A STUDY OF A NONPARTISAN POLITICAL ORGANIZATION: THE ARLINGTONIANS FOR.A BETTER.COUNTY (ABC) by Franklin 0. Felt AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Study of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCI‘OR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Political Science Year 1961 :7 , . Approved Win/oi LU ‘ (1/ jug/M ABSTRACT This thesis is a case study of a local nonpartisan political party, the Arlingtonians for a Better County, or ABC Party, which developed in Arlington County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D. C. The study seeks to answer the question of why a local nonpartisan political party should flourish in a county which has no legal prohibitions on the activities of the two major national parties. Research on this question utilized the observations gained as a participant-observer in two campaigns conducted by the political party under study; lengthy interviews with twelve prominent Arlington political leaders; answers to a question- naire given a test group of ABC precinct leaders and a control group of conservative Democratic precinct committeemen; and a correlation of County Board election returns and census tract data. The information obtained from the above sources tends to substantiate the hypothesis that strong nonpartisan political organizations can arise and influence the key points of deci- sion making in a community's government when a significant number of local interest groups' values appear threatened . v3~ - : ..~.o.b-4‘ a .. u . b.A L .I' (V .'J O V T? M. 1‘a. 'c‘ .- h- by the decisions made and these groups are denied access to the decision making points through the machinery of the regular "partisan" political organizations. Evidence also was obtained which supports the proposition, that the political division in Arlington tends to be largely between old and new residents and that these two groups hold markedly different sets of values regarding education, segre- gation, commercial and apartment deveIOpment, and eXpansion of public services. The information collected further indicates that the political division in the County also tends to repre- sent the commuters versus those working in the County. The fact that federal workers were excluded from active support of the major "partisan" party organizations by the Hatch Act was believed a major factor in encouraging deveIOpment of the ABC Party. It was found that Federal employment tends to be related to support of the ABC Party. However, it is not considered the predominant factor behind the rise of the local nonpartisan party in Arlington, since this phenomenon does not occur in similar suburban communities with large numbers of Federal employees. The.Arlingtonians for a Better County appears to be a local political organization which has united numerous local interest groups around an agreed set of general values. The chief Opposition, the local Democratic Party, represents a political party with no agreed set of values but rather two , . .“’. Ar “Au-w I C 01" D bsal CL'IZC l C :1! “v- u..L. ,‘. . fawn ..,. - factions with widely separated points of view on most local problems. The conservative faction controls the machinery of the local Democratic Party and is the chief antagonist of the ABC Party. There is a considerable overlapping of membership between the liberal Democratic faction and the ABC Party. Local interest group support for ABC-was found to center in civic associations and school groups, while the local business and professional men‘s organizations furnish most of the active conservative Democratic supporters. Elli/r . A STUDY OF A NONPARTISAN POLITICAL ORGANIZATION: THE.ARLINGTONIANS FOR.A BETTER COUNTY (ABC) by (a Franklin 0. Felt A THESIS Submitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Study of iMichigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of mCI‘OR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Political Science Year 1961 o.- a.- C94_- §~. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author could not have completed this study without the benefit of aid, advice, and encouragement of a number of peOple. To the extent that it is a success a portion of the credit belongs to them. Any errors or shortcomings are solely the reSponsibility of the writer. Special gratitude is due Dr. Edward w. Weidner of Michigan State University who guided this study and provided encourage- ment and advice throughout its preparation. The time and effort which he eXpended in the writer's behalf have trans- cended the ordinary professor-student relationship. Thanks are extended to Dr. Charles R. Adrian and Dr. John Dorsey of Michigan State University. Dr. Adrian's comments on the work at its various stages have been invaluable. Dr. Dorsey reviewed the manuscripts and provided a helpful critique which aided greatly in improving the final product. Sincere thanks is due also to Dr. George H. Brown of the Human Resources Research Office of George washington University for his aid in guiding the writer during prepara- tion of the statistical analysis necessary for this study; and to Mr. Robert Reynolds, the one man research committee of the ii ”‘4... .o-‘ ‘- v I .vge a .s- . .v'l a , ~ "b. UQV A P h A u n In- “ d F u.il u. fifihn-n Cub-.. . Arlingtonians for a Better County for allowing the writer free access to his complete files on the history of the Non- partisan and ABC movements in Arlington. Finally, to my wife, Janice, without whose encouragement and aid in so many ways this work could not possibly have been accomplished. iii you-I- A \ bgdo \v‘ Rh-'-y—fn u — .. - .. U-‘n. .‘ Y A. III. o?‘ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Vi CHAPTER I . INIRODUCI ION O O O O O C O O O O I O C O C O O l I I O TI—IE SETT INC 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 9 Pre-World'War II Arlington . . . . . . . . . 11 The Great Post-War Change . . . . . . . . . . 23 smary . C O 0 O O C O O O O O O I O O O O O 28 III. THE INTEREST GROUP FRAME OF REFERENCE . . . . . 30 A Definition of A Political Party . . . . . . 34 A Critique of the Truman Thesis . . . . . . . 39 smary O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 49 IV. THE POST-WAR REVOLT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 The Citizens Committee for School Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 The anpartisan Movement . . . . . . . . . . 75 V. ‘A NEW LIBERAL COALITION . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 The End of the Elective School Board . . . . 108 The ABC Era . O C C O C . O O O I D O O O O O 116 VI. THE NONPARTISAN MACHINE . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 The ABC Nominating Convention . . . . . . . . 146 The ABC Fights a Campaign . . . . . . . . . . 149 VII. AN ANALYSIS OF NON-UNANIMDUS COUNTY BOARD VOTES O O O O O O O O O O r O O Q Q Q Q 0 Q Q . . 167 iv Y."'" "o- uh! >4 TABLE OF CONTENTS--Continued CHAPTER Page VIII. .AN ANALYSIS OF ABC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN AND THEIR VALIJE C O O O C O C C O O O O O O O O O O l 7 6 The Federal Employee and the ABC Party . . . . 189 Overlapping Group Mmeership with ABC . . . . 197 ABC Members and Their Political Values . . . . 203 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 IX. THE OPPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 The Democratic Loyalty Oath . . . . . . . . . 227 Nominating Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 The Democratic Campaign Organization . . . . . 230 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 X. CONCLUSIONS.AND THE FUTURE OF NONPARTISAN POLITICS IN ARLINGTON COUNTY . . . . . . . . . . 236 The Future of the ABC Party . . . . . . . . . 249 APPENDIX 0 O O O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 252 BIBLImRAPI-{Y O O I O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O 0 O 29 2 ‘7 Table II. III. IV. VI. VII. VIII. IX. XI. LIST OF TABLES Percentage of the POpulation Voting in Presidential Elections in Arlington County, Virginia and Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland (1940 and 1952) _ . . , . . Increase in POpulation of Arlington Compared with Increase of Federal Employees (Civilian and Military) in washington, D. C. 193041955 . Correlation of Votes by Arlington County Board {embers -_ 1957 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Correlation of Votes by Arlington County Board Members -- 1958 O O O O 0 O O O O O O I O C C 0 Correlation of Votes by Arlington County Board Members"1959.ooooocog-000000. Non-unanimous Votes of the Arlington County . Board, 1957 " 1959 O o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Party Solidarity in Non-unanimous Votes on Zoning Issues by the Arlington County Board -- 1957, 1958, 1959 o O o o O o o o o o O o o o 0 Dates of Arrival of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Residence of ABC and Democratic Precinct Chairmen Prior to Age 21 . . , . , , , , , , , , ‘Major Political Party Preferences of ABC Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Place of Work of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Leaders . . , . , , , vi Page 16 24 169 170 170 173 174 178 179 182 184 Table XII. XIII. XIV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XXII. LIST OF TABLES--Continued Page Occupations of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Overlapping Interest Group Membership of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . 203 Method of Choosing Arlington County Executive Officers Favored by ABC and Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Appointing Authority Preferred by ABC and Democratic Precinct Chairmen Who Favor Appointment of County Executive Officers . . . 206 Type of Term for County Executive Officers Favored by ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Attitudes of ABC and "Regular“ Democratic Precinct Chairmen Toward Commercial-Industrial and Apartment Zoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Attitude of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen on Establishment of Public Kindergartens in Arlington . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Degree of Opposition to Public Kindergartens by ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Attitude of ABC and "Regular" Democratic Precinct Chairmen Toward Racial Segregation of the Public Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Attitudes of Segregationists Toward Closing of Public Schools to Prevent Integration . . . . . . 214 Rank Difference Correlation of ABC Vote and Socio-economic Data by 1950 Census Tracts . . . . 279 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION America is moving toward a predominantly suburban civili- zation. The greatest demographic phenomenon of the last two decades has been the massive Shift of pepulation from the rural and central city areas to the suburbs surrounding our great cities. This shift which began at the close of the 1930's has become increasingly marked since the close of World war II. In summing up the p0pulation trend between the census of 1940 and that of 1950 the U. S. Census Bureau observed that: "Of the increase of about nineteen million for the United States during the decade, about four- fifths occurred in standard metropolitan areas and nearly one-half occurred outside the central cities."1 The 1950's produced an acceleration of this trend. Two-thirds of the nation's pepulation growth of about twenty-eight million took place in the suburbs, while eight of the ten largest cities lost pOpulation. The political prominence of sub- urbia appears assured in the future if these present trends 1United States Bureau of the Census, 1959 Census of P0 ulation: Number of Inhabitants, I, "Introduction," p. xxxv. 1 Mr o .1 3......" . continue.2 Such a startling shift of population was bound to have far reaching effects upon the political process in the United States. Little was written, however, about the subject of suburban politics by political scientists until after 1950. Sociologists noted the population trend much earlier and were the first to initiate intensive study of suburban life. Lundberg, Komarovsky, and MtInerny pioneered in these studies as early as 1934 when they published a study of westchester County, a suburb of New York City.3 One of the most detailed studies produced on suburban life has been Seely, Sim, and Loosely's analysis of a Canadian metrOpolitan suburb.4 William H. Whyte Jr.'s pOpular book, The Organization Man, also has provided numerous provocative observations based upon a study of a completely new, post-war, suburban community near Chicago, Illinois.5 Numerous other sociological studies k 2For a short summary of the political portent of the ini- tial 1960 census figures concerning the growth of suburbs see Theodore H. White, "Census and Politics-1960f Saturday Review (XLIII, 28, July 9, 1960), pp. 4-5. Another good, estimate of the probable impact of the growing suburbs on the nation's politics is found in "Suburbs Cut Cities Down to Size," Business Week (No. 1607, June 18, 1960), pp. 64-71. 3GeorgeA. Lundberg, M. Komarovsky, and M;.A. MCInerny, Leisure: A Suburban Study (New York: Columbia University Press, 1934;. 4John R. Seely, R. Alexander Sim, and Edwin Loosely, Crest- wood Heights (New York: Basic Books, 1956). 5William H. Whyte, Jr., The Dr anization Man, (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Anchor Edition, 1950). 3 of the suburbs have been published but none of them deal to any significant degree with the political process in suburbia.6 They provide valuable data, however, to aid in the study of suburban politics through their analysis of the values and community social structures of the new settlements._ The first suburban studies by political scientists made their appearance in the early 1950's but most of these dealt with intergovernmental relations and the need for metropolitan planning.7 The noted political journalist Samuel Lubell pub- lished two pOpular books which included some comments on suburban voting habits, but these used only the analysis of gross voting statistics to illustrate a trend toward Republi- canism in the suburbs.8 This controversial conclusion and the 6See‘William M. Dobriner (ed.), The Suburban Community (New York; Putman, 1958) and A. C. Spectorsky, The Exurbanites (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott, 1955). An exception to the above statement is found in an article by Scott Greer, "The Social Structure and Political Process of Suburbia," The American Sociologica1_Review (XXV, August, 1960), pp. 514-526. This, unfortunately, is only a published research design of a project which will attempt to classify the suburbanite by the types most active in politics. A.p0pu1ar fictional account of the problems of suburban living in the suburbs of washington, D. C. is found in John Keats, The Crack in the Picture Window (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1957). 7The most comprehensive study of this subject is found in Coleman woodbury (ed.), The Future of Cities and Urban Redeve10p- ment (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953). The pioneering effort in this area of study was produced in the 1940's, see Victor Jones, Metropolitan Government (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948). 8Samuel Lubell, The Future of Americanggolitics (2nd Edition, revised, New York: Anchor, Doubleday, 1956). , The Revolt of the MOderates (New York: Harper, 1956). UP“. 4 method used in arriving at it has stimulated most of the in- tensive empirical research undertaken in the area of suburban politics.9 These studies are concerned with testing Lubell's hypothesis that movement to the suburbs tends either to convert the newcomers to more conservative political values and Republicanism or it tends to select only Republican oriented persons. Such efforts are necessarily concerned.with analysis of the motivations of individual voters and not with describing the political organization of the communities observed. One study, however, raises a question concerning the need for a change from the traditional suburban emphasis on nonpartisan local politics to a system of choosing local leaders through the national and state political organizations in order to transfer the suburbanites' more intense interest in local affairs to the state and national scene.10 9Fred Greenstein and Raymond wolfinger, "The Suburbs and Shifting Party Loyalties," Public Qpinion Quarterly (XXII, 4, January, 1959), pp. 473-482. This work uses the Michigan Survey Research Center data to uphold Lubell's hypothesis. Studies casting doubt upon the theory of the shift of suburbanites to the Republican Party from former Democratic allegiances are J. G. Manis and L. C. Stime, "Suburban Residence and Political Behavior," Public Opinion Quarterly (XXII, 4, January 1959), pp. 483-489; J. H. Millett and D. Pittman, "The New Suburban Voter: A Case Study in Electoral Behavior,“ Southwestern Social Science Quarterly (XXXIX, June, 1958), pp. 33-42. 10Roger Mars, ”VOting Shifts in a Suburban Community: A Study of Migrants from Detroit, 1952-1956" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State university, 1960), pp. 231-232. 5 Surveys of other types of literature in the field of state and local government reveal the same lack of interest by poli- tical scientists in the political process of suburban America. Illustrative of this lag is the absence of articles on the subject in the American Political Science Regiew. Only one modern local government textbook provides extensive treatment of this important subject.11 A complete book on the subject was not available until 1958 when Robert WOOd published his Suburbia, Its Peogle and Their Politics.12 This book seeks to develop a general framework for examining suburban politics in America. Professor Wood hypothesizes that the political trends in sub- urban government are not a new type of local government but are actually an attempt to preserve the small town politics and government of previous generations in an era of rapid urban growth. The book does not contain an empirical analysis of any phase of the subject. It does provide, however, a good survey of what little has been written on the subject of the suburban political process. Professor WOOd resided for a time in Arlington County and his conceptualization of the suburban political process was undoubtedly effected by his residence there. Although his main hypothesis is not used as the frame 11Charles Adrian, governing urban America (New York: MeGraw- Hill, 1955), pp. 99-136. ESpecially noteworthy is the study of a non artisan political machine which Operates in the Detroit subur of Dearborn, Michigan. 12Robert C. wood, Suburbia, Its Peogle and Their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958). 3/. '6 of reference for this case study, his concept of the old .American small town values dominating suburban political life will be reviewed in relation to Arlington County politics. Professor WOod also provides several minor prOpositions well suited for testing in this dissertation. A review of the literature on suburban politics thus reveals little serious study of the political organization of these increasingly significant communities. Only in WOod's book and in Charles Adrian's municipal government text has any attempt been made to study this phase of the new suburban political process. As Professor Wood indicates: “. . . no muckrakers have appeared on the scene to describe in chapter and verse the inner workings of suburban politics in the way that big city bosses and urban political-business alliances were detailed fifty years ago. This is not surprising; the number and variety of possible suburban political patterns make the documentation needed for sound generaliza- tions an exceedingly formidable job. It is little wonder that we know most about our national, less about state, and least about local politics. The task of research eXpands geometrically as we go down the scale."1 With a major prOportion of the American electorate moving into the suburbs, these communities appear destined to have a leading role in the political processes of the nation. .A significant gap thus needs to be filled by Specific studies of the political organization of these new communities before 13Ibid., pp. 176-177. 7 any empirically sound generalizations can be deve10ped. The purpose of this case study is to provide documentation on the political organization of one large suburban community so that some tentative hypotheses may be developed as a small step toward "sound generalizations" about the political process in the suburban communities of the United States. The study will trace the origin and develOpment of a "nonpartisan" political organization in Arlington County, Virginia, a suburb of washington, D. C. Much has been written on the subject of nonpartisan local elections in the united States but most of these, according to a recent survey of this field, have been studied "from the point of view of municipal "reformists" and tend merely "to tabulate the triumphs of the forces of good (as defined by the criteria of the reform movement) in municipal govern- ment?14 At least four fairly intensive analyses of local "nonpartisan" reform parties have been produced in recent years which avoid some of these pitfalls of "nonpartisan” 14J. Leiper Freeman, "Local Party Systems: Theoretical Considerations and.A Case Analysis," The American Journal of Sociology (IXIV, Nevember, 1958), pp. 283-294. This article catalogues the studies published in the National Municipal Review on this subject. A good example of such a study is Richard S. Childs, Ci ic Victories, an enumeration of the reform movement's triumphs over the "evils" of party politics. case studies.15 As yet, however, no case study has been undertaken which analyzes a nonpartisan political organization in one of our fast growing suburban centers. Yet, since a significant portion of the United States electorate has moved to such areas and apparently taken with them the middle class American's desire for nonpartisan local government, it appears appropriate to focus this study on a local, nonpartisan, political party -- The Arlingtonians For A Better County. 