However unlikely his defeat may be, Arlington County Board member Chris Zimmerman insists he’s taking nothing for granted in his run for another four-year term.
The 14-year board veteran faces two challengers Tuesday – Mark Kelly, the first Republican to run for the board in three years, and Green Party candidate Kevin Chisholm – though typically Arlington County has been unkind to political candidates other than those hailing from the Democratic Party.
Kelly has taken the fact that all five current board members are Democrats and turned it into the main issue of his campaign. In a recent television ad running on local cable channels, Kelly promises to bring a new perspective to a board that he says has lost touch with Arlington residents with its group-think mentality.
A local newspaper, The Sun Gazette, was so taken with the idea that it endorsed Kelly because, the paper said, he wasn’t Zimmerman.
“Wouldn’t we be better off if we have just one person making a different argument about these things?” Kelly said. “It’s not easy and it’s certainly a long shot, but I think it’s the best opportunity we’ve had in a long time.”
In a year in which voters are expected vent their disillusionment against incumbents, particularly Democrats, Kelly’s odds may have improved, though he concedes that it will still be difficult to beat Zimmerman, the board’s longest-serving member. The last time a Republican won such a seat was in the 1980s.
For his part, Zimmerman has run a campaign banking on his years of service and his experience on the Metro Board of Directors, of which he is also the longest-serving member.
Zimmerman points to the county’s performance in the current economic climate as a sign of the board’s wise management and commitment to investing in the future with long-term projects like the 40-year development plan for Crystal City.
“We’re not going to have a real easy year this year, but it’s certainly going to be better than the last couple of years,” Zimmerman said. “And it’s better than those around us. And that reflects the basic fundamental economic health of this county.”
