Libby Garvey
| Libby Garvey | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | municipal politician |
| Known for | opposing streetcars |
Libby Garvey is a municipal politician in Virginia, currently serving as the Chair of the Arlington County Board.[1] First elected to the Arlington County Board in March 2012, Garvey was a member of the Arlington School board for 15 years, serving as chairwoman five times. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and has lived in Arlington since 1977. Garvey's professional career began as a teacher in the Central African Republic with the Peace Corps. She later served in parent-teacher associations of Abingdon and Dew elementary schools and the H-B Woodlawn program. She has been vice president of the County Council of PTAs, vice president of the Fairlington Civic Association and vice chairwoman of the Advisory Council on Instruction. Democratic Gov. Mark Warner appointed Garvey to serve on the Education Council, an appointment that was later continued by Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine. In memory of her late husband, she established the Kennan Garvey Memorial Fund for Phoenix Bikes and has served on their board. She has two daughters, both of whom are graduates of Arlington County Public Schools, and four grandchildren.[2]
Garvey opposes a building a 5 miles (8.0 km) streetcar line on Columbia Pike, connecting The Pentagon district to a large mall in Fairfax County.[3] In April 2013 Garvey chose to quote criticism of streetcars from Toronto mayor Rob Ford. Quoting Ford caused local papers to call her judgment into question, as Ford had committed a series of embarrassing gaffes, including being filmed highly intoxicated, smoking crack, and uttering racist and homophobic slurs.[4] Her quote of Ford attracted the curious attention of Toronto journalists, who characterized her as a "rogue member of local government" and "Virginia's Rob Ford".[5]
In April 2014, Garvey faced expulsion from her local branch of the Democratic Party, when she endorsed a Republican candidate for County Board.[6] Patricia Sullivan, of the Washington Post, quoted County Chairman Kip Malinowsky, who said he had received numerous complaints of Garvey's vocal support of Republican John Vihstadt in his successful campaign to defeat Democrat Alan Howse.[6] Sullivan reported that Garvey had not only verbally supported Vihstadt, but that she had raised money for his campaign.[6]
Garvey defended her support of Vihstadt because he share her views on the Columbia Pike Streetcar project.[6] She said she would defend her actions before an upcoming closed door meeting of the County Democratic Committee executive. Mary Ann Barton, of the Arlington Patch, reported that her colleagues expected to be called upon to vote to expel Garvey, and were pleasantly surprised that, after she outlined her position, she resigned.[7] Garvey said that she felt her responsibility to the voters who elected her outweighed her obligations to the local Democratic machinery.[7] She predicted her decision might cost her re-election.
The streetcar program was cancelled in November 2014.[8] Eric Jaffe, writing in City Lab, characterized the cancellation as "abrupt" and acrimonious. According to Jaffe, the alternate plan under consideration would follow the same route as the streetcar plan, would stop at the same locations, and would use similar stations, all door boarding, and fare pre-payment, like the streetcar plan, except it would use buses rather than streetcars. Jaffe reported that after the cancellation vote "Jay Fisette, chair of the five-person county board and a strong streetcar advocate, refused to shake hands with fellow board member Libby Garvey, who's been an outspoken opponent."[8]
References
- ↑ "Libby Garvey – Chair, Arlington County Board". County Board: Members. Arlingtonva.us. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- ↑ "Meet the Arlington County Board". www.arlingtonconnection.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
- ↑ Rothstein, Ethan (2013-11-26). "Is the Ongoing Streetcar Debate Slowing Development on the Pike?". Arlington Now. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
County Board Member Libby Garvey — who was elected last year on an anti-streetcar platform and is currently the lone voice of streetcar dissent on the Board — isn’t so sure about Karantonis’ hypothesis.
- ↑ McCaffery, Scott (2013-04-29). "Streetcar Question of the Day: Who Is Mayor Ford and How Did He Get Into the Discussion?". Arlington, Virginia: Arlington Sun Gazette. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
“I hate those damn streetcars – they are a pain in the rear end,” Ford said in a newspaper article quoted by County Board member Libby Garvey as board members again tussled over the streetcar proposal at their April 23 meeting.
- ↑ Spurr, Ben (2013-04-30). "Meet Virginia’s Rob Ford". Toronto: Now magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
Armed with quotes from Toronto’s mayor, a local official in Arlington fights an uphill battle against a streetcar to the Pentagon.
- 1 2 3 4 Sullivan, Patricia (2014-04-23). "Democrats may expel Arlington County Board member from party leadership". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- 1 2 Barton, Mary Ann (2014-05-02). "Democrat Libby Garvey, County Board Member, Resigns from Arlington Democratic Committee". Patch magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-08-09.
"I found myself with a conflict," she said. "The by-laws state that you must support Democrats." Instead, Garvey supported a Republican in a special election for the county board. Her candidate, John Vihstadt, won. The Democratic candidate Alan Howze lost.
- 1 2 Jaffe, Eric (2014-11-24). "Its Streetcar Plan Defeated, Arlington Looks to Better Buses". City lab. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
Last week, Arlington County, Virginia, abruptly canceled a proposed five-mile streetcar line on Columbia Pike that was years in the making. Project supporters didn't react well to the news.