15See‘Melvin A. Harder, Nonpartisan Elections: A_§Qlitical Illusion, Eagleton Foundation Case Studies in Practical Politics, New York: Henry Holt, 1958), a case study describing the organ- izing of a local political party in a mid-western city. Ralph A. Straetz, PR Politic§_In Cincinnati (New York: New Yerk University Press, 1958), while primarily an account of the effect of prOportional representation on the Charter Party move- ment in Cincinnati, provides a good description of the organi- zation itself. Frank C. Abbott, "The Cambridge City Manager", Public.Administration and Polic Develo ment: A Case Bo k, Harold Stein (ed.) (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1952), although intended primarily as a study of the city manager plan in Hartford, Connecticut, this case study furnishes an excellent summary of the organization of a local political party, the Cambridge Civic Association. Eugene C. Lee, The Politics of NOnpartisanship: A Study of California Cit Elections, (Berkeley and Los Angeles: university of California Press, 1960) is a survey of California’s nonpartisan elections based on a survey of election returns and other published data on the state's cities combined with a survey of selected local political leaders and city officials and personal interviews with a smaller sample of these officers. The book attempts to generalize from this data about all of California's nonparti- san cities with no detailed study of any single city. CHAPTER.II THE SETTING The setting for this case study is Arlington County, Virginia, an area, which like most of the towns and counties surrounding America's giant cities, has experienced tremendous growth since 1940. It is part of the washington, D. C. metro- politan area, which includes two counties in southern Maryland as well as the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church and Fairfax County in Virginia. The County is located on the southern bank of the Potomac River Opposite the District of Columbia. It comprises an area of only 25.5 square miles but had a 1950 pOpulation of 135,000. Thus, while it is the smallest county in area in Virginia, it is the largest in papulation.1 Ironically, Arlington once was part of the original District of Columbiabut, along with the town of Alexandria, it was returned to the State of Virginia by an Act of Congress in 1848. At that time it was believed the land.would never 1U. 8. Bureau of the Census, 1950 Census of Pogulatign, II, Part 46, "Virginia,“ p. 29. 9 10 be needed for the eXpansion of the capital city and Congress gave way to the pressure from the residents of Alexandria who wished to become part of Virginia again. It was initially known as Alexandria County and the county seat was located in the city of Alexandria. In 1852 Alexandria became an inde- pendent city separate from the County, and in 1920 the county's name was changed to Arlington in order to avoid confusion with the neighboring city.2 It is probably impossible to find the typical American suburb, and Arlington, like any other such community, is unique in some reapects but typical of modern suburbia in others. Since Arlington is adjacent to the District of Columbia, it is hardly surprising that it is primarily a residential . community of predominantly professional and business peeple who commute to the District of Columbia or who work in the large government installations in Arlington. Over one-half of the county's labor force is employed by the Federal govern- ment. The remainder are either employed in business, research, or light industry which has been attracted to the area by the proximity of the Federal government or they are business and professional people serving the local pOpulation.3 2Dorothy E. Lee, A Histogy of Arlington County Virginia (Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press, 1946), pp. 28-58. 3U. S. Bureau of Census, II, Part 46, p. 29. 11 Only a few small light industries are located in Arlington and its main economic enterprize consists of the large govern- ment installations located there. By far its greatest single activity is the United States Department of Defense which occupies the giant Pentagon Building in which over 30,000 persons are employed. Other large Federal installations loca- ted in Arlington include the Navy Department Annex, Fort Meyer, Arlington Hall Military Reservation, and the washington National Airport. In 1960 these Federal properties constituted eighteen percent of the total land area of the county.4 Since the preperty was owned by the Federal government it produced no property tax revenue for the county. Pre-World war II Arlington In 1930‘Arlington County was still a quiet, semi-rural area with the social and economic patterns of the rural South. What urban developmenthad taken place was largely confined to the neighboring city of Alexandria. The 1930 pOpulation of Arlington was only 26,615. It was made up chiefly of large landowners, some small truck farmers, and a few country merchants at some of the crossroads. A.number of summer homes or second homes for wealthy families from the District of Columbia were located in the County. «Arlington County, Office of the County Manager, Handbook on Count Government Or anization, 1960, p. 1. 12 In the late 1920's and early 1930's a few exclusive housing develOpments, restricted to well to do families, were established along some of the main roads. Some modest indi- vidual homes had been constructed in the central and southern area of the County near the Potomac River. The County still, however, consisted chiefly of small pOpulation clusters con— nected by a secondary road network; and it was not until 1935 that a systematic method of naming and numbering streets was adopted.5 Arlington's growth during the decade of the 1930's was unique. It attained the distinction of being the fastest growing county in the U. S. with an increase of approximately 30,000 persons from the 1930 population of 26,615 to a 1940 pOpulation of 57,000. While this growth appears nominal when compared to that of the last two decades, it was phenomenal in a period when most metropolitan areas suffered a slight decline in pOpulation due to the economic depression which limited Opportunities in those areas. This, however, was not true in washington, D. C. as the increased anti-depression activities of the Federal government brought many additional Federal employees to the city, and they began to Spill over into the areas outside of the District of 5Lee, 09, cit., pp. 28-58 and Eleanore L. Templeman, Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County (Privately published by the author, 1959), p. 166. 13 Columbia. Between 1935 and 1940 the Colonial Village and the Buckingham Community garden apartments were completed. These were, at the time, the largest develOpments of their kind in the world and they marked the beginning of the truly great population explosion in Arlington.6 Although by 1940 the social and economic structure of the County had begun to undergo a drastic change, the political impact of these new forces was not yet felt at the key decision making points in the County government. Before the new resi- dents could coalesce into viable groups and make their influence felt, official washington was preoccupied with the frenzied activity of WOrld War II and, for the moment, local problems were ignored. An explanation Of the pre-World war II political structure of the County and its relation to the State government is essential to understand why the social and economic changes in Arlington during the late 1930's, were not duplicated by similar political change, and to eXplain the basic causes of the political struggle which followed the war. In 1940 Arlington, like the vast majority of the counties in the State of Virginia, was controlled by the conservative political organization of Senator Harry F. Byrd. Symptomatic 6Templeman, o cit., p. 86. 14 of the one party control in the County during this period was the fact that no Republican primary was ever held to nom- inate candidates for county Offices. Until the post-war nonpartisan revolt the Democrats had held unanimous control of the County Board,7 and easily won the other County elective offices. There was virtually no Republican organization in the County and as one local conservative Democratic leader remarked; "When I moved to Arlington I was a conservative Republican but I could find no Republican organization. I was a Republican who felt the Byrd Democrats were the way to get things done that I felt needed to be done in Arlington.” The conservative nature of the Byrd organization thus made formation of an active Republican organization an extremely difficult task. As V. 0. Key has noted: ”The dilemma, of course, is that by all rules of rationality and consistency, which have little application in politics, the Senator and his chief associates ought to be Republicans . . ."8 The organization leaders in Arlington were predominently Older peOple representing Old line families with roots in the early history of the County. Nest of them controlled large amounts of real estate in the County and maintained an interest 7See Appendix A, p. 252. 8V. 0. Key, SouthenJPolitics (New York: Alfred KnOpf, 1949), p. 34. 15 in keeping real estate taxes low. Control ran from their hands to the elective officials at the court house. These positions tended to be held by members of the "Old families" many of whom had held these positions for twenty to thirty years. Their attitude toward county problems was a reflection of the organization's conservative approach to State problems, which Professor Key has observed "manifests a continuing interest in the well-being of the well-to-do" and "restraint in the exPansion of services, such as education, public health, and welfare."9 One of the key factors in maintaining organization control in Virginia is a restricted electorate.10 This has resulted not only from a lack of a competitive Republican organization but also from formal suffrage restrictions. The residence requirements are high -- one year in the State, six months in the county, and thirty days in the precinct. Even regis- tration is not simple, for State law requires that a potential voter must: ". . . make application to the registrar in his own handwriting, on a form which may be provided by the registering Official, without aid, suggestion, or memorandum, on a sheet of paper containing no written or printed data, information, uestions or words, in the presence of the registrar . . ." 91bid., p. 27. 10Ibid., p. 20. 11Arlington County, Office of the County Manager, Hand- book on County Government Organization, p. 4. 16 In addition, the voter is, not less than six months prior to the election for which he is registering, to have paid the State poll tax for three years. No record of the number of registered voters in Arlington is available for the years prior to 1948. However, an idea of the effectiveness of these restrictions can be gained from comparing the percentage of the total pOpulationvoting in presidential elections in ‘Arlington County with the percentage voting in the washington, D. C. suburban counties of MOntgomery and Prince George's in Maryland both before and after World War II. See Table I below. TABLE I PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION VOTING IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN ARLINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA AND MONTGOMERY AND PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTIES IN MARYLAND (1940 & 1952) Percentage POpulation Voting Year .Arlington MOntgomery Prince George's 1940 17.2 34.6 29.2 1952 26.9 46.6 34.8 Virginia, conservative in so many matters, has produced an electionballot dear to the heart of the early nonpartisan reformists. It is a relatively short ballot due to the election of all State Officers on odd-numbered years and the limitation of these elective officials to the governor and representatives 17 to the General Assembly. In addition, no party designation can appear beside the candidates' names which are grouped alphabetically by Office. This type of ballot may well have been a factor in aiding the establishment of a new political party invArlington, although this couldn't be tested in this study.12 Arlington, as one of the ninety-eight Virginia counties, is legally considered an administrative arm of the State government deriving its powers from the State and possessing authority to carry out such activities as may be Specifically allowed by the State Constitution or the Acts of the Virginia General Assembly. lAlthough the State has granted ever greater discretionary power to these local units of government, eSpecially the large urban counties such as Arlington, the General Assembly still retains supreme authority over such jurisdictions and has not hesitated to pass Special legisla- tion affecting the administration of Specific counties.13 The present governmental structure of Arlington is the result of such Special legislation. In 1928 an amendment 12CharlesAdrian, WA Typology For NOn-Partisan Elections,“ The western Political Quarterly, (June, 1959), p. 451. The argument is outlined in this article that the nonpartisan ballot leaves the major parties no more advantaged than any other group. 13Arlington County, Office of the County Manager, Hand- book on County Government Qrganization, p. 3. 18 to the State Constitution allowed the General Assembly to provide complete forms of County organization and government different from those previously described in the Constitution. In 1930 the General Assembly passed an Act allowing counties having a pOpulation of 500 or more per square mile or less than Sixty Square miles of "high land“ to adOpt an alternate form of government contingent upon approval by the voters of the county. Arlington was the only county in Virginia which Lcould qualify under these terms. The form of government out- lined in this Special act was a modified county manager plan.14 When the voters approved the new county manager form of government on November 4, 1930, Arlington became the first county in the United States to adopt this form of government by pOpular referendum. It is a tribute to the foresight of the County political leadership that as early as 1929 they foresaw the develOpment of the County into a large urban community which would need an urban government. TOO often such changes lag behind the factors which necessitate their establishment. ThiS‘WaS the situation which develOped in the 1940's and brought disaster to the existing political organi- zation in the county deSpite the changes of 1930. The Arlington County government is not, however, the typical 14cOde of Virginia, Title 15, Chapter 12. 19 council-manager form of government described in the model charter of the National Municipal League. Arlington is Specifically excluded by the 1930 law establishing its limited manager government from modifying its form of government to come closer to the standard council-manager form. Political control of the County by the Byrd organization is aided under the Arlington form of government which retains direct election of five key officers -- the Commonwealth's Attorney, Commissioner of Revenue, Treasurer, County Clerk, and Sheriff. Professor Key rates these five elective officers as "the chief elements in the county machine . . ." and notes that they "usually outrank the county supervisors"15 (County Board in Arlington). Even today in Arlington four of these five offices are held by persons endorsed by the Democratic organization, although none of the political eXperts inter- viewed credits them with the influence under the Arlington manager plan that Key does for Virginia counties generally. State control over these locally elected administrative officers is at least theoretically aided through the setting of their salaries and eXpenses of office by the State Board of Compensation in Richmond rather than by State law or by the local County Board. There is some doubt as to whether 15Key, 09, cit., p. 21. 20 this power is Openly used to discipline local officials.16 However, it remains as a potential weapon. Legislative powers and some key appointive powers are in the hands of a five member County Board which is elected at large for staggered terms of four years. The County Board acts as the legislative body of the county having the sole power to enactcnxfirances, to approve both the County and School Board budgets, and to set the County tax rate. It also has the power to appoint the County Manager and such other county officers not otherwise provided for by State 1aw.17 Until 1952 the County Board appointed all county government department heads upon recommendation of the County Manager. In 1952 a referendum was approved, placing this reSponsibility in the hands of the County Manager. The Board, of course, appointed the County Manager for a term of one year with the provision that if he was not to be reappointed he would be so notified sixty days prior to the eXpiration of his term. The Manager's term was changed by the 1952 referen- dum to appointment by the Board for an indefinite term, subject to removal at any time.18 Mast other county employees 16Ibid., p. 21. 17Arlington County, Office of the County Manager, Hand- book on County_Gove;nment Qrganization, p. 26. 18Ibid., p. 23. 21 were chosen under a merit system of competitive examinations. It was thus more difficult to develOp a so-called "court house gang" under Arlington County's personnel system. One of the most important figures in the State "organi- zation's" control of county governments has been the Circuit Judge, who "ties into the State organization through his election by the General Assembly". As a result the State leaders main- tain "the closest surveillance over the choice of Circuit Judges"19 His position is even more vital since the county manager system of government tends to limit the usual patronage controls which can be exercised locally by the organization. It is the Cir- cuit Judge's broad power to make key appointments in the County government which constitutes his considerable influence at the decision making level. Under State law he is responsible for appointing the Electoral Board which supervises the election machinery in the County. He also appoints the citizen member of the County Finance Board and makes temporary appointments to fill vacancies in the County Board, and for Commonwealth's Attorney, and Commissioner of Revenue. A carefully screened appointee of the organization-dominated State legislature thus controls the personnel of the Board overseeing elections and has a voice in the financial and administrative staffing of the County's governmental machinery. 19Key, Op, cit.,.pp. 21-22. 22 The most significant feature of the Circuit Judge's appointive power from the point of view of this case study, howeven,was his power to name the members of the School Trustee Electoral Board. This Board's sole function was to appoint the County School Board which in turn selected the Superintendent of Schools, adopted the school budget, and determined general county school policy. As has been pre- viously mentioned, the school budget must be approved by the County Board when it determines the final tax rate. The School Board was thus "kept out of politics," immune from pOpular control, or under the thumb of the State organization depending upon one's point of view. A 1947 act of the General Assembly allowed a referendum to be held in Arlington County on the question of direct election of the School Board. Direct election of the Arlington School Board was approved by the voters in that same year and a new School Board was elected in 1948. The 1956 session of the state legislature again changed the method of choosing Arlington School Board members by placing this power in the hands of the Arlington County Board. Another factor which has tended to aid the Byrd organi- zation's control in Arlington County is the Hatch Act which prohibits employees of the Federal government from partici- pating in the activities of any national political party. A large portion of the potentially politically active peOple 23 in Arlington can therefore take no part in the activities of the local Democratic or Republican organizations, although in areas of high Federal employment such as Arlington they may participate in campaigns for "nonpartisan" candidates. Arlington, therefore, entered a decade of extreme change with the key decision making points in the County government, especially in the field of education, insulated from the effects of the change in the dominant values in the County. The Great Post-War Change With the rapid eXpansion of the Federal govenament during World war II and the resulting growth of the metropolitan area, a tide of change swept across Arlington. Thousands of newly arrived government workers, consisting chiefly of middle income professional, civil service, and military officer families, Spilled Over from the District of Columbia and filled the giant new garden apartment developments which seemed to Spring up almost overnight on land which, only a few months before, had been pasture, corn fields, and woods. Giant bull- dozers up-rooted forests that had stood for centuries and in their place mushroomed row upon row of neat, modest, brick ramblers. The pOpulation of the County skyrocketed from 57,000 in 1940 to over 135,000 in 1950. In a period of very rapid growth for all metrOpOlitan areas, Arlington ranked as the fourteenth fastest growing county in the United States. 