia county governments work a little differently than DC or Maryland. For starters, instead of an elected mayor or county executive, Arlington has an appointed county manager who makes recommendations to the County Board. That gives the County Board a lot of decision-making power. The board members serve on staggered four-year terms, meaning there’s an election most years.

Each January, the board members choose a Chair and Vice Chair, similar to the President and Vice President in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties (but not like the DC Council Chair or Fairfax’s Board Chairman, which are both popularly elected positions). They set the agenda for the board and serve as the body’s public face. Right now, the chair is Christian Dorsey, who is stepping down this year, and the vice chair is Libby Garvey, whose term comes up in 2025.

Here’s what the candidates had to say

Below we are excited to share the questionnaire responses we received. Click on a linked name to view that applicant’s questionnaire.

*While we ask all candidates to complete our questionnaire online, Natalie Roy opted to write hers on a PDF, which is why it looks different.

And don’t forget, our Elections Hub is your one-stop shop for questionnaires, endorsements process details, and our endorsements themselves. Access the hub anytime from the “2023 Elections” link in the upper right corner of our website.