Dear Friend,

Earlier this year, an Arlington resident with an outsized impression of my ability to impact national politics emailed to say, "The most important thing you can do for Arlington is to make sure Joe Biden wins."

After voting early at the Courthouse last month.

Well friends, I am happy to be writing you and him this afternoon to (1) say we did it and (2) report on the work on our shared ideals in October on the County Board. (Part 2 of this week's reports, on the November County Board meetings, will come tomorrow.)
[link removed]
Short video on the October launch of our Dialogues on Race and Equity.
October included several key County Board actions. First and foremost we followed through on our work session held after George Floyd's murder where we promised to engage in the work needed to improve Arlington's commitment to equity and racial justice by initiating Dialogues on Race and Equity, which will help our community consider where we are and where we need to go.

Samia Byrd, our Chief Equity Officer, along with Board Members and residents, are engaging virtually with Arlington residents and County employees. Click above to watch a short video. Click below to read the press release and links about the work.
Dialogues on Race and Equity: Links to Learn More ([link removed])
The Board also received an update from the County Manager on the Budget in October. The outlook for this year is tougher than any year since 2008. We will use $13 million of the "close out" funding from our budget last year to help close this year's budget gap of approximately $24 million.
* (The County Budget runs from July 1 to June 30 every year, so we are almost halfway through 'this' budget year. Usually we use the relatively modest left over 'close out' money to help with next year's budget.)

Below is a short 2 minute video on the work we did to fund eviction prevention and hunger. To learn more about our efforts to close the County and Schools budget gaps, go here: [link removed]

[link removed]
2 minutes on Federal Cares Act funding for eviction and hunger prevention.

Here's a quick list of other October items of interest:
* On the budget, the County Board held a joint work session with the School Board on Budget issues. The County has provided significantly more money for schools than the revenue sharing agreement, but there is more need. With COVID cases rising, the case for opening schools is, in my view, weaker than in early October. To be clear, the decision is the School Board's to make. I share teachers' concerns regarding health and parents' concerns regarding need. I am also concerned about students from low-income households with broadband key. For budget work session background: [link removed]
* I worked on opening child care slots for those most in need. Specifically, getting Aspire! after school open was an important step in serving children in need of education and care that took significant work from all involved. Go here for more information: [link removed]
* On housing, the County Board elected to defer a proposal to encourage homeownership on Columbia Pike for those slightly better off than renters. I agreed with the decision as the income allowable for these units was up to 100% of median income which is approximately $120K for a household in Arlington. I support affordable homeownership, but think targeting towards slightly lower incomes of up to 80% or 90% of Area Median Income. Here's thoughtful analysis on this issue: [link removed]
* The Board held a joint work session with Alexandria on the Juvenile Detention Center. I believe we can better serve young people by partnering on a regional facility, but our Fairfax neighbors are not so inclined. We will still be saving some money that I hope we can invest wisely to prevent dislocation of young people and their families and our staff leadership of the Center is excellent. There is more to come and to do: [link removed]
* Last, but not least, as you consider all of this, please know that 78 million Americans and tens of thousands of Arlington residents are struggling to pay their bills. That is 1 in 3 adults nationally and more than 30k of the 230K people in Arlington. [link removed]

[link removed]

This 7 minute video provides facts that every Arlington resident should know, imho.

I want to conclude with the above 7 minute video regarding race and housing in Arlington, thoughts on the election, and a wedding photo, just for fun.

The above video is so important to watch to understand the roots to racial injustice and income inequality in Arlington. Please watch it. I will share ideas for how to help on housing tomorrow.

The Election, Part 1:
Last, but not least, I spent the last four days leading up to November 3rd, working virtually to help Joe Biden's efforts in North Carolina, while managing my commitments to Arlington and the County Board. That work turned out not to have been successful, but I don't regret it for a second.

On the election as a whole, the repudiation of Trumpism that we sought did not come to pass, at least not yet. Pending the outcome in Georgia, this election has been closer than we wanted. And, regardless of the outcome of those two Senate races on January 5th, we did not get the Democratic Senate majority we wanted.

Brooke and I were saddened by that lack of repudiation, but not defeated by it. We were happy to be married on October 24th here in Arlington, as you can see below via an additional wedding photo:
Brooke and I at Fort C.F. Smith Park here in Arlington where we were married on October 24th.
Together, we are relieved that we did get the Presidential outcome we had to have, even if we so desperately wanted more. Tomorrow, I will share with you additional thoughts on what we can and must do next and provide an update on the November Board meetings.

Yours,

Matt

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