24 Table 2 illustrates the growth of Arlington compared with the increase of federal employment in the District of Columbia. TABLE II INCREASE IN POPULATION OF ARLINGTON COMPAREDZO WITH INCREASE OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES (CIVILIAN AND MILITARY) IN WASHINGTON, D. C.‘ 1930-1955 Arlington Per Cent Federal Employees Per Cent Year POpulation Increase in D. C. Increase 1930 26,615 83,800 1940 57,040 114 149,300 78.5 1950 135,530 137.5 271,000 83.0 1955 157,000 16.3 296,000 9.3 Many of the new arrivals came from urban areas in the northern and western parts of the United States where the social and economic values were far different from those which had been dominant in pre-war Arlington. The County rapidly became the most atypical in Virginia with the most dense pOpu- lation and with the best educated and highest average income per family in the State.21 It became increasingly difficult for Arlington to remain in step with a rural dominated State organization. 20Based on a Table found in Arlington Public Schools, The Arlin ton Sto , (Arlington, Virginia: League of Women Voters, 1957), p. 35. 21U. S.,Bureau of the Census, 1950 Census of Po ulation: Census Tract II, Tract Statistics, washington.2istrict of Columbia and.Adjacent Areap, III, 9. 25 At the end of World War II federal employment did not contract, and.Arlington, following a national trend, continued to grow. The thousands who arrived during the way years stayed and, with the national emergency past, turned their attention to the community problems around them. These peOple were not content to leave the affairs of their community in the hands of those who had dominated the local scene for over a quarter of a century. They were imbued with what Robert Wood describes as "the strong sense of community consciousness and civic reSponsibility that impels active participation in local affairs" and.were "inclined to 'care' about local affairs -- zoning regulation, recreational plans, garbage collection, school curricula, street paving -- in an eSpecially intense way."22 It was the County Schools which broughtthe major, initial reaction from the newcomers. Previous studies have documented the great concern the inhabitants of middle and upper income residential suburbs have for the public schools. Arlington appears to have been quite Similar to "Crestwood Heights" where it was Observed that "there is an emerging managerial and professional class, which clearly wishes its children educated at least to assume the positions which must eventually be vacated by the parents, if not to do somewhat better."23 22Robert C. Wood, Suburbia Its Peo le and.Their Politics, (Boston: Houghton Miff in, l , p. 15 . 23J. R. Seeley, R. A. Sim, and E. W. Loosely, Crestwood Heights, (New York: Basic Books, 1956), p. 235. 26 Thousands of automobiles jammed the wholly inadequate secondary roads and lanes; commuters complained bitterly as the time utilized in reaching their jobs mounted steadily. New home ownership brought increased attention to zoning regu- lations which could eliminate commercial develOpments and walk-up apartments being built in the midst of the brick ramblers and backyard barbecues. To some of the new residents civic planning in Arlington resembled "a dogs breakfast"24-- a confused mixture of building patterns. Mast newcomers wanted city comforts in a rural atmOSphere, as Victor Jones notes: "PeOple may move to the country but they want to live a city life. The demand for urban govern- mental services, which in most suburban areas cannot be supplied until the capital plant has been SXpanded is increasing the cost of local government very rapidly."25 This expense was an anathema to a leadership imbued with the conservative financial outlook of the local political leaders. Yet the new suburbanites did not wish to wait another twenty-five years to Obtain improved services through the pay- as-you-go, minimum services philOSOphy of the Byrd organization. A clash of these widely varying value systems was inevitable 24John C. Keats, The Crack in the Picture Window, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin CO., 195», p. 36. 25Victor Jones, "Local Government in MetrOpolitan Areas, The Future pf Cities and Urban Redevelopment, Coleman Woodbury (ed.) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953), Part IV, Chap. 3, p. 523. 27 for, while the newcomers may have varied in their concepts Of the type and extent of the improvements they wished to see, the vast majority felt something had to be done immediately. The PTA and Civic Association representatives from the new areas packed the School and County Board meetings pro- testing loudly, but the local county officials and the appointed School Board could not appreciate the attitude of these new- comers. Their attitude has, perhaps, best been described by Professor Wood as follows: "These rural neighbors, far from acquiescing to the cult of Size, turn their backs on progress and resist the influences of modernity. Though they accept the homes of the organization man, they insist on retaining the legal form and the public institutions which are relics of a bygone age."26 TO one disillusioned Virginia suburbanite it seemed that "the established county machine government .5. . might have appeared to a heartless soul to have been dozing in the sun on the courthouse steps for a hundred years before Appomattox."27 The "Arlington revolution" was not long in beginning, for less than a year after the close of World War II, at a joint budget hearing before the County and School Boards, a large delegation of citizens attended to protest the conditions existing in the county schools. When one of the group's 26Wood, Op, cit., p. 9. 27Keats, Op, cit., p. 36. 28 Spokesmen arose and asked the Board members what could be done to acquire additional school facilities, he was told to obtain a petition requesting a bond issue. He turned to the protesting crowd and asked all who were willing to help him make up the petition to Sign a sheet of paper. Twenty-five persons signed the paper on the Spot and fifteen years of intense political struggle Opened in Arlington.28 Summary The preceding review of the political, social, and economic develOpment of Arlington County to the period immed- iately following WOrld war II is necessary to provide information for understanding the factors which shaped the political organizations that struggled for control of the decision making machinery of the County government in the late 1940's and 1950's. The slow urban develOpment Of the semi—rural County prior to the advent of the New Deal government in 1933 and the increasingly rapid pace of such develOpment since that time provides the demographic background for the study. The political mechanism by‘which the local wing of the conservative Byrd political organization controlled the decision making points in the County government has been 283. Alden Lillywhite, et al., "The Citizens Fight for Better Schools in Arlington," Paper prepared for the National Citizens Commission for the Public Schools, Arlington, Virginia, 1948, p. 5. 29 described. The election laws designed to restrict the suffrage to long term residents, the Compensation Board's control of the salaries of the elective county administrative officers, and the appointive powers of the local Circuit Judge have all been noted as means by which the state organization exercised this control. The politically restrictive provisions of the Hatch Act, and the Virginia type ballot ommitting party designations have also been mentioned. The effect of these factors in insulating the decision making mechanism from the effects of the vast social and economic changes which accom- panied the County's phenomenal growth from a semi-rural southern county to the cosmopolitan residential suburb of 1950 has been described. The stage is now set for an analysis of how the new suburbanites united their many local interest groups into what eventually became the most powerful political organi- zation in the county. Its successful challenge of the local conservative domination of the key decision making points in the County government will be described, and the changes it wrought on the major political parties will be noted. CHAPTER III THE INTEREST GROUP FRAME OF REFERENCE The previous chapter eXplained how a sharp conflict develOped in the political process in Arlington County {following the arrival of thousands of persons many of whom [had been raised in other areas of the country with social, economic, and political values far different from those of the county's earlier residents. The struggle by a large number of the newly arrived suburbanites, through their local interest groups, to influence the key points of deci- sion making in the County government where the disputed values are allocated, forms the general frame of reference for this study. It has been drawn largely frOm David Truman's modern restatement of Alfred Bentley's interest group theory.1 Certain necessary modifications have been made in the theoretical concepts presented by Truman in order to apply his theory to a specific case study and to meet certain criti- cisms of the interest grOUp theory of politics which the lDavid Truman, The Governmeppal Process (New York: Alfred A. KnOpf, 1958). 30 31 writer deems pertinent. This is necessary if the study is to succeed in recognizing the necessity of relating conceptions of a local party system to some general theory about political parties and thus be able to state the results of the analysis "in terms which reduce them to manageable proportions."2 The portion of Truman's theory which deals with the formation of third parties appears best fitted to meet this goal. Thus far the terms "group" and "interest group" have beenused frequently. This study accepts the general defi- nition of Truman that an interest group: ". . . refers to any group that, on the basis of one or more Shared attitudes, makes certain claims upon other groups in the society for the estab- lishment, maintenance, or enhancement of forms of behavior that are implied by the Shared attitudes."3 All types of local interest groups, however, are not pertinent to a study of the rise of a local "nonpartisan" party. This analysis of the political process in Arlington will be con- cerned with what Truman defines as "political interest groups". These arise, according to his definition, when an interest group "makes its claims through or upon any of the insti- tutions of government . . ."4 2J. Lieper Freeman, "Local Party Systems: Theoretical Considerations and.A Case Analysis," American Journallof Sociology, IXIV (NOvember, 1958), pp. 282-289. 3Truman, Op, cit., p. 33. 41bid. , p. 37. 32 In the previous chapter it was noted that semi-rural real estate and small business groups allied with the State political organization controlled the key decision making points in the county governmental structure and Obtained those advantages which dominance of their conservative values dic- tated. These then were the "elite groups" which Truman noted derive advantages from the structure and values of the society. These advantaged political interest groups obtained favorable allocations of values when their "objectives and methods were congruent with the prevailing values of the society."5 This was the case in Arlington until about 1940. Truman, however, goes on to point out that: "Since such advantages derive from the structure and values of the society, elite groups change with the changes in society. The values that give such groups their power provide a frame of reference by means of which most members of society interpret experience and anticipate the future. When experi- ence can no longer be understood in such a frame of reference, it changes, the values change, and posi- tions of the formerly privileged groups are changed."6 With the arrival in Arlington of such a large number of peOple holding values so different from those of the older residents, the dominant value frame of reference in Arlington society changed and the position of the former privileged groups also changed. 51bid., pp. 248-249. 61bid., p. 250. 33 Simple dominance of numbers, however, did not immediately provide the power for the political interest groups of the liberal newcomers by which they could obtain reallocation of the values of the community. They first had to Obtain access to those decision making points in the County governmental structure at which the values were allocated. AS Truman points out: "... power of any kind cannot be reached by a political interest group, or its leaders, without access to one or more key points of decision in the government. Access, there- fore, becomes the facilitating intermediate objective of political interest groups."7 What were the key decision points in Arlington County? Truman indicates they "may be explicitly established by the formal legal framework of the government." In Arlington these have been described as the County Board, the School Board, the five elective administrative Offices, the County Manager, and the three Judges of the Circuit Court. Truman also notes that these points may lie outside the formal structure -- in this case in the County Executive Committee of the Democratic Party, the heart of the State organization in Arlington. The various factors which blocked the access of the newcomers' political interest groups to these key points have been described in the preceding chapter. The purpose of this 7Ibid., p. 265. Pollard...“ .INN an lilalv. A,- a. a x 34 study, therefore, will be "to describe the relative ease with which various groups gain access to such points of decision and to analyze the exploitation of such access through time...."8 Definition of A Political Party The subject of this case study is a Specific type of political interest group -- a local "nonpartisan" political party. The next requirement is to develOp a working defi- nition of a local political party which will set it apart from all other groups which would fit under the definition of a political interest group as described above. J. L. Freeman describes a local party organization as any local association "which backs candidates, raises money for and conducts a cam- paign, and eSpouses a platform. . ."9 The term "association" still needs further explanation and again it is necessary to turn to Professor Truman's concept that: "It is a group, a continuing pattern of inter- action, that functions as a 'bridge' between persons in two or more institutionalized groups or subdivision thereof. The word 'tangent' is appropriate because it suggests a set of relation- ships that are in a sense peripheral to those that define the central functions of the institutionalized group. The association is a type of group that grows out of what have been called tangent relations. . . 8Ibid., p. 265. 9Freeman, op, cit., p. 283. 35 groups or subdivisions are said to be tangent to one another through the individuals who participate in both."10 Truman uses the PTA's as an example of tangent asso- ciations uniting both the family and school groups. He also sets forth as examples fraternal societies, professional associations, and pplitical parpies. He sees the need for these tangent associations emerging out of "severe or pro- longed disturbances in the eXpected relationships of individuals in similar institutionalized groups" and existing as long as they succeed "in ordering these disturbed relationships."11 How then does Truman distinguish the local political party from any other "local tangent political association"? He apparently accepts a common functional definition of a political party when he states that it is "most commonly a device for mobilizing votes, prefereably a majority of votes."12 This places primary emphasis on the concept of its use as a device by which other interest groups may gain access to governmental decision making points through the capture of elective Offices. He views the local party chiefly as a means of access, "almost devoid of ideological or policy 10Truman, Op, cit., p. 40. 111bid., p. 511. 121bid., p. 271. 36 content",13 and not as an interest group with its own set of motivating ideals. He also sees local party organizations as developing active followers who participate in party activities as an end in themselves, thus creating a self perpetuating organi- zation held together by the members'desire for power, spoils, sociability, or pure love of political manipulation. ‘ The writer believes there are more exceptions to this general rule than Professor Truman admits and that a local "nonpartisan" party such as the Arlingtonians for a Better County is a prime example. The pOpular version of the local political "machine" seems to be "Machine Politics, Chipggp yppgp,"14 Good government and reform organizations, however, usually resemble the traditional city "machines“ in structure and mpdpp Operandi and yet are held together by a common set of values which are their major raison d'etre for seeking power. This is most likely to be true when the leaders of the interest groups seeking to use the political party as the means of access to governmental decision making points also hold positions of leadership inthe party. It is virtually 131bid., p. 279. 14Reference is made here to the Old and popular account of the political organization in Chicago in the late 1920's and early 30's in Herbert F. Gosnell, Machine Politics: Chicago Made; (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937). 37 certain to occur when an interest group forms a political party solely to promote its own values. Both of these situ- ations can be illustrated in this study of the develOpment of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. One might describe this concept of political parties as being a continuum. At one extreme is the political party organization with no ideo- logical motivation, existing only as a self perpetuating group whose interest is power for its own sake and at the other extreme is the ideologically motivated interest group which is itself a political party working to promote its values through its own party mechanism. Other case studies have documented the apparent need for strong ideological motivation as being necessary before strong local political organizations can succeed outside of the major parties.15 In concluding his study of the battle for the city manager plan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Frank C. Abbott comments as follows about the possible endurance of the local political party that grew out of the "Plan B Committee" designed to Obtain the manager plan: ". . . before the New Deal, municipal program- matic parties were largely devoted to the somewhat aseptic and arid ideals of economy, honesty, and efficiency; perhaps for that very 15See Melvin A. Harder, NOn Partisan Elections: A Political Illusion? (New York: Henry Holt, 1958) and Ralph A. Straetz, PR Politics in Cincipnati (New York: New York University Press, 1958). LE... ‘o-b 38 reason they Showed little staying power . . . The Plan B Committee in Cambridge was an example of this essentially negative tradition. The endurance of its more broadly based suc- cessor, CCA, may well depend on its ability to formulate and sustain a program with positive as well as negative appeal." This, as will be shown later, is becoming a problem for the Arlingtonians for a Better County, and illustrates the need for strong ideological content to sustain such local "non- partisan” parties. Professor Truman, however, does provide a Specific definition of the local "nonpartisan" party around which the main hypothesis of this study is built. He views a local or state party organization primarily as a means of access for the various political interest groups, he also sees a local or state organization of a major party as being in competition with any of the interest groups which attempt to change the behavior patterns it encompasses. The local organi- zation of a major party therefore, "faces the same internal stress on its cohesiveness and external effectiveness as do other groups." This leads him to the following conclusion con- cerning the interest groups which attempt to change the values embraced by major party organizations: 16Frank C. Abbott, "The Cambridge City Manager," Public Administration and Poligy DeveIOpment: A Case Book, Harold Stein (ed) (New York: Harcout, Brace and Co., 1952), pp. 615- 616. 39 "These (competing) rou s, of which there are dozens on the national and local scenes, pp;- formly represent elements that cannot establish or maintain adequate relationships with the major parties..."17 It is these groups which form "nonpartisan" political asso- ciations such as the Arlingtonians for a Better County. A Critique of the Truman Thesis Recently rather forceful criticisms have been levied at the interest group theory of Bentley and Truman.18 This criticism emphasizes five main weaknesses: (1) It contains a great deal of loose and inadequately defined language. (2) The interest grOUp theory is culture bound and limited, thus failing to provide a broad gauge theory capable of eXplaining political 17Truman, Op, cit., p. 281. 