ARLINGTON, VA. - On Wednesday, September 14, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2022 Arlington County Board Candidate Forum at Synetic Theater in Crystal City. The business-themed candidate forum sponsored by George Mason University, featured a moderated discussion of topics important to the Arlington business community with the three candidates running for the Arlington County Board: current County Board Member Matt de Ferranti (D), Audrey Clement (I), and Adam Theo (I).

Left to right: Kate Bates, President & CEO of  the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, candidate Adam Theo (I), County Board Member Matt de Ferranti (D), and candidate Audrey Clement (I)

This event marked the eighth consecutive year that the Chamber has hosted a business-themed candidate forum. This year, candidates answered questions about the Missing Middle Housing Study, the office vacancy rate, small business support during COVID-19 recovery, the Plan Langston Boulevard Initiative, and temporary outdoor seating. 

The forum opened with the topic of small business support, specifically how the candidates think that the County can make it easier to do business in Arlington. "I think that we need to sharpen our focus on the customer service side of government,” said County Board Member Matt de Ferranti. Candidate Adam Theo highlighted the work of Arlington Economic Development BizLaunch saying, "They deserve the resources to grow and expand and help our small businesses in the area." Audrey Clement commended the County on their work with outdoor dining areas (also known as "TOSAs"). "The County Board is quite right on this TOSA issue. I agree that we need to make TOSAs more incentivized and permanent. I also agree with Adam that we need to make good changes to our planning, our zoning, to keep TOSAs appealing. There needs to be a coordinated effort [to do so] going forward with the Planning Department.” 

The record high office vacancy rate was also discussed by the candidates, each stating their thoughts on a solution to this continuing issue. "I believe that we should have office to residential conversion in order to deal with the vacancy rate and our housing crisis at the same time," said candidate Audrey Clement. County Board Member Matt de Ferranti agreed with Clement noting "That is one way we can do it and we're working on it, but we need to do it more quickly," and adding that there's been "a complete paradigm shift," due to the pandemic and work from home routine. Adam Theo emphasized that converting office space into residential space will not solve all issues. "It's not a silver bullet to fix our problems. Another way to convert those spaces would be into schools which is an easier renovation than residential space." 

The well-publicized Missing Middle Housing Study was subject to both a direct question to the candidates, and was also a recurring theme in each of the candidates' answers on other topics. Candidate Audrey Clement stated that a vote for her would be a vote for "the only candidate who will hold the line against Missing Middle Housing." Candidate Adam Theo who is strongly in favor of the plan, believes that the study is something to be celebrated, rather than feared. "We have an opportunity that few jurisdictions have taken so far and we've seen what will happen to Arlington if we do not take this step, in places like San Francisco and Seattle." Matt de Ferranti noted that in terms of addressing affordability, Missing Middle Housing is a start, but it is not the only answer. He cautioned, “Once you get to four or more units on one plot, you run into issues. Parking, stormwater, congestion. That’s why I don’t think the benefits of allowing “eightplexes” is worth the cost. What we should focus on ourselves is duplexes and triplexes. They are more affordable and they are sustainable….I think we need to be thoughtful about this.” The Chamber has been an advocate for the Missing Middle Housing Study, supporting its goals but urging more flexibility on standards to enable more Missing Middle units to be constructed.

These candidates will face off in the general election on November 8.