Candidate Profile: Audrey Clement For Arlington County Board

ARLINGTON, VA — Audrey Clement is a computer programmer and former member of the Arlington Transportation Commission. She's also a candidate in the Arlington County Board race.

During the Nov. 2 general election, Arlington voters will decide who will fill the vacant board seat: Clement, Michel Cantwell, Adam Theo or incumbent Takis Karantonis. Early voting is already underway.

Patch asked each of the candidates running in the general election to fill out the following profile:

Name

Audrey Clement

Position sought

Arlington County Board

Family

Single

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Ph.D. Political Science

Occupation

Computer Programmer

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Arlington Transportation Commission, 2018-2021

Why are you seeking elective office?

I want to promote good government.

The single most pressing issue facing our county is the lack of affordable housing, and this is what I intend to do about it.

To address this issue, I will oppose efforts to up-zone single family home neighborhoods under the rubric of “Missing Middle” housing. Up-zoning will densify neighborhoods by replacing single family homes with multi-family dwellings. While it will produce more housing, that housing will not be affordable to anyone earning less than area median income, which is about $120,000 per year.

For proof look no further than a tear down development in the traditionally black High View Park neighborhood, where in 2018 two duplexes were built each priced at $1.2 million or double the assessed value of the single family home they replaced. A similar development is ongoing in the traditionally black Green Valley neighborhood, where a couple of single family homes were torn down to make way for 8 new town houses, each priced at over $800,00 or $125,000 more per unit than the original homes

Instead of up-zoning I will reinstate the tax credit for renovation of multi-family dwellings that was rescinded by County Board in the FY21 budget.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Arlington County Board has pushed harmful policies resulting in: overcrowded schools, gentrification, loss of green space, destruction of historic sites, and a 10-year average annual effective tax rate increase that is more than double the rate of inflation.

Incumbent Takis Karantonis has endorsed these policies and is proud that he has earned the endorsement of the Board.

The other candidates are not sufficiently critical of the Board and are not as well versed on the issues like the local real estate tax burden and up-zoning. This is probably because they do not have a long record of regular attendance at County Board meetings like me.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board failed the community?

Takis Karantonis goes along to get along with other Board members. Analysis of his votes shows that with few exceptions Takis has aligned himself with the Board, including: adoption of a 6 percent effective tax rate increase this year; and the decision to deny local historic designation for the site of the Civil War landmark Rouse estate. Takis' general adherence to the status quo has not served the public well.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

If elected, I pledge to:

• Seek immediate tax relief for residents and businesses.
• Preserve Arlington’s cultural heritage. Stop permitting the destruction of historic structures like the Rouse estate that was demolished in March.
• Save our parks, streams and tree canopy. Stop clearcutting wooded areas along Potomac tributaries in the name of stream bed restoration.
• Say YES to real social justice reforms and NO to symbolic gestures.

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

I served on the Arlington Transportation Commission for three years between 2018 and 2022. I am currently a delegate to the Arlington County Civic Federation, and I regularly address monthly County Board meetings on issues of concern to the larger community.

I have a Ph.D. in Political Science from Temple University with a specialization in American voting behavior. Researching a dissertation on the subject enabled me to serve as a congressional fellow in the100th Congress and has provided me with the confidence and expertise needed to run a professional campaign.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Don't feel sorry for yourself. No matter how bad it gets, someone else you know may have it worse. Even when that's not the case, feeling sorry for yourself only makes a bad situation worse.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I'm a straight shooter. Friend and foe alike agree that I mean what I say and I act accordingly. I'm also an independent in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes I side with the Democrats, sometimes with the Republicans, sometimes with the Greens and sometimes with the Libertarians. No matter what party I side with on an issue, I generally distance myself from their ideologues.

Arlington County Board Candidate Profiles:

Michael Cantwell For Arlington County Board

Takis Karantonis For Arlington County Board