18See R. E. Dowling, "Pressure Group Theory: Its Methodo- logical Range," The American PgTitical Science Review, LIV (December, 1960), pp. 944-945; Oliver Garceau, ”Interest Group Theory in Political Research," Annals of the American Academy of SociaT_and PoliticaT:Science, CCCXIX (September, 1958), pp. 104-112; Myron Q. Hale, "The Cosmology of Arthur Bentley," The American Political Science Review, LIV (December, 1960), 955-961; Joseph LaPalombara, "The Utility and Limitations of Interest Group Theory in NOn-American Field Situations," 1p; JournaT of P litics, XXII (February, 1960), pp. 29-49; Stanley Rothman, "Systematic Political Theory; Observations on the Group Approach," American Political Spience Review, LIV (March, 1960), pp. 15-33. A defense of Bentley as never intending to produce a complete theoretical framework for political science but only to point the way toward one is found in Robert T. Golembiewski; "The Group Basis of Politics: NOtes on Analysis and Development," The Ameripan Political Science Review, LIV (December, 1960), pp. 962-971. (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) 40 behavior in different cultures and across time. The theory assumes multiple group member- ship by Americans without sufficient empirical evidence to support the assumption. It tends to view interest groups as rational organisms generally pursuing only their eco- nomic self interest and this is an unwarranted extension of Marxist theory. It assumes attitudes are formulated primarily by both secondary as well as primary groups, ignoring both psychological and socio-economic factors that exist independently of group interaction. It Operates as a theoretical defense of the status quo in politics by presenting essentially a self-fulfilling system with a natural aris- tocracy of dominant groups. The theory attempts to provide a completely mechanistic view of political science on the order of Hobbe's physical law of politics with many of the same weaknesses. It Iis not the purpose of this paper to either defend or attnack the interest group theory in general. It is necessary, however, to show that, in its limited application in this 41 case study, the interest group theory of politics provides an adequate frame of reference. It is the writer's con- tention that critics of the theory admit the interest group approach has utility for the study of American political institutions. One recent critic states that this approach has "unquestionable utility" when it leads the researcher to avoid "the ubiquitious tendency to reify the groups that we observe," is valuable "as a way of conceptualizing the behavior of many individuals interacting,"19 and, ”if care- fully used, permits the orderly classification of data regarding the behavior of many control factors in the political process. . ."20 Another recognizes: ". . . one may legitimately attempt to develOp propositions dealing with regularities in the behavior of interest groups which are part of the logic of group action in a wide variety of socio-political systems. This is an area which is analytically independent of, although related to, a study of the impact of groups on the forma- tion of political attitudes. It is thus perfectly legitimate for certain purposes to describe the behavior of these actors (i.e. both groups and individuals) in analyzing political decisions, and to relate behavior to the patterns of action of a given system."21 This case study is designed to illustrate only the factors 19LaPolambara, Op, cit., p. 31. 201bid., p. 36. 21Rothman, American Pplitical Science Review, p. 30. 42 present in the rise of a local third party group in a suburban area of the United States within the framework of the portion of the interest group theory previously described. No attempt will be made to utilize the broader and more con- troversial aSpects of the theory such as whether attitudes are shaped prior to or after interest group affiliation. Neither will any cross-cultural generalizations be made. It is the writer's belief that the study can be made within the limited theoretical frame of reference deemed appropriate even by severe Bentley-Truman critics and that productive hypotheses can be derived from this carefully circumscribed area. Hypothesis The major hypothesis this study puts forward as of possible significance for the analysis of the political pro- cess in American local government is based on Truman's definition of a local "nonpartisan" party. In this definition, which was described earlier, the "nonpartisan" or third party was seen as representing groups "that cannot establish or maintain adequate relationships with the major parties."22 Such "maverick" groups are classified into two types (1) those "that have split off from one of the major party organizations because the latter have not effectively represented the 22See the quotation on page 39. 43 interests of a factional element" and (2) "groups that have emerged outside of the major parties with interests and claims which the latter cannot or do not reflect."23 In the Arlingtonians for a Better County both of these types of groups are found because the values of their members are not accepted by those who controlled the dominant major party organization. The major hypothesis may, therefore, be stated as follows: in a community which has "partisan" elections a strong "nonpartisan” political organization can arise and influence the key points of decision making in the community's formal governmental structure if a significant number of local interest groups are denied access to these decision making points through the regular "partisan" political parties' organizations. These dissident groups will take direct poli- tical action when the decisions of the community's governors appear to be inimical to the primary values of the members of the groups. Two examples would be the refusal of the local School Board to prOpose a bond issue for additional school buildings requested by the Parent Teachers Association or the decision of the County Board to allow a zoning variance for construction of a service station in a residential neigh- borhood over the Opposition of a neighborhood civic association. 23Truman, Op, cit., p. 281. Vail". 44 When such decisions arouse enough dissident groups in the locality they will unite to seize control of decision making machinery. Several minor hypotheses were developed in analyzing the ‘political process in Arlington County in support of the main hypothesis. The first of these is stated very well by a former resident of the community who observed: "Further south, in the Virginia counties adja- cent to Washington, an Open battle has been raging between old and new residents since 1940, when the growing number of federal employees Spilled over into homes across the Potomac . . . Complicated by the Special strictures of the federal statues which limit the political acti- vities of civil servants, the interest and influence of the Byrd organization, and the occasional intervention of the state judiciary, the political attitudes in this county seem nonetheless essentially determined by a resident's ETme of arrival." (Italics mine.)2 'TO support the generalization that ABC represented groups largely dominated by residents who had arrived in the county since 1940 and whose values clashed with those of the then EXisting political leadership it was found necessary to develOp the following six supporting generalizations: ¥ 24Wood, op, cit., pp. 179-180. Since Professor Wood resided in Arlington at the time of the ABC party had its beginning it is not surprising that several of the proposi- tions raised in his book resemble those professed by cOmmunity leaders interviewed in Arlington. MOst of the :inor hypotheses outlined here are similar to those eXpressed Y him. 5qu 45 (1) Prior to the organization of ABC's prede- cessor nonpartisan parties, the conservative State Democratic organization represented the dominant local party in Arlington County. (2) Mest new residents valued the traditional tenets of municipal reform and the suburban middle class emphasis on improved schools and education to a greater degree than did the old leadership.25 (3) The new residents generally represented Northern, liberal values regarding civil rights or placed the merits of public educa- tion ahead of traditional Southern values regarding segregation. Thus they found common ground.with the Negro population of Arlington in Opposition to the school segre- gation and "massive resistance" philoSOphy of most of their older neighbors. (4) The majority of newcomers valued low density zoning and protection of residential prOperties. They had chosen the suburbs "because of their children and of their search for Space," and 25Tde,, p. 188. WOod observes that "...the school Problem exaggerates whatever conflicts and disagreements already exist. Cleavages between established residents and new; commuters and stay-at-homes, young residents and old, §2dustrial and residential taXpayers are naturally intensi- ed," 46 as a result were "often antagonistic to commercial or industrial develOpment."26 Their rivals representing chiefly local business and real estate groups tended to place somewhat greater value on light industrial, commercial, and apartment develOpment for the expanded tax base needed to provide additional services. (5) The majority of new arrivals were "also likely to support public services more strenuously and to be more prepared to pay for them,"27 through increased taxes and by raising the bonded indebtedness of the county in Oppositionto the minimum services, pay—as-you-go phiIOSOphy of the local wing of the Byrd organization. Wood describes "a second pattern of relationships and influences affecting political power...in some suburbs, 'between the commuters and the stay-at-homes," pointing out that although "these groups may be indistinguishable asfar as race and religion are concerned, their place of work may ¥ 26Ibid., p. 180. 271bid., p. 180. .Aw 47 have an important effect on their political influence..."28 This is also a popular generalization among the politically knowledgable persons in Arlington where it is contended that the newcomers who dominate the ABC party are also the com- muters who work in the District of Columbia and the Pentagon. Since the main hypothesis assumes that the dissident groups in Arlington influence the key points of decision making by organizing the ABC party, it is necessary to prove the prOposition that the structure of the ABC party organi- zation provides a means by which a consensus of group values can be constructed and passed on to the ABC representatives serving in key positions. The great influx of people into Arlington was primarily the result of the eXpansion of its major "industry", the Federal government. Since most of the new arrivals who presumably work for the Federal government are excluded by the Hatch Act from participation in local "partisan" political organizations, it would appear logical to test the following proposition in this study: in a community where a majority of eligible voters come under the Hatch Act prohibition of "partisan" political activity, the formation of local "non- partisan" political parties is encouraged. The "nonpartisan" ABC party is, therefore, made up chiefly of employees of the -—‘ 28Ibid., p. 180. h \I .1: C... 1v 48 Federal government. Professor Truman's contention that "nonpartisan" or third parties often represent dissident segments of a major party leads to a Specific generalization about the nature of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. Professor Wood believes that there is a Significant overlap between the leadership of the ABC and the minority northern liberal wing of the Democratic Party in Arlington County.29 A testing of this hypothesis was found to shed some light on the controversial question raised by several scholars regarding the feasibility of nonpartisan parties and elections if peo— ple divide the same way on local issues as they do in national politics. Since there is such division it would perhaps be better to concentrate on strengthening the local national party organizations.3O Others, however, "believe that city 29Robert Wood observes that "in the washington environs... it is an organization closely identified in attitude and out- look with a national party but separately organized to over- come the minority status of its big brother in the area. In these cases nonpartisan groups parallel the earlier efforts of municipal reformers in the large cities to overthrow an established -- and in their eyes -- unpalatable party machine." Ibid., p. 154. ' 30See Charles Adrian, The western Eelitieal Querterly, (XII) p. 450; Roger H. Marz, "Voting Shifts in a Suburban Community: A Study of Migrants from Detroit" (unpublished PH.D. Dissertation, Dept. of Political Science, Michigan State University, 1960), p. 230; Robert C. Wood, Metropolis .Against Itself (New York: Committee for Economic DevelOpment, .Area DevelOpment Committee, 1959), p. 40; V. 0. Key, Amegican §§ate Politics (New York: Alfred A. KnOpf, 1956). 49 issues have little in common with state and national issues" and "city parties are the feasible approach to municipal problems."31 A final proposition, popular among many in Arlington who have studied the rise of the ABC party, is that the party represents chiefly the interests of renters who do not own property in the county, who plan to reside there only temporarily, and who have no concern for the financial sound- ness of the government. This prOposition was also tested in determining the group composition of the political movement. Summary This chapter describes application of the Bentley-Truman interest group theory as the theoretical framework for this case study. Truman's definition of a political party is described as actually appearing as a continuum with existing local party organizations of all kinds falling between the extremes of a self perpetuating party organization with no ideological motivation and the value laden interest group which itself becomes a political party. His view of the "nonpartisan" or third party as a collection of interest groups which either split off from or grow up outside of the 31See Harder, Non Partisan Electione: A Political Illusion, p. 15; Robert E. Lane, Political LTfe. Why PeOple Get Into Politics, (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1959), p. 311. 50 major parties because their values are not acceptable to these parties is used as the theoretical framework within which the ABC party is analyzed. Professor Truman lists several questions which he considers most significant in describing the changing pattern of group politics and in indicating a meaningful classifica- tion of political interest groups. These are quite useful in describing the rise of the ABC party in Arlington. They are listed below with the exact quotation from Truman's book,32 followed by a restatement of his question in a manner which makes it applicable to the Arlington situation: (1) Truman: "How do interest groups emerge? Under what circumstances do they make claims upon or through the institutions of government?" Arlington: Why did the ABC party emerge to challenge the control of the local Democratic Party organization over the formal decision making institutions of the county government? What social and economic changes in the county brought about the move of some interest groups to form the ABC? (2) Truman: "In concrete situations and overtime, what are the internal features of existing groups, the degree of cohesion they command under varying conditions, their resources?" Arlington: Has the organization structure or the group representation and influence within the ABC changed since its inception? What is the degree of cohesion among the groups com- prising the ABC? What are the main sources of ABC's strength? 32Truman, op, cit., p. 65. 51 (3) Truman: "How are the groups interrelated, either as organized groups or through the interactions of individual members?" Arlington: Through a study of the interaction of ABC members can it be determined whether the various interest groups making up the tangent political association are interrelated? Is there a relationship between ABC and other tangent politicalaSSOCiations? (4) Truman: "In what fashions do groups Operate upon the government and its sub-divisions? With what frequency and degrees of intensity? Arlipgton: To what degree does the ABC actually influence the decisions of the governmental units in Arlington County? With what frequency is this influence brought to bear? By what means is it accomplished? (5) Truman: "What are the mutations of government institutions in reSponse to group activity?" (6) Arlingpon: ‘What visible changes have occurred in the governmental institutions of Arlington County as a result of the activity of the ABC? IWnese questions should be kept in mind while reading this case study. They will be listed again in the final chapter Eind the answers will be given briefly by way of a summation. The current criticism of the interest group approach to titue study of the political process has been noted. The utility C>iE the Truman thesis as used in a limited case study such as tlkjis has been shown to meet the approval of even his severe c-‘-1:‘:1tics. The chapter concludes by presenting the major hypothesis CDfS this thesis, that strong nonpartisan political organi- zaéftions can arise and influence the key points of decision maIcing in a community's government when a significant number C’f5 local interest groups' values appear threatened by the dexcisions made and they are denied access to these decision meiking points through the machinery of the regular "partisan" 52 political organizations. In support of this several minor prOpositions were develOped which noted that the political division in Arlington tended to be largely between old and Inew residents and that their value concepts frequently differed cover schools, segregation, industrial, commercial and apart- rnent develOpment, and eXpansion of public services. Other rninor propositions were develOped including one which stated tide political division in the County also represented the cxommuters versus the stay-at-homes. The fact that federal “Markers were excluded from the major party organizations by ‘tlue Hatch Act was believed another major factor in encouraging (fleevelOpment of the ABC Party. Finally, it was noted that Cthhers believed the Party represented chiefly the interests (DIE non-prOperty owners residing in large apartment develOp- ments in the county. A description of research tools used to collect the (iéita necessary to prove or disprove the above prOpositions 61rid the methodological problems encountered may be of little j-twterest to the general reader and will not be dealt with here. It is included as Appendixes C, D, and E. The remaining <=Inapters will describe the formation of the Arlingtonians for ‘1 Better County and its growth into the dominant political <3]:ganization in the County, analyze its membership, and Clescribe its methods of operation. gun... .u .. .1“ CHAPTER IV THE POST-WAR REVOLT The story of the Arlingtonians for a Better County begins early in the year 1946. It was only a few short months following the close of World War II that the smoldering dissatisfaction with the Arlington County political situation broke into the open as the new residents of Arlington at last found time to turn their attentionto the local problems sur- rounding them. The predicted contraction of government activities did not materialize, and many former temporary residents realized they would not be leaving the area. The ner feeling of permanence stimulated a growing interest in cOmmunity problems. The inconveniences and shortages of Services which they endured during the "temporary wartime eU‘Iergency" were not those they were willing to countenance in the community which was to be their home. Frequently they found the values of those holding political power in the County were not the same as those which had predominated in the communities they had previously called home. By now the newcomers vastly outnumbered the old resi- Cwletits. A Special census taken in 1948 showed Arlington to 53 54 have a total pOpulation of 124,000 and still to be growing rapidly. Comparing these figures with the 1940 census pOpu— lation of 57,000 leaves little doubt that by 1946 most of the residents of Arlington had lived in the County less than ten years. The main concentrations of new arrivals were in the large new garden apartment develOpments of Buckingham, Fair- lington, and Arlington Village. These became centers of unrest and dissatisfaction with the policies of the County government. Other centers of strength for the local liberal Element developed in the newer single family residential develOpments. The largest of these developments was Arlington Forest, in the central part of the County, which also became a stronghOld of the new Opposition groups. After World War II the Claremont homes in the southern part of the County and other large develOpments in East Falls Church, Nottingham, and Dominion Hills in the northwest were constructed. These Precincts consistently return large ABC majorities on election day. It was in these areas of garden apartments and low down payment - high mortgage individual homes that the young couples with small children occupied. One Arlington Forest resident 1remarked to the writer that in those days -- 1946 -- "every hOuse in our block had more than one child under six years of age." The central industry of these new areas was, as 1{Obert Wood aptly describes it, "child rearing".1 One of \ 1Wood, o cit., p. 188. 55 the major topics at the mothers' neighborhood "koffee klatsch" loecame the education of the young children and the condition (of the Arlington schools. These new citizens differed from those in many of the twew suburban communities around our big industrial centers. As the bedroom area for the nation's capital, Arlington pnossessed a large pool of well-educated, young, active, organization-minded peOple to provide local political leader- STTip -- leadership outside of the Hatch Act prohibitions, of course. One of the Democratic organization leaders remarked tc> the writer that these peOple were "the original organiza- IZixon men before they wrote the book about them.