JAMES A. DEVITA
DEMOCRAT FOR ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD
JAMES A. DEVITA
DEMOCRAT FOR ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD
WHO IS JAMES DEVITA?
I have been a Trial Lawyer for 40 years handling criminal, family, traffic, employment, immigration, bankruptcy, and civil rights cases. I have worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, the D.C. Attorney General’s Office, private law firms and for myself. I am currently representing SEVEN BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTORS before the US Supreme Court.
ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD ISSUES
REPEAL THE MISSING MIDDLE – FIND A SOLUTION TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROBLEM THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
For Example:
- Convert Vacant Office Space To Affordable Housing
- Require Developers To Set Aside Units For Lower And Middle Income Buyers
- Public\private Projects Like The Crystal House In Crystal City, Amazon Put In $40 Million Dollars, The County Contributed Result- Condos That Cost $65,000.00!
- Decrease Class Sizes, Get Our School Children Out Of Trailers!
- Bring New Business To Arlington To Reduce Our Commercial Vacancy Rates
- Create More Bike Lanes And Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
- Make Sure That New Office Buldings And Residential Buildings Are Compatible With And Respect The Needs Of The Neighborhoods They Serve
- Redevelop Langston Boulevard And Columbia Pike
- Encourage New Sustainable, Net Zero Buildings
- Protect Local Businesses - Save Our Mom And Pop Restaurants
- Fill Vacancies In The Police Department And Sheriff’s Department
To: Crystal City, Arlington Ridge Aurora Highlands, Long Branch Creek
Let’s Focus on Livability:
- Rebuild the Crystal City Underground!
- Save the Synetic Theater!
- Keep Route 1 Safe For Pedestrians!
- Improve the Oak Ridge School
- Have a Voice in Commercial Development
- RiverHouse, Melwood Crystal House
- More Parks and Green Space
- Keep the Neighborhood Walkable,
- Dog Friendly, Safe
To: Rosslyn, Ft Meyer, Radner, Clarendon Courthouse, Va Square, Ballston, Buckingham, Ballston, Shirlington, Colonial Village, Fairlington
Livability is the Key!
- Have a Voice in Commercial Development
- Advocate For Sustainable, Net Zero Buildings
- Eliminate vacant buildings like the Key Bridge Marriott
- Create More Shops and Restaurants and Farmer’s Markets
- Create More Parks, Green Space, Plant and Save Trees
- Keep the Neighborhood Walkable, Dog Friendly, Safe,
- Improve Community, Improve Abingdon Innovation, Arlington Science Focus, Escuela Key, and Glebe Elementary Schools
To: Penrose, Arlington Heights, Barcroft, Aurora Highlands, Alcova Heights,
Columbia Forest, Columbia Heights, Douglas Park, Nauck, Foxcroft Heights
FIGHT FOR SOUTH ARLINGTON! SOUTH ARLINGTON HAS BEEN IGNORED FOR FAR TOO LONG!
- Redevelop Columbia Pike! The Pike is a Mess! We need DRIVEABLE ROADS NOW!
- We need new Sustainable, Net Zero Buildings
- Protect Tenants, Fight For AFFORDABLE HOUSING!
- Protect Our Local Businesses, Save our Latino, African-American, and Asian Mom and Pop Restaurants!
- Improve Transportation - Why can’t South Arlington have a Metro Line?
- Improve Montessori Public, Hoffman-Boston, Barcoft, Drew, And Claremont Immersion Elementary Schools
- Improve Public Safety, Keep South Arlington Safe!
To: Arlingwood, Donaldson Run, Maywood, Rock Spring, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Old Dominion, Lyon Park, Lyon Village, Cherrydale, Overlee Knolls, Bluemont, Westover, Glen Carlyn, East Falls Church
- Fight the Mindless Drive For Increased Density Which Will Increase Traffic, Make Parking Impossible And Overcrowd the Public Schools! REPEAL THE MISSING MIDDLE!
