FIGHT THE MISSING MIDDLE!

The Missing Middle will NOT create affordable housing. Prices for the new units exceed $1,000,000.00.

What the Missing Middle WILL do is increase traffic, make parking impossible, overwhelm our sewer and stormwater drainage systems, obliterate the tree canopy, create overcrowding in local schools, and irrevocably change the character of our neighborhoods.

THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

• Covert Vacant Office Space to Affordable Housing
• Require Developers to Set Aside Units for Low Income Housing
• Government Subsidies For Low Income Housing

AFFORDABLE HOUSING/PUBLIC SAFETY

• FIGHT FOR A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR RENTERS AND CONDO OWNERS!
• DON'T LET RENTERS AND CONDO OWNERS BE TREATED LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS!
• FIGHT TO GIVE RENTERS AND CONDO OWNERS FREE ACCESS TO POLITICAL INFORMATION!

Fill the Vacancies in the Police Fire and Sheriff's Departments by offering free housing for one year to all new recruits for the Police, Fire, and sheriff's Departments.

EDUCATION

Here are some ideas to help improve Arlington's public schools: 

• Expand Internship Programs. This will help students find jobs when they graduate.
• Expand Afterschool Programs. This will help working parents and give children additional opportunities to learn and have fun.
• Expand Mental Health Counseling. This will help troubled kids and, hopefully, head off problems before they become tragedies.
• Reduce Class Sizes. Smaller class sizes allow teachers to give students more individualized attention which will lead to higher achievement.
• Raise Teacher Salaries. We pay our teachers less than Fairfax does. We need to raise teacher salaries to retain good teachers.
• Get Our Kids out of Trailers. Arlington is one of the richest counties in the nation. Why are our schoolchildren sitting in trailers?
• Adopt Innovative Teaching Techniques. Innovative teaching techniques enliven classrooms and get students more involved in learning. Some examples include:
  — Interactive lessons. examples-live quizzes, games with spinner wheels
  — Virtual Reality. will allow students to experience new countries and environments without leaving the classroom
  — 3D Printing. will allow students to create models so they can better see what is being discussed
  — Design-Thinking, Problem Solving Projects. encourage students to think up and create solutions to real world problems
  — Peer Teaching\Peer Review. Students understand the material better when they have to explain it to someone else

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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.