“ Robert Wood liars aptly described this new suburban leadership of amature PO liticians as follows: "In place of the outright politician, the pro- fessional who works full time at his job, residents look to "wheels" to Spark civic affairs -- men and women who engage in politics as their avocation, and occasionally as their recreation. Sometimes regarded as conscientious citizens, sometimes as simply incurable extroverts finding release for their energies, the amature dabblers in public affairs Shape local policy."2 It was only natural, with the vigorous leadership \ 4 g 21bid., p. 175. Charles Adrian has also described this new political leadership as "...made up for the most part, (’13 political amatures who are in politics for a hobby or for I’lfestige, or, less frequently, for the sake of power..”P Sisrverning_Urban Amepice, p. 191. To.’ ’5 1.. 56 available, that strong and active neighborhood civic asso- ciations develOped quickly in the new areas. The new neighborhood civic associations, together with some of the older ones which came to be dominated by the newcomers, soon gained control of the Arlington Civic Federation. This organization, formed in the late 1920's, was made up of repre- sentatives from each of the neighborhood associations. By 1947 it had become one of the main County-wide groups leading the Opposition to the conservative Spending and zoning policies of the County and School Boards. The Parent Teachers Associations also began to feel the effects of the pOpulation changes in the county. Criticism of existing school policies were voiced with increasing fre- quency in the meetings at individual schools. As the individual Parent Teacher Associations held their 1946 elections Of officers most of the incoming officers were found to repre- sent the new educational values prevalent in their neighborhoods, and these new leaders were activists not content with mere talk. By late 1947 the new school leadership had captured control of the County Council of the Parent Teacher Associations, amidst charges and countercharges of "school board domination" and "political maneuvering" between the outgoing and incoming slates of officers.3 The era of the tea drinking, do nothing 3The Arlin t n Sun, February 2, 1956, p. l. 57 Parent Teacher Association had ended in Arlington. various local womens' organizations were formed and old ones assumed new reSponsibilities and changed leadership as the wives of the new organization men took over. They were usually college graduates with backgrounds similar to those of their husbands. The local chapters of the League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women, and, a strictly local group, the Organized Women Voters,became very active in promoting the drive for political change in Arlington.4 These organizations ordinarily did not endorse Specific candidates in elections. It was chiefly through extensive overlapping membership with the more politically overt groups and the social intermingling which resulted that plans and campaigns could be formulated. The formation of study groups concerned with local problems provided another indirect channel by which publicity could be circulated regarding the conditions causing dissatisfaction. There was not, of course, complete unanimity among the newcomers over the values to be allocated through the deci- sions of the School and County Boards or the School Superin- tendent and County Manager. There were disagreements within 4Ibid., p. 182. Professor Wood described women's groups as generally "falling into the categories of the 'Spenders' lwho are most conscious of the unfulfilled public needs, and ‘the 'asthetic"who are out to preserve the charm or residential quality of the suburb." 58 the various local interest groups, since some of the new suburbanites had come from areas with values similar to Arlington or were refugees from high taxes and racial inte- gration in the District of Columbia. These peOple tended to agree with the existing order and formed reinforcements with- out which there may well have been little Opposition to the new "organization men". The dominant values, however, definitely supported great changes in County policies con- cerning public services, educational facilities, Spending, and zoning and planning. Opposition to the values endorsed by the groups repre- senting the bulk of the newcomers was concentrated chiefly in several local interest groups which were controlled by the old residents and local small business and real estate enterprisers. According to liberal leaders, the apex of this conservative leadership could be found in the social groups which met at the exclusive Washington Golf and Country Club in north Arlington. Conservative leaders did not deny this but only countered with the charge that the liberals plotted to take control of the County over their coffee cups in the Department of Agriculture and Bureau of the Budget cafeterias in downtown Washington. These images of each other were relatively true as later analysis will illustrate. The Chamber of Commerce remained dominated by conserva- tive local businessmen and was generally found in opposition 59 to the policies of the new political associations. It was allied with the local real estate and apartment owner asso- ciations, through overlapping memberships and Shared values, in mounting campaigns against many of the large bond issue referendums which came before the voters between 1947 and 1959 (as well as the candidates presented by the ABC and its predecessors). A very vocal and sometimes unwelcome ally of the above groups was the Defenders of State Sovereignty, the local equivalent of the White Citizens Councils. This group repre- sented the strong sentiments of the more bitter segregationists in the County. It did not become prominent until the years following the Supreme Court's school segregation decision in 1954. The intemperate public utterances of some of its leaders were occasionally more a source of embarrassment than support for conservative candidates. Little was heard from this group after the peaceful, token integration of the Arlington schools in 1959. Behind the Opposition to the liberal groups at all times was the local wing of the conservative Byrd organization ‘which continuously dominated the Democratic County Executive Committee except for the year 1959. It usually presented candidates of its own or openly endorsed the more conservative independent candidates for the County Board. It maintained 60 an official hands Off policy, however, toward the School Board races. This undoubtedly contributed to part of the difficulty which the liberals encountered in obtaining con- trol of the County Board compared with their easy sweep of all School Board elections. The marshaling of liberal interest groups to Oppose the conservative forces in Arlington began in 1946 in two separate movements which had, however, a considerable overlap of mem- bership. The develOpment of these two groups -- one designed to capture control of the School Board and the other to gain domination of the County Board -- into a single local poli- tical party constitutes the subject dealt with in the remainder of this chapter. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement The new political association which had the broadest base of support in the community was the Citizens Committee for School Improvement (CCSI) which represented the public education values of the majority of the newcomers. The Com- mittee originally was concerned only with attempting to provide unified and effective organization of the various county interest groups to obtain access to the School Board. Part of the value system of most American public school advocates might be termed the separation of school and state. 61 This is based on the assumption that public education is a matter that Should be considered separately from all other activities of government.5 The values held regarding public education are among the most important and pOpular in modern sxaburbia.6 The obvious need for improvements in the Arlington public school plant, combined with these strongly held suburban values on education, attracted many conservatives and staunch followers of the major parties to CCSI ranks. The difficulty of keeping the schools out of "politics" was to become evident later and a decision would be made to campaign for other county offices which would have an adverse affect on the internal cohesion of the group. For the present, however, an over- Whelming majority of Arlingtonians wanted changes in their school system. The Committee for School Improvement grew out of a reso- lutton by the Kate Walter Barret School Parent Teachers Asso- ciation requesting School Board support for the following four point program: 5Thomas H. Eliot, "Toward an Understanding of Public School Politics," American Political Science Review, LIII (December, 1959), p. 1035. This article describes the importance of this Value and the role of the professional educator in promoting it. 61bid., p. 1036 and Wood, op, cit., p. 188. 62 (1) Reduction of the teacher-pupil ratio through the eXpansion of the teaching staff, (2) Provision of a more definite teacher salary scale, (3) Provision of single shift classes for lst and 2nd grade, and (4) Establishment of a kindergarten program. The president of the Kate Walter Barret Parent Teachers Axsasociation circulated to all other Parent Teachers Asso- czimations in the County this list attached to a letter requesting £1].1 interested persons to attend the joint budget hearing of tztie County and School Boards early in May 1946. This led to tztue fateful meeting described at the end of Chapter II at xvtjich the bond issue referendum petition was circulated and time first twenty-five signatures garnered on the Spot. With tflne twenty-five signees as the nucleus, a meeting was called cnwiMay 8, 1946, at which the Citizens Committee was organized. 'The organization was a formal one with a slate of officers, Eighteen standing committees, regular monthly meetings, and one dollar per year dues. From this small beginning the organization grew rapidly to a paid membership of approxi- mately 1,500 by November 1947.7 k 7Lillywhite, op_. cit., p. 5. 63 It is important to note that the origin of this movement was in the Kate Walter Barret School Parent Teachers Asso- ciation. This Association represented the parents of the school which served chiefly the Buckingham Apartments and Ikirlington Forest subdivision. Both of these areas have been {aireviously described as those completed just before WOrld Dqéir II; thus, the parents involved were almost all persons vat1o had moved to Arlington since 1940. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement had two nnéijor goals -- first, to gain control of the School Board 53c: it would eXpress the new suburban values toward public eeciucation and, second, to obtain immediately approval by referendum of a $3,250,000 bond issue to allow eXpansion of the overcrowded school plant. Obtaining the one thousand signatures required to have the bond issue placed on the tuallot proved a simple task. ‘With a political interest group concentrating its efforts on this task in such fertile ground as Arlington County, five thousand signatures were obtained in less than one month. Their success led the leaders of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement to Press the School Board for prompt action to place the bond issue referendum before the County's voters in the November, 1946 election. The School Board, however, dragged its feet, finally setting the date of the Special election for May 27, 64 1947. Then the School Board and County Board went many steps further. Instead of the $3,250,000 bond issue proposed by the petitioners, they placed an $11,000,000 bond issue on the ballot - $6,000,000 for schools and $5,000,000 for general County improvements -- and divided the school bonds into four separate categories each of which had to be approved separately. If the newcomers wanted to Spend money, the Boards appeared to say, here was their chance all at once. The Citizens Com— mittee for School Improvement spokesmen cried that the action of the County and School Boards was a deliberate attempt to kill the bond issue by making it so large it was bound to be defeated and by further confusing the voter by splitting the school bond issues in such a manner that if not all were de- feated, most of them would be. It appeared more necessary than ever to wage a vigorous fight to gain the control of the School Board if anything was to be done. Just prior to the formation of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement, an attempt had been made by a number of Parent Teacher Associations to have a more liberal candidate appointed to the School Board. A delegation had presented the name of a prominent clergyman to the School Trustees Electoral Board but the Electoral Board had named the conser- vative incumbent to another term. The Citizens Committee leaders decided this approach would be useless considering the composition of the School Trustee Electoral Board, so 65 they moved to change the membership of the latter. A care- fully selecteddelegation representing very moderate views and consisting in part of some young, well-known Democrats approached the Circuit Court Judge to urge appointment of candidates endorsed by the Citizens Committee for School Improvement to the School Electoral Trustee Board. Fifteen names were presented to the Judge as qualified to assume the three posts on the Trustee Board. After listening to the arguments of the delegation the Judge appointed one of the fifteen to the post and two conservatives not on the dele- gation's list of acceptable candidates. When the new School Electoral Trustee Board met to fill two vacancies on the School Board it again passed over the candidates supported by the Citizens Committee for School Improvement. A small group of Committee members then met quietly with some of the leaders of the local State political organization, but the political leaders refused to bring any pressure to bear on the Judge or school trustees involved. Perhaps this was due to a reluctance to interfere Openly with school matters which were "kept out of politics" through appointment by the State General Assembly's hand picked judicial appointee, or perhaps the organization leaders were simply out of sympathy with the values of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement. More than likely it was a combination of both factors. 66 Rebuffed at every turn within the existing legal structure, the leaders of the Committee made a move of sheer deSperation. They decided to approach the Arlington legislative delegation to the General Assembly and request its aid in obtaining an amendment to the existing legislation to change the method of selecting School Board members in Arlington to either appoint- ' ment by the County Board or direct election. This move received endorsement from all factions in the County, including the legislative delegation, the organization dominated County 1 Board and the Circuit Judge. It cannot be determined how much of the conservative support was the result of the know- ledge that the General Assembly had previously rejected attempts by southern counties (whose standing with the State organi- zation was much higher) to change the requirements for selection of school board members in their areas. To the surprise of all involved, however, the General Assembly allowed Arlington to be the first and only county in Virginia to hold a referendum on changing the method of selecting its School Board. The Circuit Judge immediately set the date of the School Board referendum as May 27, 1947 -- the same time as the crucial bond issue referendum. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement now launched an all out drive to win both the bond issue and the key school decision making posts. A large campaign was organized to 67 reach all voters -- research groups, teams of Speakers, mail- outs, sound trucks, and door to door canvassing teams were all used by the new organization. Conservative groups, meanwhile, formed a political association to fight the two referendums. This organization was named the Greater Arlington Association (GAP) and included on its roster a number of Chamber of Commerce leaders, local real estate men, old line conservatives from the Democratic organization, and some of the County's few well-known Republi- cans (one of whom was its president). The local leaders of the Byrd organization, however, refused to enter into the school controversy, and the prominent names in the organization did not appear on either side. Although few in numbers, the Greater Arlington Association was sufficiently well financed to hire a full time secretary, obtain some radio coverage, and produce four brochures to be mailed out two weeks prior to the election calling for more study of the issues to be voted on. Both sides could take some satisfaction from the results, although the liberal group undoubtedly gained the most. The result of the School Board referendum was an overwhelming approval of direct election of the Board members, which now Opened the door for control by the liberals of all the key decision making points in the administration of the County schools. If they could win the School Board election in the 68 fall they would also be able to replace the Superintendent of Schools with someone more sympathetic to the educational values of the liberals. The outcome of the vote on the bond issue could probably be counted as a partial victory for the conservatives, as the only portion of the entire proposal which passed was $1,776,000 for additional elementary school facilities. The other prOposals were defeated by small majorities. The real key to the future, however, lay in the Opportunity the liberals now had to control some of the key decision making points in the County. The all important goal for the Citizens Committee for School Improvement and its allies now was to win the School Board election in Nbvember of 1947 against the forces unified under the Greater Arlington Association. The leaders recog- nized the importance of uniting the various local interest groups into a single "all out" effort. One of these leaders eXpressed it to the writer this way: "Our next big effort involved organizing support of many county groups favoring good schools so they would not kill off the movement by working at cross purposes." What followed was the calling of a county wide School Board meinating Convention. This provides an excellent illustration of the recognition of the role of political interest groups in influencing control of school politics. Through the initiative of the Citizens Committee for School 69 Improvement, five county wide groups were brought together as a Planning Council to arrange a nominating convention to choose candidates for a School Board which would be assured of the backing of most organized interest groups in the County. The Planning group consisted of five representatives from each of the following: the Arlington Civic Federation, the Citi- zens Committee for School Improvement, the Better Government League (the political association which was Sponsoring liberal candidates for the County Board), the Council of Negro Organi- zations, and the Organized Women Voters. The League of WOmen voters sent no official delegates, but many of its officers were represented through their designation as delegates from one of the other organizations. Some of the early leaders of the School Board election effort credit them with being the sixth group actually represented. Noticeably lacking were representatives from the County Council of Parent Teacher Associations and the Arlington chapter of the American Asso- ciation of university WOmen. The former group was still con- trolled by the conservative faction; however, when a new set of officers was elected, its value structure changed to represent the views of the new suburbanites and it joined the Nominating Convention. The latter group, in the words of one member of the Planning Council, "were not yet convinced.we were reSpectable," active political campaigning apparently 70 bearing an odious connotation. This important group, however, also joined the movement, at a later date. The first School Board Nominating Convention was called for the evenings of August 7 and 9, 1947. Fifty-one local or county wide organizations sent representatives to choose five candidates to run in the NOvember election. The Planning Council had obtained the consent of twenty-three candidates to appear before the Convention as candidates for the nomi- nations to the School Board.8 After ballots had been taken, five convention candidates were chosen. A campaign organi- zation modeled after the one established in the Spring to campaign successfully for the direct election referendum was organized by the Citizens Committee for School Improvement and its allied organizations. With the support of scores of neighborhood and countyawide groups the campaign organization 'worked hard in every neighborhood. The results of the NOvember, 1947 School Board election Showed the wisdom Of the carefully planned mobilization of asuany interest groups as possible behind the candidates. They won an overwhelming victory, capturing all five of the School Board seats over six Opponents, including four of the incumbents. The weakest Convention candidate led his nearest Opponent by over 2000 vOtes. The 8Lillywhite, op, cit., p. 7. HEMP!” N... to .4 71 Greater Arlington Association had supported three Of the incumbents and two other independent candidates to no avail. The victory of the Convention candidates was so complete the Opposition was demoralized. The local Democratic organization continued to stay out of the School Board elections and as a result no political association arose to challenge Convention candidates until 1953. The Convention system had provided a successful formula for organizing all groups in the County behind the school improvement movement and tended to set the pattern for later attempts to capture the County Board. Since the Convention procedures remained virtually unchanged through 1955, the following statement to all interested groups in the county by the Interim Committee of the 1954 Convention provides an excellent description of its Operations. "The CONVENTIONS regularly have been com- posed of 2 to 15 delegates from each participating organization, depending upon the size of its member- ship, plus the members Of the Planning Council.... "...This system for the selection of school board candidates has been used with success not only in Arlington but in such cities as Indiana- polis (Ind.), Great Neck (N. Y.), and La Grange (111.). "The CONVENTION first elects its Officers and adOpts rules of procedure. All delegates . . . are given factual biographical statements about each potential candidate. Each Of them is intro- duced . . . and then addresses the CONVENTION about education in Arlington. After the delegates have 72 had a chance to hear each potential candidate they vote by secret ballot for the persons of their choice. Those candidatesselected in this manner . . . then file their intention to run for the School Board with the proper County officials. The others, by agreement, refrain from seeking election to the School Board in the pending election. "The work of the CONVENTION ends with the selection of candidates, after which the PLANNING COUNCIL and CONVENTION both disband. The offi- cers and committee chairmen of the CONVENTION become the Interim Committee reSponsible for calling the next PLANNING COUNCIL. "Participation in the PLANNING COUNCIL or CONVENTION does Eg£_commit any Organization or any individual delegate to support the candidacy of any CONVENTION nominee. All organizationsand individuals are entirely free to support any candidate -- or no candidate, if that is their choice."9 In this manner the School Board Convention was made a con- tinuing organization held together by the Interim Committee and the Citizens Committee for School Improvement until the Spring prior to a School Board election. Some idea of the interest group support it engendered can be understood by a summary Of groups attending the 1955 Convention. It was reported in the local neWSpaper that the Convention com- prised thirty-seven individual school Parent Teachers ASSO- ciations, twenty-three Civic Associations, seven County-wide organizations, five pre-school groups, and four women's clubs. _—‘ +— 9A mimeographed statement issued by the Interim Committee, designated by the 1955 Convention on School Board Candidates, FEbruary, 1955. 