- Monitor the Langston Boulevard Redevelopment Plan
- Make sure that new commercial buildings are sustainable\net zero and appropriate for the area
- Fight the Clarendon Presbyterian Church Development!
- Monitor the VHC Buildout, Protect the Trees!
- Save the Glen Carlyn Library! Improve local schools!
- Increase Public Safety, Keep North Arlington Safe!
Education: Reduce Class Sizes! Get our School Children Out of Trailers!
Keep Arlington Safe: Provide Incentives to Fill Vacancies in the Arlington County Police Department and the Arlington County Sheriff's Office
VOTE DEVITA FOR COUNTY BOARD
HOUSING
1.THE “MISSING MIDDLE” IS A FRAUD.
The “Missing Middle” does not promote diversity and it will not create affordable housing.
The “Missing Middle” purports to be inclusive and it also purports to pave the way for “affordable housing” for “middle income” individuals but there is nothing in the legislation that would help minorities purchase the new units nor is there any ceiling on the amount that can be charged for the new units. Simply stated, there is nothing in the legislation that would prevent white people from buying the new units nor is there anything that would prevent real estate developers from charging $1,000,000.00 apiece for the new housing.
2. THE “MISSING MIDDLE” WILL DESTROY THE SUBURBS AND TURN ARLINGTON INTO A CITY.
What the missing middle will do is increase population density and destroy Arlington’s suburbs. Although Arlington does have an urban core centered around the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor, one of Arlington’s great strengths, and, what many people find attractive about Arlington, are its leafy green single-family neighborhoods. Left unchecked, the “Missing Middle” will destroy these suburban neighborhoods by increasing population density and turning Arlington from a suburb into a city. If you replace single family homes with 6-unit condominiums, Arlington’s population will increase by a factor of six.
3. I DON’T WANT TO LIVE IN A CITY. (Save the Suburbs!)
CITIES have a host of problems that don’t exist in the suburbs Cities are noisy. They have HIGHER CRIME rates. It’s hard to find parking. There are traffic jams. There is a lack of green space. There is more air pollution.
SUBURBS are SAFER. They have BETTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I moved to a suburb because I wanted to live someplace safe so my children would be safe.
I grew up in the suburbs. We had backyard barbecues, and block parties, and Easter egg hunts for the kids. You had a chance to get to know your neighbors because there were 30 of them, not 180 of them.
4. INCREASING POPULATION DENSITY WILL LEAD TO OVERCROWDING IN SCHOOLS AND LOWER PROPERTY VALUES.
Arlington schools are already overcrowded. In 2015, we had schoolchildren sitting in trailers rather than classrooms. Do you want to add another 30,000 school kids to the mix? Increased density will also lower property values. Will people still be willing to pay $1,000,000 or more to live in a single-family home which is right next door to a six-unit condo building? I don’t think so.
5. THE MISSING MIDDLE WILL LEAD TO GENTRIFICATION.
If real estate developers are looking for cheap real estate that they can turn into condos and flip, they will find it in South Arlington. If they start flipping houses in South Arlington, people in African American neighborhoods like Green Valley are going to disappear.
6. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE MISSING MIDDLE ARE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS.
Instead of calling the new legislation, the “Missing Middle, the Arlington County Board should have called it the Real Estate Developer’s Relief Act. Real estate developers are not motivated by altruism. They don’t care about overcrowding or gentrification.
7. THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS.
We can simply require real estate developers to set aside a certain percentage of units for lower income purchasers in new developments which are zoned for multi-unit buildings. And we can set price caps for these units (to be reviewed annually) so that real estate developers can’t simply jack up the prices for these units.
8. LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE.
Arlingtonians never got a chance to vote on this issue. The County Board simply imposed it on the County. I want to change this dynamic and give the people of Arlington a chance to express their opinions on this issue. As I campaign for the County Board in Arlington, I am going to hold public forums and let each precinct vote on whether the people in that precinct want the Missing Middle. I will then release the results to the news media. And then we’ll find out whether Arlington truly wants to be a suburb or a city.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING
IT’S TIME TO REPEAL RANKED CHOICE VOTING
Ranked choice voting is too complicated. Voters simply do not understand it. It also discourages candidates from taking strong stands on the issues. Instead of getting the public’s first choice, ranked choice voting produces a system in which the ultimate winner will be somebody who isn’t controversial. The person selected will be EVERYONE’S THIRD CHOICE.
EDUCATION
WE NEED TO REVISE ARLINGTON COUNTY’S GRADING POLICIES
In an effort to make grading policies more “equitable”, the Arlington County Public School System has recently revised its grading policy in order to allow students to retake or revise tests after they have already been submitted and graded. The new policy also allows students who skip class or cheat on the day of a test or a quiz to simply retake the tests/quizzes. This new policy makes grades meaningless. Students, parents, and colleges will have no way to gauge how Arlington County students are really doing because adverse results can simply be erased. These policies will undoubtedly do an enormous disservice to Arlington students since what they will ultimately learn is that there are no consequences for bad behavior. Imagine their shock when they get out into the real world and find out there are consequences for bad behavior. You don’t do a child any favors by failing to discipline them.
TAXES / COMMERICAL VACANCY RATES
WE NEED TO TEMPORARILY CUT BUSINESS TAXES TO BRING NEW BUSINESS TO ARLINGTON.
Arlington County’s commercial vacancy rate is 21.7 percent! That means that one out of every five offices/storefronts in Arlington is empty. This is a problem of epic proportions for several reasons. The first is that we need the tax revenue from businesses to fund local government and to pay for social programs. The second is that if business tax revenue is cut, the only way to make it up is to raise real estate taxes. And the third reason is that fewer businesses means that we will have fewer products and services for Arlington residents.
In order to solve this problem, I recommend that we:
- Temporarily cut the business license tax and the business property tax for new businesses who are willing to commit to moving to Arlington and staying for five years;
- Change zoning laws to permit new uses in commercial areas; and
- Encourage mixed use development - Offices above shops and restaurants to entice workers to stop working from home and return to the office.
TRANSPORTATION / THE ENVIRONMENT
BICYCLE LANES, ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS, NEW SUBWAY LINE.
We need to reduce the use of gasoline powered cars and fossil fuels in order to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. I would, therefore, advocate that we encourage people to ride bicycles for transportation by creating more bike lanes. I would also like to see the County create more charging stations for electric vehicles. We also need more rail service in this area, so, I will advocate that a new subway line be created to run underneath Columbia Pike.
SAVE DEMOCRACY
DUMP TRUMP
We are in an existential battle for the future of our democracy. If you elect me, I will use my position as a platform to campaign against Donald Trump. The only thing that we have in this country that really matters is the rule of law and if we lose that, we lose everything. If you elect me, I will do everything in my power to help defeat Donald Trump.
Additional Issues
There are many other issues that I will tackle in Arlington, including:
- Abortion - I'm Pro-Choice
- Gun Control - Let's Ban Assault Weapons
- Black Lives Matter
- Hunger - Better Access to Nutrition Services
- Homelessness - Help Our Unhoused Neighbors
- Daycare - More Affordable Childcare for Families
- LGBTQ Rights - Gay Rights Are Human Rights
- Immigration - I Support More Immigration
- Labor - I Will Protect Workers' Rights
I NEED YOUR HELP:
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE SAME THINGS I DO, PLEASE DONATE TO MY CAMPAIGN. I NEED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND VOLUNTEERS IN ORDER TO WIN.
James A. DeVita
2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 800
Arlington, Virginia 22201
571-338-2444 (telephone)
jdevitalaw@gmail.com (email)
PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY DEVITA FOR ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD