Favola said that she secured her landslide victory by emphasizing the past accomplishments of the County Board. “My overall strategy was to run on my record,” she said. “I think [this election] was a very positive referendum. [Voters] basically said yes to the direction we’re taking the county. They said yes to the fiscal management of the county and they said yes to our vision.”
Favola described her campaign against Reeder as “spirited,” but said that he “did not have a cogent message and that was unfortunate. I would much rather have a win against somebody with a very cogent message and a detailed platform.” However, Favola also said that she will work with Green Party members in the future and would be open to appointing them to citizen commissions.
Reeder said that the presence of President Elect Barack Obama (D) on the ballot this year made it difficult for his campaign to win over Democrats. “We have a lot of Democratic supporters but they had become wrapped up with Obama’s campaign,” he said. “We couldn’t get any traction.”
Reeder also said that he wishes he had been more aggressive against Favola in the campaign and said that he thought “she kind of coasted. I think she relied on the Obama effect to carry her. I know there’s a lot of unhappiness with the County government.”
Despite a steady rain throughout the afternoon and evening, turnout was high this year. Seventy four percent of the county’s total voters and 77 percent of its active voters came to the polls to cast ballots. But of the 109,927 Arlington voters who showed up to the polls or voted absentee in this year’s election, 16 percent did not choose a candidate in the County Board race and 34 percent made no choice in the School Board race.
Libby Garvey and Emma Violand-Sanchez, two independents who were endorsed by the local Democratic Party, were running unopposed for the two School Board seats on the ballot. Violand-Sanchez is a political newcomer who will be replacing the retiring Frank Wilson. Garvey, a 12-year incumbent, retained her seat.
Violand-Sanchez, who emigrated to the U.S. from Bolivia as a teenager, was the first Hispanic elected to the Arlington School Board. Violand-Sanchez said that winning the election was “the American dream. I was a teenager who didn’t know English and now I’m a member of the School Board.” But she said that her victory “means more to the parents and to the students who couldn’t communicate with their elected officials. This time they will have more access.”
She also said that, with her election and the reelection of Walter Tejada (D) to the County Board last year, Arlington’s Hispanic community is gaining more political power. “Other people will believe that it is possible,” she said. “Arlington is an example for the rest of the state.”
Garvey said that she was excited to return to the School Board as its most senior member, with nine years more experience than its next most senior member. “I’m feeling good about it,” she said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve this community. Being on the same ballot with Barack Obama is a cherry on top.”
Garvey also said that yesterday’s results are an indication that Arlingtonians approve of the status quo in the local school system. “People are pretty pleased with what we’ve got,” she said.