73 Over Six hundred delegates attended representing these seventy-six county organizations.10 Failing in the election arena, the Opposition groups turned to a new strategy. An attempt was made to block the new candidates from taking their positions on the School Board through court action designed to test the constitu- tionality of the State Legislature's action in allowing a referendum on direct election of the School Board. The newly elected Board members were allowed to take their seats in January, 1948, but their authority was in doubt until October Of that year when the State Supreme Court declared the State Legislature's action constitutional. A third line of defense was still Open to those Opposed 'to heavy school eXpenditures. This defense lay in the con- eservative majority which still controlled the County Board ciespite the election of the liberal independent candidates leacked by the Better Government League in the 1946 and 1947 Galections. The County Board was required to approve all 5$Chool Board budgets in determining the total tax rate for time County. It previously had been accepted practice for time County Board simply to set a tax rate that would cover tlie budget submitted by the School Board. .At the 1948 x 10The Daily Sun (Arlington, Virginia), June 9, 1955, p. l. 74 budget hearings the County Board took the unprecedented action of approving a lump sum appropriation for the schools instead of simply setting the tax rate to cover the budget furnished by the newly elected liberal School Board. The County Board's action had the effect of cutting the recom- mended school budget by about $200,000, thus eliminating most of the features the new School Board members had 'advocated in their campaign. Up to this time the Citizens Committee for School Improve- ment had been reluctant to enter what was termed "political“ campaigns for the County Board. The general community values toward school problems called for what has previously been referred to as a separation Of school and state. The group ‘waS now faced with the fact that satisfactory allocation Of {public school values involved.politics, not only in the ILimited Sphere in which it had been practiced, but in a much Voider Spectrum of local and even state political actions. fEhe treatment Of the school budget by the County Board led tn) an eventual decision to back certain candidates in the Chdunty Board election who were sympathetic to the Citizens Chonmnttee for School Improvement's values as expressed in the s<2‘hool budget. This was a difficult decision for it not only c=Onflicted with the general value of keeping the schools out CXE "politics", but it also endangered the internal cohesion (Di the school improvement group. There was overlapping 75 membership between the members of the local Democratic organization and the school group as well as a much larger number of followers, who, while not belonging to the organi- zation of either major party, would have felt themselves torn between conflicting loyalties should the Citizens Com- mittee for School Improvement endorse a candidate of the Opposing party. For these reasons the group found it could never completely transfer its immense pOpularity in the area of public education to the other areas of the local political arena. The story of the fight by the liberal newcomers to gain Icontrol of the County Board requires returning once again 1:0 the year 1946 and following the develOpment of the other nnajor local political association in post-war Arlington -- tflme NOnpartisan "Party"-the direct ancestor Of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. The Nonpartisan MOvement Early in 1946 another political interest group was fOirmed in Arlington by a few persons who believed action had 'tc5 be taken on a wide range of County problems outside of the IPLiblic school issue, and that even school policy was dependent tllpon a favorable majority on the County Board. The first ESteps were taken largely because of the initiative of one man who organized a small group of some twenty to thirty interested 76 persons from all sections of the County into a political interest group known as the Better Government League. This group was interested in aiding the develOpment of County government policies which would conform with values of the majority Of the new residents. At the same time, a young federal employee had decided tO become a candidate for the County Board against the Demo- cratic organization's incumbent who was running for his third term. His name came to the attention of members Of the Better Government League who decided he was the appeal- ing and energetic candidate they needed to implement their {alan to do something to change the County government's poli- <:ies, and it wasagreed that the group would support his campaign. This campaign was based chiefly on the work Of a few imndividuals, primarily the colorful young candidate, who ‘aIJPeared to embody the values of the new suburban organization 'nErn, and a very energetic campaign manager, the founder and President of the Better Government League. There was no 3Ef the late 1930's and early 1940's. Its leaders had grown <3xrerconfident and the organization stagnent through the years ‘31? almost unanimous control Of county elective Offices, and 'tfiey were unaccustomed to the waging Of vigorous campaigns ftnx'these offices. The result was a half-hearted campaign ‘aégainst a candidate they viewed as an unknown newcomer with '3C> organizational support who presented no real threat. When the final returns for the 1946 County Board elections ‘Where tabulated the Byrd organization had received a stunning Lllpset.]l The unknown, Better Government League candidate won \ 11See Appendix B for a complete list of County Board ‘Election returns 1946-1960. 79 the office with fifty-six percent of vote cast. Surprised conservative leaders had run squarely into the irresistible effect of pOpulation and social change which left their old values no longer dominant in the County. In 1947 two County Board seats were at stake in the November election, along with the five School Board seats of the County's first elective School Board. For the first time the Democratic organization entered no candidate for any of these races. A confused nine man race for the County Board seats resulted. Two members of the Better Government League, who also belonged to the Citizens Committee for School Improvement, filed for the County Board contest calling themselves the NOnpartisans. The conservatives decided upon a new political association, the Greater Arling- ton Association, which could rally all the conservative votes regardless of party in the County Board race, and also fight the Citizens Committee for School Improvement and its allies in the"non-political" atmOSphere of school elections. Mbst members of the conservative Byrd organization aligned them- selves with this group along with the Chamber Of Commerce and local real estate interests. The Greater Arlington Association nominated the Democratic organization's incumbent and one <3ther individual for the two County Board seats. In addition, :five other independent candidates entered the race. I‘ll-Ii. i... , D! L! “was 80 The Better Government League still had no organization nor was any formal attempt made to organize community groups in support of its candidates. Its leaders were content to wage the same type of small scale personal campaign as in the previous year. The well organized campaign of the groups supporting the Convention slate of School Board candidates has already been described.12 The Convention candidates' managers, however, ran a completely separate campaign from that Of the County Board race. They Saw no necessity for involving the schools in regular county politics and forsaw a distinct threat to their broad association Of local interest groups Should they move into such a controversial area. The result was a wide margin of victory for all Con- vention candidates for the School Board seats. The County Board election resulted in the incumbent, supported by the Greater Arlington Association, retaining his seat while one Better Government League candidate won the second seat. The second Better Government League candidate ran a very close third and the other candidates trailed by many votes, in- cluding the second Greater Arlington Association endorsee, ‘who ran fourth. The narrowness of their partial defeat convinced the members of the Better Government League and other supporters —— 12See pp. 68-71. 81 of the liberal County Board candidates of the need for a better organization and a wider base of community support. This led to the first and only attempt the liberals made to work through the Small Republican Party organization in Arlington. The Greater Arlington Association had collapsed after its decisive defeat in the 1947 School Board contest and the groups supporting it turned to the very conservative Democratic organization candidate whose current term eXpired. The organization prepared to conduct a vigorous campaign to retain its majority on the County Board. The cutting of the new School Board's budget by an unsympathetic County Board was described earlier.13 When leaders of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement saw how their school eXpansion program could be blocked easily by an unfriendly County Board, they decided it also would be necessary to support favorable candidates for the County Board. This was not the unanimous feeling of all the group's members or of the other groups allied with it in backing Convention School Board candidates. Many Democrats could not continue their support of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement when it conflicted with their member- ship in the Democratic Party. Others held SO firmly to the 13See pages 73-74. 82 principle of "separation of school and state" that they could not work for candidates at the County Board level. Some of the groups allied with the Citizens Committee for School Improvement in School Board campaigns were prohibited by their constitutions or bylaws from entering into such obviously "political" struggles as County Board elections. DeSpite this threat to the cohesion of the Convention alli- ance the Citizens Committee for School Improvement voted to enter actively into the County Board race. The embryonic local Republican Party organization, meanwhile, had found a few aggressive young leaders in the great pOpulation sweep into the County. In addition, there were some young conservative defectors from the Democrats who were not interested in waiting their turn for nomination and election to posts in the local, state, and national government by the local wing of the Byrd organization. The new Republicans believed they were ready to challenge the Democratic control of County and Congressional Offices. To do this they needed an organization and wider support among the newcomers to Arlington. Since the School Board Convention organization and the Better Government League appeared to be the main sources of organized Opposition to the Democrats, an alliance for the 1948 campaign was prOposed by the ambi- tious young Republicans. Their proposal was accepted by leaders of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement 83 and the Better Government League, who agreed to support a young, recently arrived Republican in the 1948 County Board election. On the strength of their new alliance Republican leaders fielded a full slate of county and congressional candidates. There were some flaws in such an apparently powerful alliance of political interests which its organizers apparently failed to take into account. The Better Govern- ment League had no real organization but had depended primarily upon colorful candidates and pOpular unrest to elect its peOple to the County Board. Part Of the reason for its acceptance of the alliance was realization that better organ- ization was needed. The Republicans, therefore, received little organizational strength from that source. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement had no School Board election to bring out the maximum number of its workers to support a Republican in a "political" campaign. In addition, both the Better Government League and Citizens Committee for School Improvement usually appealed to many liberal Democrats who found it difficult to support a Republican, even one with a liberal view of County problems. The 1948 County Board election resulted in a very narrow victory for the candidate (H? the Byrd organization Over the rallied Opposition forces. This defeat convinced the leader- ship of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement of the 84 folly of risking the cohesion of the Convention political association by doing battle with the powerful Democratic organization in a field which the conservative Democratic leaders considered their own. The Nonpartisan and Better Government League leaders felt it was useless to compromise with the conservative elements which tended to dominate the Republican Party. They saw the need for a political asso- ciation of their own strong enough to organize support for their candidates precinct by precinct. In 1949 the local Democratic organization was confident of winning against what they believed was a divided Opposition. They were buoyed by their defeat of the Republican—liberal alliance and by the fact that their candidate was the incum- bent chairman of the County Board, one Of their most pOpular -vote-getters. The Republicans nominated no candidate. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement concentrated on nominating School Board candidates through the Convention alliance and avoided any direct endorsement of a County Board candidate. There was, however, considerable interest on the part of its membership in the outcome of the County Board race, as the Democratic incumbent was credited with casting the deciding vote which had cut the School Board's prOposed budget.14 —— 14The Evening Star (washington, D. C.), November 9, 1949, See. A, p. 8. 85 The Nonpartisans now sought to organize a true political association with a large membership, a nominating convention, and some precinct organizations. A suggestion was made at a Better Government League meeting that candidates for the coming election be chosen by a large convention system patterned after that used so successfully by the School Board Convention group. The system of delegates from County in- terest groups could not be used, however, for too many of these groups were prohibited from taking part in the nomi- nating of "political" candidates (School Board candidates were considered "non-political"). A joint committee of individual members, though not Official delegates, from the Arlington Civic Federation, County Council of PTA'S, Arlington branch of the American Association of University Women, the Home Protective Asso- ciation, Citizens Committee for School Improvement, and the Better Government League proposed a nominating convention patterned after the old New England town meetings with all eligible voters in the County invited to a mass meeting at which the Nonpartisan nominees would be chosen to run for the County Board.15 With the representatives of the various 15Harley M; Williams, "Arlington's Fight for Better Local Government," Special editorial from the NOrthern Virginia Free Press, November 3, 1949, p. l. 86 interest groups attending as individuals, no formal commitment was needed from these groups which would conflict with their requirements to stay out of "politics". The Open convention, termed the "Town Meeting" by its organizers, was held in June of 1949. It became the stan- dard means of nominating all candidates for the County Board who ran under Nonpartisan auSpices and later those who ran as candidates of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. The Operation of the "Town Meeting" or Open convention system of nominating candidates will be eXplained in detail in the next chapter. At this June, 1949 session the Town Meeting nominated the President of the Civic Federation, who was also a Federal government employee, as the Nonpartisan candidate. The first formal precinct organizations of the Nonparti- sans were Organized in this campaign, built on the door-to- door canvassing techniques used in the successful campaigns Of the School Board Convention candidates. The strongest precinct organizations appeared in the most fertil ground, the new home-apartment areas, eSpecially in Fairlington, the County's largest precinct. This precinct consisted entirely of garden apartments built during WOrld‘War II to house the increasing number of Federal employees and their families. In 1949 it was not restricted to Federal employees but they constituted a very large proportion of its pOpulation. It has since been divided into three smaller precincts -- 87 Fairlington, Abingdon, and Claremont —- which are still among the strongest for the Arlingtonians for a Better County. The leaders in the Fairlington precinct organization met and became acquainted through their memberships in a very active Parent Teachers Association and the Fairlington Civic Association, plus a temporary group organized to fight the lifting of rent controls in 1948, The Citizens Committee to Resist Removing Rent Control. The core of some thirty families who organized the precinct grew out of associations as active members Of these organizations. The pattern Of precinct organization develOped in Fairlington has been fol- lowed in designing what is now the efficient precinct organization of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. The returns from the 1949 County Board race proved a rude shock to the Democratic organization as their candidate lost to the Nonpartisan candidate by over one thousand votes out of thirteen thousand cast. The value of a strong precinct organization was Shown in the returns from Fairlington pre- cinct. A local neWSpaper commented that: "Mr. Cox won by a margin of 1010 votes, gaining a third of his plurality in the Fairlington Precinct....the largest given him in any of the county's 27 precincts.... As if further to clinch its anti-Byrd machine standing in the public eye, the Fairlington precinct, which normally is considered Demo- cratic above the local level, also gave the Republican candidate for Governor, Walter Johnson, a majority of forty-six votes.... 88 This was interpreted in political circles purely as a protest vote.16 The School Board Convention candidates also won by running against other Convention candidates nominated to give the voters a choice. The School Board race did serve to mobilize the Convention's campaign organization which was Of some help to the Nonpartisans. Although officially maintaining a "hands-off" policy toward the County Board campaign, the interest of the school improvement forces in insuring the victory of the Nonpartisans can be understood from the following post-election remarks of the Chairman of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement: "I am .... gratified with the resounding vote of confidence given the School Board convention nominees ..,. and also with the election of the Town Maeting candidate, Robert W. Cox, who has .Shown a definite diSposition to work closely with the School Board in planning Arlington's community and school programs...."17 In just three years the liberal newcomers to Arlington County had succeeded in develOping strong nonpartisan poli- tical organizations which had gained control of the major decision making points in the county government. The new political organization blossomed into full strength in 1950 and the Town Meeting nominated the very pOpular incumbent who had been elected in the first upset of the Democratic machine in 1946. There was only token 16Northern Virginia Free Press, November 10, 1949, p. l. 17The Arlington Daily Sun, November 10, 1949, p. 1. 