Jay Fisette

2005 Biographical Data

In his seven+ years on the County Board, Jay Fisette has established himself as a principled and thoughtful leader. Jay listens carefully to others, and he knows how to get things done. He has worked diligently to:

• Balance development with the protection of residential neighborhoods
• Adequately fund our public schools
• Enhance pedestrian safety
• Expand affordable housing
• Maintain fiscal responsibility and top quality services

Protect our environment

As Board Chairman in 2001, he focused bold new attention on Arlington's e-government capabilities, proposing a number of significant technology initiatives to improve service delivery and bridge the digital divide. Jay believes that the Internet is one of our most important gateways to the future.

Jay also initiated Arlington's popular Walking Town Meetings as a means of ensuring direct contact between Arlington's elected leaders and its residents. To protect consumers, Jay cracked down on aggressive towing companies that were overcharging residents and visitors.

As Board Chairman in 2005, he is focused on managing the maturing of our vision as an urban community. Jay is emphasizing the value of smart growth, walking and biking. This year, Jay initiated the first annual Arlington Community Bike Ride and also established the Committee on Program Performance which will institute third party, independent performance audits of targeted county programs.

Since his initial election, Jay has established himself as a strong voice for human rights and smart growth policies within the Northern Virginia region.

Jay and his colleagues on the County Board have achieved many successes, balanced many competing and complementary needs, and worked to maintain a high quality of life for all Arlingtonians… as reflected below:

Protect Arlington Taxpayers

• Maintained Arlington's prized AAA/Aaa bond rating, and for the first time ever, obtained a Triple AAA bond rating -- a distinction shared by only about 20 counties in the United States.
• Maintained Arlington's standing as having the lowest real estate tax rate of any major jurisdiction in the region.
• Worked hard to ensure that every tax dollar is wisely spent, while preserving our quality of life through investments in our schools, parks, libraries, and community centers.
• Focused attention on improved departmental performance measures that will be more useful and helpful in connecting expenditures with policy and outcomes.
• Proposed and established the Committee on Program Performance to institute a more comprehensive review of external and internal audits and to initiate third party, independent performance audits of targeted programs.

Preserving Our Quality of Life

• Took steps to improve availability of affordable housing -- Including additional funds for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, housing grants, and home ownership programs, as well as incentives for rehabilitation of older properties.
• Established a neighborhood traffic- calming program, which provides new tools and a uniform countywide process for assessing problems and implementing measures. Jay serves as Board liaison to the citizen-comprised Neighborhood Traffic Calming Committee.
• Supported significant new attention and funds on the needs and safety of pedestrians in our community.
• Responded to citizen concerns about egregious infill development. This included adjusting some options for residential infill development, with plans to address the remaining issue of lot coverage.
• Established a public art policy, calling for an inventory of existing public art and development of a public art master plan.
• Supported significant additional funds for Arlington's unique Neighborhood Conservation Program.

Keeping Our Community Safe

• Reoriented the entire Police Department to a community policing model - with officers more deeply engaged in community problem solving and crime prevention. Added 23 full time positions in the police department.
• Established a Photo Red Light Program in Arlington to enhance traffic safety (this was ended when the Virginia General Assembly took away our authority to have this program).
• Adopted a new False Alarm Ordinance to reduce the inefficient use of police resources.
• Added 16 full-time staff to the Fire Department, including 8 paramedics and 4 firefighters. Also added 2 peak-time medic units.

Sustaining Excellence in Education

Jay supported a 78 percent increase in funding for Arlington public schools in the fiscal 1998-2006 period, including significant growth in school bond funding for new and renovated schools. He and his fellow County Board members also:

• Promoted joint programs between the County and Schools, including consolidation of the Employee Assistance Program and Vehicle Maintenance Operations.
• Along with the School Board, jointly created the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families.
• Along with the School Board, established the first revenue sharing agreement between the County and Schools.
• Supported the Safe Routes to Schools initiative.

