Campaign Platform

  • As treasurer, my goal will be to maintain the traditional principles of SLY (safety, liquidity, and yield) but add in one more crucial component: Ethics. In short, I want to SLEY (safety, liquidity, ethics, and yield)!

    The management of our invested tax dollars is the main area in which Arlington can actually be reflected and represented in the Treasurer’s roles and responsibilities.

    I believe our tax dollars should be managed and invested in a way that is consistent with Arlingtonian’s morals, ethics, and values. That means we should not be investing our tax dollars in oil & gas companies contributing to climate change, weapons manufacturers violating human rights, or predatory banks affecting marginalized communities.

    We are bound by VA state law (VA Code § 2.2-4510), which generally limits investments with high ratings, a standard that provides enough latitude to implement ethics considerations without any meaningful change to operation and performance. Implementing an ethics policy that fosters positive investments and divests from death and destruction literally puts Arlington’s money where it’s mouth has been.

  • Despite being an elected position, the Arlington County Treasurer’s office has been uncontested for more than 30 years. This year, the timing of the previous treasurer’s (Carla de la Pava) retirement foreclosed any opportunity for a primary and minimized chances of fielding a contender, almost assuring that de la Pava’s handpicked successor, Kim Rucker, would continue the uncontested tradition. I don’t think this shows respect for democratic values.

    Voters haven’t had any real representation in this elected office in living memory. The first questions I get when I talk to people are: (1) why is the treasurer an elected position? And (2) what does the treasurer do?

    These are questions we’ve never even had the chance to ask because there’s never been any need for those in power to explain what they do. Democracy also means transparency. It’s important for someone in this position to be able to speak to and explain their positions to voters.

  • As a local organizer involved in mutual aid and the Arlington Apartheid Divest campaign, I'm grounded in the communities of Arlington and believe our public finances should reflect the values we share. As a lifelong Arlington resident, I understand that local economic decisions resonate locally and globally. Marginalized communities we care about are directly affected by companies and institutions we invest in that profit from their suffering. As Treasurer, I want to help ensure that there is consistency between our morals, our ethics, and the way we manage our collective financial resources so that our economic prosperity strengthens the kind of community we want to build.

  • As Treasurer, I will maintain the tax collection policies, systems, and day-to-day operations established by the previous and current Treasurers Carla de la Pava and Kim Rucker. The Treasurer’s core responsibilities should be carried out professionally and consistently, not reinvented for the sake of change.

    The change I do want to make is to give Arlington a voice in how our public funds are invested. I will pursue an ethical investment policy that ensures our tax dollars are managed in a way that reflects Arlington’s morals, ethics, and values.

    Kim Rucker will continue to have a role in the Treasurer’s Office regardless of the outcome of this election. What’s at stake is whether you have a voice represented in the Treasurer's Office.