89 opposition and without engaging in a vigorous campaign the Nonpartisan incumbent won by the largest majority any liberal candidate has every assembled. He was aided in compiling this large majority by the School Board Convention forces who were smarting from an earlier defeat of a school bond issue. They turned out in full force to campaign success- fully for another bond issue and, as usual, the Nonpartisans were aided by informal efforts of the friendly Convention organization. One problem which faced the Nonpartisans at the end of the 1950 campaign was to find a means of providing for a continuing organization which could function between the Town Meetings and hold a large number of the group's sup- porters together in a formal organization. To accomplish this the Citizens Council for Good Government was organized at the close of the 1950 Town Meeting. 'MOst of its member- ship overlapped with that of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement and it was closely patterned after the latter group, even to a Similar sounding name. The Citizens Council for Good Government grew rapidly until it had a membership of several hundred persons. It later provided the idea for develOping the Council Of Arlingtonians for a Better County, a similar type Of organization. The more limited Better Government League became less influential and was destined to fade out of the local scene, 90 The beginning of the year 1951 found the liberals in control of the county government with strong organizations on both the School and County Board election fronts. It appeared that they would be in power for several years, but in 1951 and 1952 several unforseen events almost struck a death blow to the Nonpartisans' organization. NOt long after the election the Nonpartisans' most popular candidate, who had just won reelection, was served with a Grand Jury presentation for acceptance of gifts from persons doing business with the County and, at the same time, a series Of unfortunate personal incidents involving the Board member came to light. In the reform oriented Spirit of residential suburbia graft and corruption were tolerated with far less enthusiasm than they had been in some of the larger city machines. Although no conviction resulted from the charges brought against the Nonpartisan County Board member, the damage had been done. A personal Split further weakened the Nonpartisans when the President of the Better Government League, who had served as campaign manager for the liberal County Board candidates in 1946 and 1947, broke with his colleagues over his refusal to SUpport the school bond issue in the 1950 campaign. In the 1951 "Town Meeting" he ran against three others -- the Nonpartisan incumbent, the Precinct Chairman from powerfhl Fairlington precinct, and the Nonpartisan 91 candidate who had been defeated in 1948 for one of two seats Open on the County Board. As a result of the charges and countercharges involved in this diSpute, the Better Government League's chairman and the incumbent County Board member lost the Nonpartisan nominations. The incumbent member of the Board, however, supported the candidates nominated by the Town Meeting, but the Chairman of the Better Government League left that organization as well as the Civic Federation, Citizens Committee for School Improvement, and the Citizens Council for Good Government. In 1951 the School Board Convention candidates were again unopposed and, although they nominated two candidates for each vacancy on the School Board, there was little enthusiasm for a heavy turnout of workers which could carry over to the Nonpartisan campaign. Eight candidates ran for the two County Board vacancies. In addition to the two NOnpartisans, two candidates filed as Republicans, two candidates were endorsed by the Democratic County Executive Committee, and there were two other independent candidates. DeSpite the scandals and divisions within the Nonpartisan camp the two Nonpartisans ran second and third in the race, while the Republican won first place with a surprisingly large majority. The Nonpartisan precinct chairman from Fairlington, a Federal employee, won the second seat on the County Board. 92 If 1951 had proved a bad year for the Nonpartisan move- ment, 1952 represented near disaster. The campaign began on a strong note with a well attended Town Meeting and the nomination of a strong candidate -- a former president of the Civic Federation who was also a member of the County Council of Parent Teachers Association, and a prominent lay leader in the Methodist Church. The Democrats and Republicans each nominated a candidate for the single County Board seat, thus apparently dividing the conservative vote. Then the former County Treasurer, who had been defeated forflreelection in 1950 by those groups Supporting the school bond issues which he had sought to block, brought Suit in the State courts to have the 1928 amendment to a 1787 Virginia law prohibiting Federal employees from holding local Offices declared unconstitutional. The amendment had made it possible for Fed- eral employees to hold County and School Board seats. On September 17, 1952, just six weeks before the County Board election, the State Supreme Court ruled that the amendment was invalid and that Federal employees must not serve on County Boards in Virginia. The Court, however, exempted School Board members from its ruling. This action suddenly wiped out the entire Nonpartisan membership of the County Board. The Circuit Judge named three individuals to the posts until January 1, 1953, and ordered a Special election to name replacements to be held at the same time as the NOvember general election. 93 Another Town Meeting was hurriedly called and three candidates were nominated for the additional seats. Not only did the NOnpartisans find they had little time to search for strong candidates, but most of their active and.we11 known supporters were prohibited from running since they were Federal employees. The conservatives then made another move. At a meeting Of conservative leaders from several different groups (gener- ally those same interest groups that had supported the Greater Arlington Association), the formation of a new political asso- ciation to run candidates against the Nonpartisans was announced. This new political association was named the Arlington Independent Movement. Prominent among the names of those sponsoring it were well-known conservatives Of both the Democratic and Republican parties, some very reSpected moderate businessmen, and some former members of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement. Among the wide range of supporters of the new groups was the former Chairman of the Better Government League and Nonpartisan leader who had been defeated for the Nonpartisan nomination for County Board the previous year. In an Open letter circu- lated by the Arlington Independent MOvement he charged that: "The 1952 Town Meetings were thoroughly stacked and manipulated by the 'progressive' education extremists of the C.C.S.I., and by apartment tenants mobilized by the Fairlington County Civic Association."18 The new political association also drew the Open support of both the Democratic and Republican organization leaders and the Organized WOmen Voters, who had left the School Board Convention coalition. The Arlington Independent Movement nominated three mod- erate conservatives for the three Board posts vacated by the Court decision. None Of the candidates had been identified with active local politics prior to their nomination. The School Board Convention candidates were again un- opposed and the Citizens Committee for School Improvement insisted on using separate campaign organizations despite sympathy for and overlapping membership with the Nonpartisans. There was no major school bond issue to bring out large numbers of their workers who might have aided the liberal cause indir- ectly. As a result of the election the Nonpartisans lost every seat on the County Board. The Republicans won the one regular seat on the County Board by Sixty-four votes, the closest County Board race in Arlington history, while the three candi- dates Of the Arlington Independent MOvement won their seats by 18Harley Williams, "Fellow Citizens", an Open letter dated October 29, 1952, circulated by the Arlington Independent MOve- ment. 95 very large margins. Flushed.with their sweeping victory in 1952, the conserva- tive coalition decided to fight the School Board Convention alliance with their Arlington Independent MOvement organization. They nominated candidates for two School Board seats as well as for the single County Board seat vacated that year. The organization, however, had lost the support Of a number of prominent moderate conservatives and the Democratic and Repub- lican Parties refused to Openly endorse the Arlington Independent MOvement nominees. The School Board Convention mobilized all possible group support in the community as it nominated two incumbent School Board members and prepared for the first real contest it had faced since 1947. The NOnpartisanS held their Town Meeting but after the 1952 debacle it was a shattered group. It was the most poorly attended Town Meeting ever held.with only about fifty-one persons at the meeting. Only two candidates presented themselves for the nomination which was won by a relatively new Fairlington resident. This tended to strengthen conservative charges that the NOnpartisans represented transient apartment residents who would bankrupt the County and then move on. The Citizens Committee for School Improvement still would not jeopardize the School Board campaign by openly supporting the NOnpartisans. The result was an overwhelming victory for 96 both Convention candidates in the School Board race but a close race for the County Board seat, with the candidates of the Arlington Independent MOvement winning by about nine hundred votes. The year 1954 Opened with new hope for the liberals as that faction of the Democratic Party in Arlington gained con- trol of the local Democratic organization and ousted the Byrd faction from control Of the Steering Committee and key Offices of the County Executive Committee. Many of the leaders of the liberal interest groups in the County believed the Demo- cratic organization would no longer be a stumbling block to their control of the County Board. They were sure the new leadership Of the Arlington Democratic organization would deliberately refrain from nominating a candidate for the County Board seat in the last election while providing the indirect support of the Democratic organization to the Nonpartisans. The former Fairlington precinct chairman and County Board member led the NOnpartisans in renewed efforts to strengthen their organization, eSpecially at the individual precinct level. The first Precinct Operations Committee was established, and instructions and campaign materials were prepared for each precinct leader and his followers. The formal organization of the precincts was a key factor in developing a strong poli- tical machine outside of the major party organizations and 97 came to be one of the prime factors in the success of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. Unfortunately for the liberals, instead of strengthening the NOnpartisanS' campaign, liberal control of the Democratic Executive Committee caused a serious Split in the liberal ranks. The victorious liberal Democratic faction wanted to run a County Board candidate under the Democratic banner. The more strict Nonpartisans were violently Opposed, either because they were government workers who, under the Hatch Act, could not actively have participated in a Democratic Party campaign, or because they firmly believed in the principals of nonparti- san politics in local government. The Town Meeting, therefore, was held as usual in June of 1954 and a well-known resident of many years standing who was also an Official of the National Education Association was nominated. It was hOped his nomination would win the support of a large number of the School Board Convention supporters. Meanwhile, after the Democratic and Republican Executive Com- mittees both announced they would hold no primaries or conven- tions for nominating County Board candidates, the liberal Democrats called a mass meeting on July 21, 1954 and nominated a candidate for the County Board. This move angered the strong Nonpartisans and also the conservative Democrats who had prepared to support the incumbent nominee Of the Arlington Independent MOvement. The conservatives charged "they had 98 been led to believe there would be no Democratic candidate."19 To make matters worse for the NOnpartisanS, the original reform candidate who had run in 1946 and 1950 threw his hat in the ring as an independent. He had resigned from the Federal service and was eligible once again for the County Board. Although he was completely discredited politically, he still maintained a sizeable following from his earlier work in the County. There were now three liberal candidates in the race against the single conservative incumbent on the County Board. The election results showed a very narrow win for the conservative candidate who led the Nonpartisan by Slightly over one hundred votes, while the liberal Democrat trailed by three thousand votes. The former NOnpartisan running as an independent was far behind. Mbst liberal leaders felt they had let a sure victory Slip from their graSp. With only one hundred votes separating the NOnpartisan from the conservative winner, the liberal Democrat had amassed over 5,500 votes in his poor showing. The liberal leaders were sure the County Board remained in conservative hands solely as a result Of liberal disagreements, and their next move required unifying the badly Split liberal groups behind one candidate. How this was accomplished is the story of the establishment of the ¥ 19The Arlington Daily Sun, October 8, 1954, p. l. 99 Arlingtonians for a Better County, the Subject of the next chapter. CHAPTER V A NEW LIBERAL COALITION In order to reach a solution which would mend the liberal Split and enable the leaders of both the Democratic and NOn- partisan factions to save face, several informal meetings were held between the leaders Of both groups early in 1955. The Democratic liberals had lost control Of the County Executive Committee after just one year in power, and the conservative Byrd faction was ready to support the opponents of the Non- partisan movement. The liberal Democrats, therefore, agreed to unite with the NOnpartisans within the framework of a completely new organization without the Nonpartisan name, but embracing the nonpartisan principle. The group set up to plan for this new political association included five members Of the liberal Democratic group, five persons identified as liberal Republicans, and five leaders of the old NOnpartisans. On March 11, 1955, a larger group was called together to plan for the creation of the new organization. It was agreed to base the new association around a planning committee Of fifty- five persons, named "The 55 for '55", of which fifteen would be Democrats, fifteen Republicans, fifteen former Nonpartisans, 100 101 and ten "outstanding citizens" with no known political affili- ation. On March 23, 1955 this planning committee met and announced that a new coalition organization named the Arling- tonians for a Better County had been formed to contest the Arlington Independent MOvement for two seats on the County Board. The planning group formally became the Council of the Arlingtonians for a Better County,l replacing the Citizens Council for Good Government which had served as the interim organization for the Nonpartisans between elections. The Council of the Arlingtonians for a Better County was initially limited to the original fifty-five Sponsors; but, in 1956 it changed its by-laws to Open the group to an unlimited number of members who were required only to be qualified voters in Arlington and to pay three dollar annual dues. The new liberal political association also announced it would continue the "Open convention" nominating method although the term Town Meeting was not used by this new group. Their convention was held in May of 1955 and two Washington busi- nessmen were nominated for the County Board seats. Both nominees were also members of the Democratic County Executive Committee's liberal faction. The campaign committee stressed the coalition aSpectS Of the new group as the campaign manager 1The group is also Officially and most commonly referred to as the ABC Council and the party as a whole usually desig- nated as the ABC. See the "By-Laws for the ABC Council," as amended in 1960, Appendix F. 102 was a former School Board Convention member and an Officer in the Citizens Committee for School Improvement; the two co-chairmen of the campaign committee were the NOnpartisan County Board candidates of the previous year and one was also a former president of the Civic Federation. The three co- chairmen of the new Council for the Arlingtonians for a Better County served as advisors. They included the former Democratic County Board member who had been defeated by the liberal inde- pendent in 1946 and who had later become the leader of the liberal Democratic faction in Arlington; a former Chairman of the Arlington Republican Executive Committee; and the current president of the Civic Federation. With the group thus staffed with officers representing some of the most potent political interest associations in the County, it was hOped the trend Of conservative wins in the County Board elections would be reversed.2 The School Board Convention groups again held a separate nominating convention with representation from an extremely large number of County interest grOUpS. The Convention nomi- nated candidates for each Of the three seats on the School Board whose terms expired in 1955. The Arlington Independent McVement had also nominated candidates for each of the three seats as the conservatives made a strong effort finally to 2The Sunday Star (Washington, D. C.), September 18, 1955, Sec. B, p. l. 103 win control of the School Board following the poor Showing in the 1953 race. It appeared that 1955 would see the usual attempt by the liberals to avoid any overt diSplay of cooperation between the groups supporting the County Board candidates and those endorsing School Board candidates. Then early in September the campaign committee Of the Convention candidates for the School Board announced that it was joining forces with the campaign committees of the Arlingtonians for a Better County to carry on a completely joint campaign for the two Offices. For the first time Since 1948 the Citizens Committee for School Improvement, the County Council of Parent Teachers Associations and other school interest groups made an Open alliance with those campaigning for the County Board. This move greatly strengthened the position of the candi- dates Of the Arlingtonians for a Better County by bringing the Open support of many interest groups who previously allowed their endorsements to be made only for the School Board candi- dates. Wasteful duplication was ended in many phases of the campaign. The precinct organizations of the two groups could be Openly combined to operate more efficiently as a single unit. Single mailouts and neWSpaper and radio announcements were used for both the County and School Board candidates resulting in great savings in campaign funds as well as effort. 104 The advantages were summed up by the President of the Arlington Civic Federation, who had played an important role in bringing about the united campaign, as follows: "To say the School Board isn't in politics is just a bunch of nonesense." . . . the combined slate will Simplify financial support and other phases of the campaign . . ."3 The major issues did not change emphasis in the campaign for County Board, but in the School Board race the question of racial integration of the public schools became the leading issue. For the first time a new and very noisy interest group entered the campaign. It was known as the Defenders of State Sovereignty, the Arlington equivalent of the White Citizens Councils of the deep South. It threw its support behind the three School Board nominees of the Arlington Independent MOvement, one of whom was listed as a member of the Defenders of State Sovereignty. The liberal and conservative candidates displayed a definite difference of Opinion over the question of racially integrating Arlington's public schools. The fol- lowing quotations from the replies of each of the six candidates to the question, "What course do you advocate in relation to the Supreme Court decision on segregation?" illustrate this difference: Arlington Independent MOvement Candidates: Candidate 1 - "I will accept and enforce the lawful 31bid., Sec. B, p. 1. 