Promoting Sound Economic Growth

Jay helped to forge stronger business-community ties, especially with the technology companies, through his proactive e-government initiative. He also:

• Initiated establishment of the Parking Task Force which provided options to ensure adequate parking availability in the Metro corridors, leading to increased on-street parking and greater emphasis on joint use of parking facilities.
• Supported the Columbia Pike Initiative - a planning process to help create a new "Main Street" vision for the Columbia Pike corridor.
• Supported adding needed staff to update important county land use plans.
• Promoted policies that will protect, retain and attract small businesses. Initiated effort that led to creation of the Small Business Task Force on Neighborhood Retail.
• Initiated soon-to-be permanent kiosks in high pedestrian areas within the R-B corridor.
• Led Arlington's effort to challenge the Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) recommendations of the Secretary of Defense.

Protecting our Environment and Increasing Recreational Opportunities

• Strongly endorsed Arlington's membership of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, to encourage voluntary easements as a tool for protecting our open space.
• Led efforts to adopt formal county guidelines for the establishment of off-leash, fenced-in dog exercise areas.
• Advocated for the Arlington boathouse.
• Advocated for land acquisition funds in Arlington's FY 2000 bond and in Virginia's FY 2001-02 budget.
• Led efforts for a world-class aquatic center to be built as part of the North Tract recreational park - just north of Crystal City.
• Supported $800,000 in new funds to protect the Chesapeake Bay and Green Building incentives for developers
• Advocated for adoption of 23-miles of on-street bicycle lanes
• Leading efforts to protect open space threatened by a proposed expansion of Arlington Cemetery
• Initiated Arlington's first annual Community Bike Ride in 2005

Connecting and Respecting People

• Supported the centralization of much of the Department of Human Services, serving children and families, elderly and disabled persons, to its current location in Clarendon.
• Supported the Leadership Arlington program, and assisted in ensuring a diverse and representative participant pool.
• Initiated "Walking Town Meetings" as a way for Board members to visit neighborhoods, listen to residents, and learn first-hand about neighborhood issues.
• Championed the establishment of the Arlington Bicentennial Task Force, to plan and implement the celebration of our County's 200th birthday.
• Encouraged the "Urban Village Forums" as a mechanism to dialogue with the community about issues such as first floor retail, urban design, and green building technologies.
• Fought the illegal pricing of some tow companies, and continued to pursue a multi-pronged strategy for protecting consumers from rogue tow companies.
• Advocated for state legislation to establish a No-Call List, to protect Virginians from unwanted telephone solicitations.
• Led Arlington's effort to establish a community-wide response to Hurricane Katrina.

Advancing E-Government and Technology

He made technology enhancements a personal priority, which resulted in County's first E-Government Master Plan. He also:

• Collaborated with citizen groups and the Chamber of Commerce in promoting the across-the-board benefits of enhanced technology.
• Initiated efforts to bridge the digital divide, including additional public access terminals, additional Spanish language access pages on the County's web site, internet access at all senior centers and free e-mail for all county residents.
• Initiated monthly "On-line Conversations with the Chairman" as a tool to engage Arlington's "digital citizens" in the life of the community.
• Hosted & facilitated the successful Tech Summit in March 2001, which promoted a dialogue between the County and business community.

Supporting Public Employees

A former civil servant himself, Jay was vocal in supporting public employees as well as the current Employer of Choice system.

• Supported a Living Wage program for county employees and contractors.
• Revamped and significantly improved the Retirement System for County and School employees.
• Fought for reinstatement of the County's Domestic Partner Benefit program. This program was in place for nearly 3 years, then terminated due a court decision.
• Initiated a Live Near Your Work program which provides eligible County and School employees with $4,500 toward the purchase of a home in Arlington. After three years, the proposal finally passed the General Assembly and was signed by the Governor. Arlington' program began in July 2002.

Leader on Regional Issues

As a recognized Leader on Regional Issues, Jay, along with his County Board colleagues

• Worked diligently on regional transportation and land use issues.
• Participated in a regional Smart Growth Coalition convened by the Urban Land Institute and other regional bodies as a strong advocate of regionalism and of smart growth policies.
• Participated in planning team for regional Reality Check exercise.
• Actively worked to shape the Regional Transportation Authority bills in the Virginia General Assembly to ensure protection of mass transit interests.
• Pressed to oppose the widening of I-66 inside the Beltway unless a comprehensive assessment of alternatives is completed and priority is placed on completing Metro to Tyson's Corner.
• Led regional effort among local governments, and within broader coalition, to re-open Reagan National Airport .
• Spokesperson for Washington region's Emergency Preparedness campaign: ";Be Ready. Make a Plan."