Dear Friends –

I am now officially a candidate for re-election to the Arlington County Board.

I announced my candidacy on March 4 to an overflow crowd at the monthly meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

As Co-Chair of the Arlington Joint Democratic Campaign in 2008, it became clear that Arlington is at the heart of the Democratic resurgence in Virginia and in the country and that there is no more exciting local Democratic Committee in the U.S.

Similarly, there is no more exciting place to govern than here in Arlington.  Arlington has long been a model of good, honest government and in the last 10 years, we have taken our successes to a new level. 

We have achieved world-class status and received national recognition in many areas: Smart growth planning; transit-oriented development; the arts; public education; emergency preparedness; environmental policies and our response to climate change.  We led the region in our approach to immigration and in our fiscal stewardship with our triple AAA bond rating.  The “Arlington Way” speaks to our tradition of extensive participation and inclusiveness in our decision making process.

But there is more to do.  I want to protect what we have accomplished and stretch us further.  In particular, I am committed to address our fiscal and environmental sustainability - i.e. living within our means and our resources.

Our county, our region, our country and our world are facing severe economic challenges.  We do not know how deep or how long the economic recession will last, but we must balance the needs of the least fortunate among us and the preservation of our core services with the tough decisions to live within our means.

We must also continue to tackle the issue of environmental sustainability.  I believe this to be the moral challenge of our generation, which will become increasingly relevant at the local, regional, state and federal levels.  The Arlington County government must continue to be a role model of sustainability, and the Arlington community must do the same.

So, with great appreciation to my friends and family, to all who have supported me in the past and to our wonderful Arlington community, I am excited to continue our work together to make a difference in people’s lives, in our community, and in our world.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance. I am most easily reached at info@fisette.org.  And I invite you all to be my friend on Facebook!

Jay

BTW – Please read: (1) my 2008 Year-End E-Newsletter (e-Newsletters section of this website) to find out about last year’s highlights; and (2) my 2009 Speech from our January 1, 2009 County Board meeting (Speeches section of this website).