Support for small business, reducing the size of local government, and promoting civic engagement and civil discourse are among the campaign themes of a third-party candidate embarking on a decidedly uphill battle for Arlington County Board.
Madison Granger qualified to run under the banner of the nascent Forward Party, which describes itself as centrist.
A resident of Green Valley, fitness professional and entrepreneur, Granger joins a field that includes Democratic nominee J.D. Spain Sr., Republican Juan Carlos Fierro and perennial/protest candidate Audrey Clement. Given the political leanings of the county electorate, which tilt heavily Democratic and never more so than in a presidential year, it may be hard for Fierro, Clement or Granger to gain much traction through Election Day.
Besides Granger, the Forward Party has recruited James “Vell” Rives as its School Board candidate. Rives ran twice before as an independent and will be facing off against Democratic School Board endorsees Zuraya Tapia-Hadley and Kathleen Clark.
Virginia state law only recognizes Democrats and Republicans as official political parties, although that doesn’t stop other parties from fielding candidates for office in the commonwealth.
For information on the Forward Party, see the Website at https://home.forwardparty.com/virginia.