►
Description
from the Arlington County Board Organizational Meeting, held on January 3, 2023.
A
Turn
next
to
Mr
deferanti.
Thank
you.
Mr,
chair
I,
just
want
a
quick
note
of
thanks
to
you,
Miss
Crystal,
for
your
time
as
chair
I
got
to
watch
the
remarks
I
gave
last
year
at
this
time
or
two
years
ago,
and
you
lived
up
to
every
piece
of
it,
and
that
does
not
mean
we
always
agree,
but
it
does
mean
you
sought
the
best
and
we're
a
great
leader
for
us.
So
thank
you.
A
Lincoln
said
it
is
second
inaugural
that
there
was
less
of
a
reason
for
an
extended
address
than
his
first.
So
when
I
said
that
to
my
wife
a
couple
weeks
ago,
she
crisply
delivered
Humble
Pie.
Are
you
comparing
yourself
to
Abraham
Lincoln
I?
Most
certainly
am
not,
but
I
will
try
to
be
brief.
It's
safe
to
say
that
the
two
biggest
issues
of
the
first
six
months
of
2023
will
be
the
housing
policies
considered
through
missing
middle
and
the
fiscal
year.
A
2024
budget
I'd
like
to
begin
by
sharing
a
few
big
picture
thoughts
about
those
issues
and
all
of
the
issues
we
Face.
We
must
work
to
build
consensus.
Consensus
is
not
unanimity,
but
it
respects
the
voices
of
all
and
looks
to
serve
the
greatest
good.
While
not
everyone
will
be
happy
with
any
particular
decision.
Our
community
as
a
whole
should
feel
heard
and
understand.
The
reasoning
that
prevails
in
votes
taken
by
the
board.
A
Second
civility
will
be
more
important
in
2023
and
more
difficult,
I
believe
than
it
has
ever
been
in
my
time
on
the
board.
Let's
debate
the
policy
and
avoid
casting
aspersions
on
our
neighbor's
motives.
Third
The
Details
Matter.
They
always
matter
to
me.
Your
questions
are
answers,
and
our
conversation
are
the
heart
and
soul
of
our
Civic
life.
I.
Think
if
we
focus
on
the
details,
it
can
help
us
move
forward.
A
Couple
of
points
on
housing
and
missing
middle
My.
Views
are
nuanced,
so
I
will
be
working
toward
a
thoughtful
missing
middle
policy
that
does
try
to
build
consensus.
My
re-election
first
point
I
believe
was
neither
a
mandate
to
enact
the
full
staff
proposal,
as
it
has
been
worked
on
with
staff
in
the
board.
A
No,
and
it
was
also
not
unrelated
to
missing
middle.
Some
say
that
my
sixty
percent
and
Mr
Adam
Theo's
10
percent
mean
that
70
percent
of
arlingtonian's
support
missing
middle
I.
Respectfully
disagree
I
campaigned
on
other
issues.
My
views
on
missing
middle,
as
I
just
said,
were,
and
are
not
the
full
proposal
that
we
have
seen
to
this
point
and
I
believe
that
there
were
many
many
factors
involved
in
arlingtonian's
decision
last
November.
A
We
also
have
additional
responsibilities
to
care
for
our
climate
and
Parks
our
infrastructure
and
our
neighbors,
who
struggle
with
Hunger
poor
health
and
significant
poverty,
while
missing
middle
is
certainly
important.
We
cannot
and
should
not
lose
our
focus
on
other
critical
issues
which
we
can
work
on.
At
the
same
time,
second
thought
on
missing
middle.
We
cannot
delay
for
delay's
sake.
A
A
If
you
have
read,
if
you
have
read
the
December
7th
set
of
options
that
will
form
the
bulk
of
what
we
will
consider
later
this
month,
you
know
that
the
options
in
it
could
lead
to
very
different
policies:
purpose
of
the
RTA
and
the
60-day
period
of
consideration.
Thereafter
is
to
allow
for
a
full
and
healthy,
more
specific
conversation
about
details
on
our
budget
February
through
April
will
be
dominated
by
one
of
the
more
difficult
budgets
we've
faced
on
my
time
on
the
board.
A
The
fundamental
shift
in
our
office,
Market
of
as
colleagues
have
mentioned,
will
make
this
challenging.
We
must
be
fiscally
smart
balancing
the
long-term
positives.
We
want
to
invest
in
with
our
charge
to
be
careful
stewards
of
your
money,
my
top
budget
priorities,
Beyond
meeting
the
collective
bargaining
Agreements
are
funding
our
schools
and
combating
climate
change
on
our
schools.
This
is
still
the
beginning
of
a
multi-year
effort
to
make
Arlington
Public
Schools
the
best
in
Virginia
for
every
child.
A
My
funding
priority
for
this
addresses
the
single
the
single
biggest
factor
in
our
children's
success,
while
they're
in
school
are
teachers.
I
will
also
work
assiduously
with
our
school
board
colleagues
to
support
educational
equity
on
climate.
It
is
a
huge
issue,
as
Miss
Crystal
mentioned
I'm
looking
for
transformational
decisions
that
can
help
us
get
to
work
on
our
next
goal.
Our
2035
goal
of
100
percent
renewable
electricity
by
all
Arlington
residents
in
Ireland
in
our
community.
A
Looking
past,
the
budget
and
missing
middle
I'll
be
focused
on
several
other
key
priority
areas
and
they
start
with
inclusive
economic
growth.
Our
office
vacancy
rate
is
above
21
percent.
We
must
recognize
we
have
undergone
a
fundamental
shift
from
working
in
the
office
almost
exclusively
to
working
from
home,
and
that
is
here
to
stay.
Our
property
owners,
managers
and
County
leadership
must
focus
on
fully
adapting
to
this
reality.
I
will
make
myself
available
to
our
new
Arlington
economic
development,
director,
Ryan
toohill
and
the
excellent
team
of
professionals
at
AED.
A
We
also,
in
my
view,
need
to
move
forward
the
implementation
framework
and
build
out
some
of
the
analysis
that
will
lead
to
the
development.
The
economic
development
we
need
on
Hunger
I'm
excited
that
the
manager
will
be
reporting
on
our
community's
progress
on
the
food
security
strategic
plan
via
our
food
security
coordinator
at
our
regular
January
meeting
I
hope.
That's
okay,
Mr,
chair
moving
forward
he'll
be
working
with
the
food
security
Coalition
made
up
of
residents,
nonprofits
and
County
staff
to
move
this
issue
forward.
A
This
is
a
these
are
critical
steps,
but
distinct
in
My,
View
From,
the
critic,
the
very
important
missing
middle
conversation
we
have
and
must
have
over
the
coming
months.
A
It
addresses
a
slightly
different
slice
of
our
housing
market.
I
support
dating
dedicating
resources
to
those
at
30
percent
below
ants
in
general,
as
a
county-wide
policy,
and
specifically
at
Barcroft
I,
also
support
a
community
land
trust
and
to
working
on
the
next
steps
on
the
home
ownership
study
released
in
October
transportation
and
pedestrian
safety.
A
We
have
seen
several
times
this
past
year
that
we
must
lead
our
vision.
Zero
team
is
proactively
addressing
hot
spots
and
I'll
be
pushing
for
policies
that
I
believe
can
better
quantify
the
risk
of
accidents
and
serious
energy
injuries
in
order
to
move
us
as
quickly
as
possible
towards
that
zero
pedestrian
death
goal.