Defying a Republican sweep of statewide offices on Election Day, Arlington County retained its status as a Democratic stronghold last week. County voters delivered victories to every Democratic candidate for House of Delegates in addition to returning a Democratic member to the County Board and giving the nod to a School Board candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party. Although Arlington voters expressed a preference for the unsuccessful Democratic candidates on the statewide ticket, the election returns showed weakness at the top of the ticket. State Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-25) received about 700 fewer votes than the two other Democratic candidates for statewide office.

"I think Bob McDonnell ran an extremely disciplined campaign, and he was able to appeal to a lot of the same independent voters who supported Barack Obama last year," said Mame Reilly, a Democratic strategist who grew up near McDonnell in Mount Vernon. "He had roots here and he appealed to independent voters who were willing to split the ticket and vote for a Republican at the top of the ticket while supporting Democrats in the other statewide races."

County voters selected Democrats for the two open seats on the ballot. Three-term Del. Al Eisenberg (D-77) will be replaced by Democrat Patrick Hope, and outgoing School Board member Ed Fendley will be replaced by James Lander. The School Board campaign was uneventful, with Lander sailing into office without opposition from other Democrats seeking an endorsement or any Republicans opposing him in the general election. But Hope, who beat back four other candidates in a hotly contested primary in June, faced opposition from a Republican and a Green Party candidate.

For the general election, Hope raised $17,000 and received 64 percent of the vote. His top donors included the Virginia Dental Association, the campaign committee of Jay Fisette for Arlington County Board and Democratic activist Lucy Denney. Republican Eric Brescia raised $16,000 and received 32 percent of the electorate while Green Party candidate raised $2,000 and claimed 4 percent of the voters. Although they were unsuccessful, both challengers said they thought their campaigns contributed to the public discourse.

"I was glad to raise issues during the campaign that wouldn’t have been discussed otherwise," said Ruebner, adding that he was hoping for a higher vote count for himself. "I have pledged to help Patrick as much as I can in implementing a more progressive form of taxation when he goes to Richmond."

THE COUNTY’S FOUR Democratic incumbents were reelected, although not without a fight. Only Del. Adam Ebbin (D-49) ran without opposition. Ebbin, who was elected to his fourth term last week, has never faced a Republican opponent in any election. During this election cycle, he raised $153,000. His top contributors include $6,000 from the Democratic Party of Virginia, $5,000 from McEnearney Realtor Jennifer Walker and $4,500 from Alexandria lawyer Mark Colley.

"It’s important for incumbents to elect more members of their party," said Ebbin, who contributed $44,000 to the Virginia House Caucus this year. "When you’re not faced with an opponent, you can spend more funds to help elect more delegates of your party."

Del. Bob Brink (D-48) survived his most serious challenge since 2003, when Republican Steve Sass was able to claim 39 percent of the vote. This year, his Republican challenger was Iraq war veteran Aaron Ringel, who won 38 percent of the electorate. During this election cycle, Brink raised $111,000 and received 62 percent of the vote. His top contributors included $12,000 from the Democratic Party of Virginia, $4,000 from the Virginia Bankers Association and $4,000 from Richmond-based utilities company Dominion.

"I was confident that Arlington’s voters would reject Karl Rove tactics," said Brink after the election. "Clearly, they did."
The race turned harsh in the final days of the campaign, with each candidate attacking the other in mailers. One that attracted a great deal of attention in the waning days of the campaign accused Brink of voting to let convicted felons into Arlington schools — a reference to Brink’s vote in favor of House Bill 1481 during the 2008 session. The mailer, which was paid for by the Republican Party of Virginia, explained that "schools are safe-havens for our children, but Bob Brink doesn’t want to keep them that way."

"I don’t regret sending that mailer because it was true," said Ringel, who said that Brink initiated the negative tone in the campaign by sending a mailer that distorted his background. "He opened the door. I just walked through it."

Two-term incumbent Del. David Englin (D-45) took 61 percent of the votes against Republican challenger Vicki Vasques, who won 39 percent of the voters in the district that includes three Arlington precincts. Englin raised $223,000 — almost six times as much as Vasques, who raised $40,000. Englin’s top contributors include $23,000 from Alexandria real-estate developer Richard Bell, $21,000 from the Democratic Party of Virginia and $15,000 from McEnearney Realtor Jennifer Walker.

"This was the worst political environment for Democrats in a decade, and Vasques ran an energetic race, so I personally expected something closer to 55 percent," said Englin in a written statement. "Deeds lost statewide by 18 points and did 10 points worse in the 45th District than Kaine did in 2005, and I still won with more than 61 percent of the vote."