As the year winds down, we have a bit of a political controversy here in Arlington – one might call it a respectful disagreement involving County politicians (current and past), and various citizen advocates in our community. The topic being debated is “governance structure”.  

Somewhat ironically, this fall I gave a talk at the Glencarlyn Library about the evolution of Arlington’s governance structure.  In October I taught a class on Arlington history for Encore Learning, covering the period when Arlington created the current system in 1930. At this point I feel I could write a book about all of this, but let me try to distill the history into a long paragraph. 

In 1870, we became a county, separated from the City of Alexandria, with about 3,000 people in a 34 square mile jurisdiction. We had three County Board members; one each elected from three geographic districts. In 1900 we had about 6,000 people, but that would change over the next 30 years, with the growth of the federal government, and with trolley lines (and automobiles) coming through. By 1930 we had over 26,000 people, even though we did lose 8 square miles to annexation by the greedy City of Alexandria. Meanwhile, citizens were frustrated because the powers of a County government were very limited. We could not even have a subdivision ordinance until the General Assembly gave us those special powers in 1911. The three part-time County Board members were overwhelmed with responsibilities that included legislative and executive work. We had no public water system in 1920; the citizens in Clarendon were so frustrated that they petitioned the courts (unsuccessfully) to be incorporated into a town. In the 1920s, our state representatives submitted legislation in the General Assembly to move our form of government into the 20th century.  A voter referendum in 1930 approved the concept of a five-member County Board, elected at-large, with a County Manager to deal with executive functions. All five board members were up for election at the same time, every four years. The Civic Federation lobbied for staggered terms in 1938….and that is basically where we are now (yes, yes, there is a lot more nuance in all this). 

In its November meeting, the County Board unveiled a draft Charter to create an “Advisory Panel to Examine Arlington County’s Form of Government.” Public comment was spirited, with a range of opinions, even among the Board members. The Board voted to continue the public hearing, for more public testimony, and Board discussion at its December meeting. 

The draft Charter has five areas of “Scope” with nineteen bullet points. There are four “Reporting to the Board” sections, with eight questions to be answered. The Advisory Panel is to be composed of 12 to 15 members. 

This certainly seems like a ton of work with an incredibly broad scope. So I figured I would get on my soapbox here, and offer some “food for thought,” in three categories: for the County Board; for our state legislators; and for all of us in Arlington. My basic suggestion is to keep it simple. 

For the County Board:  maybe they can cut down the “Scope” to only these first two parts: (i) Historical and Legal Review, and (ii) Comparative Governance Analysis. Perhaps designate a larger group than 12 people – maybe even split it into two groups of 25 folks, with no need to provide any recommendations, but merely report on what they learned. 

For our state legislators: if you are going to offer a bill, perhaps address only (i) the size of the board (go up to seven members?), and (ii) the timing of elections (how to stagger a five- or seven-member board). The possibility of geographic districts can wait another year. It is hard to figure out districts until you know the number of board members. (Yes, I know that any legislation is only permissive – but with a kitchen sink approach, things get more complicated.) 

For all of us: perhaps the best contribution we all can make is to start talking about it with our neighbors, with a bit of curiosity, and the acknowledgement that maybe there is no one right answer. End of the soapbox.