2022 Candidate Profile: Adam Theo For Arlington County Board

ARLINGTON, VA — Adam Theo, who served for almost a decade in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, is seeking election to the Arlington County Board in the Nov. 8 general election.

Theo is running against incumbent Matt de Ferranti (D) and Audrey Clement (I). Theo, who is running as an independent, serves as vice president of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association and as a voting delegate to the Arlington County Civic Federation.

He is also co-founder and a leader of the YIMBYs of Northern Virginia.

In-person early voting in Arlington County began Friday, Sept. 23 and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 5. Election Day voting will happen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Patch asked each of the candidates in the Arlington County Board race for their answers to the same questions. Here are Theo's responses:

Name

Adam Theo

Campaign website

TheoForArlington.org

Age (as of Election Day)

43

Family

My sister and her five children live in Florida (where I’m from). I’m also happy that after a very difficult relationship with my father when I was younger, we now get along very well — time allowed both of us to become better people. I miss seeing my extended family living around Valdosta, Georgia, and look forward to reconnecting with them post-COVID and post-campaign. I am unmarried so far, and have no children, but it would be nice for that to change at some point.

Education

Well, here’s a big story I’ll squeeze into 3 sentences: I am a high-school dropout, although I went back and completed a GED a couple of years later. I tried one semester of community college, but had to make the choice to go back to minimum wage jobs in order to survive. Most of my formal education was from the military, having trained as a structural engineer in the U.S. Air Force, which was a life-changing experience.

Occupation

I’ve turned a hobby into a career: becoming a video producer and photographer. Last year, I finished up nine years with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, working alongside first responders and security researchers across the country.

Previous or current elected or appointed office

I’ve never held elected office before, and intend for the Arlington County Board to be the only one in my life. Local office is the only noble political position, in my opinion.

The single most pressing issue facing Arlington is the housing crisis, and this is what I intend to do about it:

Like the climate crisis, our housing crisis is complex with many related problems all requiring their own tailored solutions. There is no one silver bullet or single program that can fix it. We have an affordability crisis for both the lower-class and middle-class residents. For both renters and current homeowners. For people who were born and raised here as well as immigrants who do not yet speak English. All of those are different problems and all require different solutions.

I want an “all of the above” approach to housing reform in Arlington: a doubling of our Affordable Housing Investment Fund which has languished for years, lowering of our property tax rates which have increased to historical highs under Mr. de Ferranti’s term, Missing Middle housing for more townhouses and garden condos for the middle-class, and establishing what are called “Community Land Trusts” for affordable home *ownership* instead of just affordable renting.

No more half measures, no more waiting for the next set of politicians to fix it, no more narrow thinking that only tackles part of the problem. We need to hit the alarm bells and take it all on.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this county board seat?

The voters of Arlington have a fascinating and rare opportunity this year. Three clearly different styles, policy priorities, and approaches to governing across the three candidates. Ms. Clement is riding the wave of angry reactionary populism established by Donald Trump and applying “the media is biased”, “my opponents are corrupt”, protectionism, and nice-sounding misinformation to the hot topic of Missing Middle housing reform. Mr. de Ferranti takes the safe political route of “leading by not leading” — taking the “50% solution” on every issue so as to not upset the status quo or alienate donors.

I strive to have knowledge, vision, and passion. A County Board member must know the wonky policies behind every topic such as stormwater mitigation, zoning, and public health. A good leader for Arlington needs a clear vision to navigate the many economic and social changes coming our way over the next 30 years. And an elected official has to have passion and “fire” to take on the big problems and not let go until they are finally fixed.

What are your views of the residential zoning changes suggested by Arlington County’s Missing Middle Housing proposal?

Missing Middle is the most controversial topic in at least a decade, isn’t it? Some say it is needed to bring affordable housing now. Others say it will turn Arlington into an apocalyptic wasteland. The truth is, it’s neither of those. Missing Middle isn’t about fixing “now”, or even “next year”. Missing Middle is trying to restore the American Dream to before restrictive zoning swept across the nation after WW2, making the most expensive type of housing the *only* type of housing allowed in more than 70% of our county. And it will take 10, 20, or even 30 years to recover from those decades of damage.

Think of the types of housing that are the most “affordable” for our middle class workforce now: older duplexes, townhomes, small houses, and garden condos built decades ago. The problem is that shortly after that period, we made building more of those illegal, so our stock of those is now very limited and increasingly costly to maintain.

We don’t have anything to fear from a “Missing Middle community”. We have some examples here in Arlington of what we would have been like if allowed to organically grow. There’s a neighborhood where those harmful zoning policies were never applied — where traditional single family homes sit next to townhouses, directly across the street from duplexes. That neighborhood is Penrose, and it’s one of the most desirable and affordable neighborhoods in Arlington with an incredibly strong community (and active neighborhood Facebook group!) allowing relationships that cross economic divides. Missing Middle is Penrose for all of Arlington.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Pulling myself away from Missing Middle for a minute, I’d like to chat about what got me into local politics in the first place: public safety.

Public safety isn’t just “police on the streets.” It’s also about the detectives and other investigators that track down cases — the type of law enforcement we really need right now with our very low violent crimes but increasing property crimes. Public safety is also safer roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks — especially to and from our schools.

And public safety includes where we are still really behind: mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities. Even with a small bump of treatment “beds” coming to the Virginia Hospital Center soon, we are still woefully behind. Some of our treatment options can only be accessed within the county jail, meaning someone suffering a mental health crisis or substance withdrawal has to be arrested in order to receive treatment. And currently none of our options are pediatric, meaning all are designed for adults, not children. This is a *horrifying* situation, and one that one of the wealthiest counties in the nation should be in.

One other topic I’m passionate about bringing to Arlington’s local elections is “Ranked Choice Voting”. It’s a system of voting that allows for voters to “rank” their preferred candidates instead of an “all or nothing” system we have now. There is some math that is involved, however this not only allows people to vote for their favorite candidate without being afraid of “wasting their vote”, but also forces candidates to have to appeal to a wide breadth of voters instead of just catering to a small base. It’s available for us to use, and I want to see us do so ASAP.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

How about an honest answer: What has prepared me the most to be a County Board member are my failures. Not enough people recognize the educational and character-building experience that failure has on each of us. I’ve tried starting my own business (video production). Twice. Failed both times. I’ve tried leading a small scrappy political organization with big dreams. Also failed.

I’ve had successes, sure, but it’s the failures that I learned from the most and had the largest impact on how I did things differently from then on. Every leader can be awesome and successful during good times when their plans are running smoothly. But it’s how a leader handles setbacks and difficulties that makes them worthy of representing the people.

Why should voters trust you?

I always try to be honest — with my friends, with strangers, and with myself. I also try to keep things short and not waste people’s time.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

That is a big question! I’ll answer it in the context of this campaign to keep it short and simple. In preparing to run for office this year, I had a quick chat with a local business community leader whom I greatly respect. Something they told me was “no matter what, make sure you’re having fun with it — don’t let yourself get burned out”. That stuck with me and has been a good mantra to hold onto as I deal with the endless hours of canvassing, high-pressure debates, and pages of county policy documents.

RELATED:

• General Election 2022: Key Dates To Know In Arlington
• 2022 Candidate Profile: Audrey Clement For Arlington County Board
• 2022 Candidate Profile: Matt De Ferranti For Arlington County Board