Smart Growth Along I-66

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada joined a well-attended January 23 forum on the proposed widening of I-66, according to the Arlington Connection. The forum was sponsored by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Federal Highway Administration at held at Washington-Lee High School and was "designed to get input from the public on the plan."

The Connection reported that, "Walter Tejada, Vice Chairman of the Arlington County Board of Supervisors, attended the forum and commented on it at Saturday's meeting of the County Board. "There were many people [at the forum] that were very upset and I was one of them," he said. "I thought that VDOT did not organize the meeting well. It was a presentation on what they were already going to do. [Prior] agreements need to be respected."

(Find out more about this issue at the Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation and VDOT's http://www.idea66.com/.)

Reviewing 2006

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's work on engaging a voter registration drive along side the immigration discussions, was among the highlights of 2006 according to the Arlington Connection.

The Connection reported that "Tejada joined elected Latino officials from across the region to promote a voter registration drive, with the goal of getting tens of thousands of Spanish-speaking citizens to the polls this past November for the first time. Throughout the summer and fall, Tejada and other Latino activists canvassed Arlington neighborhoods speaking to residents about the importance of voting."

Priorities in 2007

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's outlined his priorities during his annual New Year's speech during which he thanked his colleagues on the Arlington Board for having elected him as Vice-Chair of the Board. Paul Ferguson was elected Chair.

"As a Member of the Arlington County Board, I enjoy working to build a caring, inclusive community, to strive for social justice, and to build bridges connecting our diverse residents. A caring community is also a healthy community, and this year I will focus on three areas critical to our health.

The first promotes a healthy environment: an initiative to improve recycling opportunities for our local businesses. The second promotes a healthy lifestyle: an initiative called FitArlington, promoting a culture of fitness. The third promotes healthy civic participation: initiatives to better capitalize on our multicultural diversity and to help our immigrant residents integrate into our society."

You can read more about these priorities in Walter's New Year's speech