Tax reform doesn’t necessarily mean tax increases, and Christian Hoff thinks he can help create solutions to the state budget crunch that don’t tap into Arlington wallets.
“We all pay enough taxes as it is,” said Hoff, Republican nominee for the 47th district state delegate seat.
Having moved to the county in 1998, Hoff is a relative newcomer to the local political scene. “He brings energy, he brings new ideas,” said David Avella, chair of the Arlington Republican Committee. “He has brought new people into our party that we never had before.”
Hoff served as a White House social aide from July 2000 to February 2003, in both the Clinton and Bush administrations. With a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the Virginia Military Institute, he also earned positions as an action officer and military assistant to the director of the Logistics Directorate for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hoff works as a defense consultant in Fairfax, and currently holds the rank of captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.
As a new homeowner, Hoff said he has seen first-hand a need for governmental changes. “I’m a taxpayer — that’s my qualification right there,” he said. “I think people are ready for a change. Arlington needs some balanced leadership — a new voice for a new district, for a new generation.”
IF ELECTED, HOFF would push for legislation that would put a 5-percent cap on county property tax increases. He also opposes giving counties taxing power equal to that of cities, legislation that both Arlington and Fairfax counties pushed for last Assembly session.
Opponents have criticized Hoff’s approach to tax reform as simplistic and impractical. But the Republican says the county’s 2002 $12 million end-of-year surplus proves that Arlington is not suffering from a lack of tax revenue.
In addition to opposing tax increases, Hoff’s platform includes improving transportation and public safety. State transportation dollars have gone to the Hampton Roads area and away from Northern Virginia, said Hoff, in part because the all-Democrat Arlington delegation has been ineffective in bridging party divides.
If elected, he hopes to secure state funding for improving the Washington Boulevard bridge over Columbia Pike, and for improvements to the Pike itself. “We’ve been talking since the early 1980s about revitalizing Columbia Pike,” he said. “It’s time to bring that to fruition.”
Despite attention to terrorism prevention over the last two years, public safety concerns still go unnoticed, said Hoff. “A lot of people are afraid to admit we have a gang problem here in Arlington and in Northern Virginia,” he said. “If we don’t do something now, it’s going to continue to spread and it’s going to get completely out of control.”
HOFF’S CAMPAIGN has already met with controversy. One piece of campaign literature alleged Democratic opponent Al Eisenberg supported a tax on commuters to the District.
Eisenberg said the allegation was not only untrue but was a ploy to prey on fears of an unlikely tax increase. “I’ve never supported it, and I’ve rarely even talked about it, because it’s never going to happen,” said Eisenberg.
The flier was a mistake, Hoff admitted. In a letter to Eisenberg dated Sunday, Sept. 28, Hoff wrote that volunteers working on his campaign conducted the research into Eisenberg’s stance on the tax.
“Their work has been an invaluable resource for me,” Hoff wrote. “However, they made a simple human error with regards to the research on your position on the commuter tax. With all that said I take full responsibility for the mailings and activities of my campaign.”
The apology left some Eisenberg supporters unsatisfied. “When caught in a lie, blame it on staff,” said Susan Prokop. “He does take responsibility, but it’s a rather mild responsibility.”
It was a natural mistake, Hoff said. “It’s the only tax [Eisenberg] doesn’t like.”