Arlington — Since 1930, the county has been governed by a five-member County Board rather than a County Board of Supervisors. Board members are elected at-large for staggered four year terms, and the chairmanship rotates annually.
Chairwoman Mary Hynes
First elected to the Arlington County Board in 2007, Hynes was a member of the Arlington School Board for 12 years, serving as chairwoman on three occasions. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, which honored her in 2007 as a distinguished alumna. Hynes is chairwoman of Council of Government’s Region Forward Coalition, a public-private consortium created to pursue COG’s vision for the region’s future. She is also a member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s Executive and Legislative committees. As chairwoman in 2012, Hynes has created initiative she calls PLACE, Participation, Leadership and Civic Engagement – to build on community’s valued tradition of civic engagement known as “the Arlington Way.” Ms. Hynes and her husband Patrick have resided in Arlington for nearly 35 years and are the parents of five Arlington Public School graduates.
Libby Garvey
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.
Jay Fisette
First elected to the Arlington County Board in 1997, Fisette has been a resident of Arlington since 1983. He served as chairman in 2001, 2005 and 2010 A former GAO auditor, Fisette is a member of the Ashton Heights Civic Association, Unitarian-Universalist Church of Arlington, Arlington Committee of 100, Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Equality Virginia, and Leadership Greater Washington. Fisette served as a staff consultant to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee from 1988 to 1989 and as as the director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia from 1990 to 1998.He has a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and received a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University. Fisette and his partner, Bob Rosen, have been residents of the Ashton Heights neighborhood since 1987.
Chris Zimmerman
First elected to the Arlington County Board in 1996, Zimmerman has been a resident of the county since 1979. He served as chairman in 1998, 2002 and 2006 and 2011. Zimmerman has a master’s degree Economics from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from The American University. A former civic association president and planning commissioner, Zimmerman was chief economist and committee director for Federal Budget and Taxation at the National Conference of State Legislatures. He has been a member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Transportation Planning Board for the National Capital Region, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board. Zimmerman and his wife, Mary Beth, live in the Douglas Park neighborhood of south Arlington where they have raised three children, all graduates of Arlington Public Schools.
Walter Tejada
First elected to the Arlington County Board in a 2003 special election, Tejada served as chairman in 2008. Born in El Salvador, Tejada moved to the United States at the age of 13. He studied Government and Communication at George Mason University and has worked as an investigator, a business consultant and as an aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8). Before his election to the County Board, he served on the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, the Affordable Housing Task Force, the Sports Commission, the Neighborhood Day Organizing Committee and the Bicentennial Celebration Task Force. He is the founding chairman of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organization, and the founding president of the American Salvadoran Association of Virginia and of the Latino Democrats of Virginia.