105 solution for segregation provided by Virginia's governor and Legislature." Candidate 2 - "I will support Governor Stanley in whatever means he may develop for the maintenance of the present separate but equal principle. I favor segre- gation as I feel that educational standards would suffer under integra- tion." Candidate 3 - "I feel we must support the Governor and Legislature on its policy of segre- gation." Arlingtonians for a Better County Candidates: Candidate 1 - "We should utilize such local discretion as may be permitted in carrying out State and Federal decisions,laws and regulations, so as to maintain the strongest possible public school sys- tem and to provide the best possible education for all children, regardless of race." Candidate 2 - "I advocate following the laws and regulations that will be laid down by the State of Virginia in implemen- tation of the Supreme Court decision." Candidate 3 - "we must preserve our free public schools . . . An integral part of the Commonwealth Of Virginia, Arlington County will have to comply with such legal interpretations of the Supreme Court decision as the Virginia General Assembly and the Federal Courts may hand down." A review Of these answers illustrates the distinct stands of the two groups. All the conservative candidates stressed supporting the State Of Vir inia, which was committed to a policy Of continued segregation or "massive resistance" to *— 4"Candidates Questionnaires," a paper published by the Arlington Committee for Candidates Meeting, no date. 106 Federal Court orders. Omitted from their answers is any mention of the Federal courts. The liberal candidates, on the other hand, all indicated agreement to uphold Federal Court decisions. Other issues were still a part of the School Board campaign. A leading metrOpOlitan daily summed up the issues as "questions of expenditures, report cards, fundamentals, sex education, segregation, and kindergartens."S If this school issue in suburbia "exaggerates whatever conflicts and disagreements already exist,"6 the added fuel of the integration controversy made the 1955 campaign one of the most bitter in memory of County political leaders. The effectiveness of the new liberal coalition appeared confirmed.when the final election returns were posted. The two County Board seats fell to the new coalition by fifty- nine percent of the total votes cast. The School Board candi- dates Of the Arlingtonians for a Better County also won substantial victories for all three seats, their weakest can- didate polling over 1,200 votes more than the strongest conservative candidate. The new coalition appeared unbeatable and the Official news letter of the Citizens Committee for School Improvement announced that the conservatives "cannot 5Washington Post and Times Herald, October 19, 1955, p. 44. 6Wood, 0 cit., p. 188. 107 win elections in Arlington when the friends of good govern- ment in Arlington have repeatedly demonstrated that they can organize effectively and work hard."7 To many, the School Board election issue over integration of the schools had represented the first popular test of the State's policy of massive resistance. One of Washington's large daily neWSpaperS summed up this view as follows: "Arlington also was the first testing ground for what amounted to a Virginia vote on public school segregation. In this school board test, winners are moderates who laid it on the line and campaigned on desegregation legality, prom- ising to do whatever is legal under Virginia's final segregation decision."8 The editorial writer made one serious misinterpretation of the election results, and so, apparently, did the new Arlington School Board, for on January 14, 1956, just twelve days after the new Board members Officially assumed Office, the Board announced a partial integration program. TOO late they learned that what the washington Daily News viewed as a "Virginia vote on public school segregation" was most decidedly only an Arlington vote. 7"Evaluating Victory," editorial from School Improvement, newsletter published by the Citizens Committee for School Improvement, Jan. 1956, p. 2. 8"'The County Election," editorial in The Washington Dail News, November 10, 1955, p. 6. 108 The End of the Elective School Board Ever since the U. 3. Supreme Court's decision in 1952 ordering the desegregation of the public schools, Virginia's political leaders had been searching for a means of avoiding ‘compliance with the law without destroying the State's public school system. In 1954 the Governor appointed a study com- mission to provide recommendations for the General Assembly on possible legislation which might be enacted to meet this goal. The study commission, named the Gray Commission after State Senator Garland Gray who served as its chairman, recom— mended a system of tuition grants for private schooling. This required an amendment to the State Constitution which had to be ratified by the State's voters. The State administration and the Byrd organization cam- paigned vigorously for the so-called "Gray Plan". The Arlington School Board, however, voted five to nothing against the prOposal in an advisory vote. On January 9, 1956, the voters of Arlington rejected the "Gray Plan", contrary to a majority of the rest of Virginia who approved it. The Arlington School Board followed this action with an announcement of a partial integration program, "stating that it was based on the Gray Commission program and was contingent on state policy".9 9"Arlington A National Battleground," Wgshington Post and Times Herald, February 5, 1956, Sec. E, p. 5. This article appearing in the Sunday editorial supplement of this paper pro- vides the most complete account of the background of events leading up to the passage of a bill revoking previous legisla- tion giving Arlington County the privilege Of direct election of its School Board. 109 The Arlington School Board had Several reasons for taking this drastic action. First, the Board members believed the community had given its endorsement in the election of the three liberal Board members over three avowed segregationists supported by the Defenders of State Sovereignty. Second, they believed the Gray Plan provided a legal framework within which the Board could act under a local Option section designed to make the Virginia action acceptable in Federal courts. Third, the colored school pOpulation Of Arlington amounted to only about six percent of the total. Most Of these students resided in areas surrounding two negro elementary schools and one negro high school. Thus, there would be very few negro children attending white schools even under a program of complete inte- gration. Finally, most active members of the Arlingtonians for a Better County tended to favor desegregation of the schools as an intrinsic value in itself. The news of the Arlington action fell like a thunderbolt on the State of Virginia with consequences the Arlington School Board completely failed to forsee. While the Board had been concerned with public reaction in Arlington it had either mis- interpreted the State-wide feeling, as had some of the metro- politan neWSpaperS, or it had ignored the possible effect of its action on Opinion in the rest of the State, eSpecially the reaction of the very powerful and conservative Byrd organization. When the Gray Plan had been passed by the legislature it had 110 been intended to provide a legal form which would not conflict with the Supreme Court's decision and still could maintain a maximum Of segregation in the schools of the State. It was not intended, or probably eXpected, that any Virginia county or city would ygluntarily desegregate its schools prior to legal action being brought against it. TO many of the Byrd organization leaders Arlington appeared to be a prodigal son who needed correction. As one southside Virginia delegate to the State General Assembly remarked: "Look at it this way. For years Arlington has come to us for help and we gave it to them. ‘We have been Arlington's city fathers. Then we ask a favor: Please help us with our integration problem. What does the child do? Turns us down flat."10 Another stated: "What we want is Arlington to become a Virginia city and conform with the thinking in the rest of the state." The State legislature met in special session late in January 1956 to consider additional action to meet the new threat to continued segregation in the schools of the Old Dominion. Delegate Frank.MOncure of southside Stafford County introduced a bill to revoke the legislation which had allowed Arlington to choose its School Board by direct election and return the County to the Old system of appointment of the Board by an Electoral Board chosen by the Circuit Judge. 10am... See. E, p. 5. 111 Arlington groups quickly mobilized both to support and Oppose the Mbncure Bill. The Defenders of State Sovereignty and the Arlington Independent Movement's County Board members rallied to support the Bill. The Arlington County Board voted endorsement of the MOncure Bill by a three to two vote with the conservative majority supporting the measure and the two new Board members Of the Arlingtonians for a Better County voting against it. Large delegations from the Arlington Parent Teachers Associations, the Citizens Committee for School Improve- ment, and a new state-wide organization, the Committee to Pre— serve the Public Schools, accompanied the two liberal County Board members tO Richmond, the State Capital, to plead for defeat Of the bill. The entire Arlington legislative delegation fought the measure and found valuable allies from the surrounding cities and counties in the washington suburban area. Support for the Arlingtonians was also forthcoming from the legislative dele- gations of other large urban areas who feared impending Federal court integration orders and from the mountain regions in the Western part of the State which traditionally fought the Byrd organization. The Tenth Congressional District Democratic organization leader, a State Senator from.Arlington, arranged a compromise amendment to the MOncure Bill which allowed the Arlington County Board to select the members of the School Board and allowed the incumbent members of the latter Board 112 to serve out the remainder of their terms. The General Assembly also passed a bill which removed the power of any local Offi- cial in the State to assign pupils to the public schools and placed this responsibility in the hands of a newly created board -- the State Pupil Assignment Board. Passage of the amended MOncure Bill meant a new concen- tration of power in the County Board which now had the power to control what most of the leaders in the liberal coalition conceived of as the key decision making points in the County. Through the County Board's power of appointment it controlled the School Board, the County Manager, and (through the School Board), the Superintendent Of Schools. AS a result, the County Board campaign of 1956 was one of the most bitterly fought campaigns in the history of the County. The seat at stake was a pivotal one which would give the majority of the Board seats to the winning party. Thus, with the new powers of the County Board, this Single election would determine control of most of the major decision making points in the County government. After the 1954 campaign the conservatives had regained control of the Arlington Democratic Executive Committee and they decided to refrain from Openly entering the 1956 campaign. There were only two candidates in 1956 -- one representing the liberal Arlingtonians for a Better County, and the other 113 supported by the conservative Arlington Independent MOvement. Both nominees were chosen at large gatherings of voters. The Arlingtonians for a Better County nominated the previous year's campaign manager, a college professor and former member of the School Board, at its traditional public convention attended by several hundred voters. The Arlington Independent MOvement, apparently stung by previous criticism that its candidates were chosen by a very small group of local businessmen, held its own nominating convention based upon the representation by dele- gates from the voting precincts of the county who had been chosen in "precinct caucuses". The nominee was a well known dentist Of long residence who had campaigned for the School Board as a conservative segregationist the previous year, and who had won the highest vote of any of the three conservative candidates. The school integration issue again overshadowed all others in the campaign. This question included the debate over the wisdom of having School Board members appointed by the County Board and WhO‘WaS reSponsible for the enactment of the MOncure Bill. The candidate of the Arlingtonians for a Better County charged that the Arlington Independent MOvement, allied with the Defenders of State Sovereignty, had aided in the passage Of the MOncure Bill. His conservative Opponent replied that the liberal School Board's hasty action in January calling 114 for some gradual integration in the Arlington schools had brought about the retributive action of the Virginia General Assembly. The Arlington Independent MOvement candidate further charged that the Arlingtonians for a Better County was an "integrationist" group Supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple. The conservative can- didate listed seven individuals in the ABC Council as either having belonged to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple or Of having supported that organization's suit for integration of the schools.11 The liberals emphasized the support given by the Defenders Of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties to the Arlington Independent MOvement in the previous campaign. That organization, however, withdrew its support from the conservative candidate because its spokes- men said the Arlington Independent Mbvement "tried to blame its defeat on the support of the Defenders."12 Another issue which attracted considerable attention in the 1956 campaign was a referendum measure known as the "Free- holders Act". This prOposal required all County bond issues to be subject to the approval of a majority Of the voters who are freeholders as well as a majority Of the registered Voters. 11The Daily Sun (Arlington, Virginia), November 2, 1956, p. 1. 12Ibid., October 26, 1956, p. 4. 114 for some gradual integration in the Arlington schools had brought about the retributive action of the Virginia General Assembly. The Arlington Independent Movement candidate further charged that the Arlingtonians for a Better County was an "integrationist" group supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple. The conservative can- didate listed seven individuals in the ABC Council as either having belonged to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple or of having supported that organization's suit for integration of the schools.11 The liberals emphasized the support given by the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties to the Arlington Independent MOvement in the previous campaign. That organization, however, withdrew its support from the conservative candidate because its spokes- men said the Arlington Independent MOvement "tried to blame its defeat on the support of the Defenders."12 Another issue which attracted considerable attention in the 1956 campaign was a referendum measure known as the "Free- holders Act". This prOposal required all County bond issues to be subject to the approval of a majority Of the voters who are freeholders as well as a majority of the registered Voters. 11The Daily Sun (Arlington, Virginia), NOvember 2, 1956, p. 1. 12Ibid., October 26, 1956, p. 4. 115 This measure was placed on the ballot as the result of enabling legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly at the request of the Arlington County Board. This request passed the Board by a three to one vote -- the Republican, Democratic and AIM members voting for the request while one ABC member voted against it and the other abstained. The ABC candidate took a vigorous stand in Opposition to this measure which seemed aimed at the strong ABC precincts containing primarily apartment residents. The conservative local business and real estate interests, supporting the Arlington Independent Mbve- ment promoted the "Freeholders Act" just as vigorously as the liberals Opposed it. The other usual issues involving liberal charges of a lack of planning, zoning variances granted which harmed residential prOperty, and a request for kindergartens in the public school System clashed with the conservatives claim that the ABC candidate represented fiscal irreSponsibility and the evils of "progressive" education. None of these, how- ever, could compete with the school integration problem for time and attention. The conservatives, meanwhile, had gained the support of two additional groups, the Organized WOmen Voters, which had originally backed the School Convention candidates, and a new group called the Homeowner's Federation which supported the Freeholder Act and favored lower County Spending policies. Hgfiwgoi. ‘ ‘H 116 The election resulted in a very narrow win for the conservative candidate who led his ABC Opponent by only 117 votes out of a total of 35,808 votes cast, the largest turnout of voters in the history of Arlington County. There were many attempts to determine the reason for the liberal defeat after their sweep of offices the previous year, but the very closeness of the race left the major issues still undecided. The conservatives maintained their majority on the County Board and with it the Opportunity to choose two new School Board members the following year. The leaders of the Arlingtonians for a Better County were not discouraged and were determined to renew the fight with increasing vigor the following year. The ABC Era The 1957 election marked the beginning of the high tide Of ABC strength in the Arlington government as they have won every County Board contest since that time. The election that year was largely a continuation of the 1956 fray with different candidates. The ABC convention nominated the Chairman Of the ABC Council. He was the editor of a national business maga- zine with Offices in washington and.was an ardent advocate of nonpartisan local government and the reform philOSOphy of the city manager movement. As a member of a prominent Cincinnati family he was well oriented in the Charter Party reform move- ment there. He also proved to have an exceptional platform 117 manner and was a skilled debator, attributes which critics had charged were lacking in the previous year's candidate. The Arlington Independent Movement also nominated a strong candi- date. He was a local realtor who had been active for many years in the local Democratic organization and had been one of the most pOpular vote getters in the County's legislative delegation. A Republican candidate had also filed but withdrew early in the campaign leaving the field Open to the two major independent organizations. As in 1956, the campaign proved to be extremely bitter with the school segregation question and alleged support for each side from either the National Association for the Advance- ment Of Colored PeOple or the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties. Neither of these two groups, however, endorsed either candidate. The ABC candidate pledged to vote to keep the schools Open, comply with Federal Court Orders, and attempt to influence the State legislature to return to the voters of Arlington the Opportunity to elect their School Board. The manner in which the conservative majority on the County Board had appointed a new member to the School Board came under Special criticism. Not long after the General Assembly had placed the appointment Of the School Board mem- bers in the hands Of the County Board one of the liberal incumbents died. In the process of seeking a replacement 118 the County Board had solicited the names of qualified indi- viduals from all Of the major interest groups in Arlington. A long list of candidates was prepared from names submitted by the Civic Federation, many individual school Parent Teachers Associations, the Citizens Committee for School Improvement, Chamber of Commerce, American Association Of University Women, League of Women Voters, many neighborhood civic associations, and the Homeowners Federation. The County Board on the usual three to two liberal -- conservative Split rejected several names prOposed by the two ABC members and chose a candidate who had received the endorsement of only one local interest group. The new Board member was very conservative and quite critical Of the Arlington school System. For the first time the School Board sessions were thrown into some Of the acrimon- ious controversy that had marked the County Board sessions for many years. The ABC candidate was able to charge that the wishes of almost all organized groups in the County had been overridden to get an extreme conservative on the School Board, The liberal candidate also charged a lack of civic plan- ning and favoritism in granting zoning variances at the eXpense Of residential prOperties. The numerous variances granted for establishment Of commercial enterprizes near residential prOperty in individual precincts were used as Special campaign arguments by the individual ABC precinct organizations. 1 ' ’“fl , v“m' .. 119 Just before the election it was charged that the Arlington Independent MOvement candidate, who had been in charge of the reassessment of all real estate in the County as the official appraiser, had shown favoritism to conservative prOperty owners and had overcharged the County for his work. Although no formal action was ever brought in court on these charges, they undoubtedly had some influence on the outcome Of the election. The election resulted in a decisive win for the ABC candidate and effected a reassessment by conservatives of the wisdom of continuing nonpartisan type campaigns. This factor was combined with a serious Split among conservatives over the issue of the "massive resistance" policy against school integration advocated by Senator Byrd. The extreme segrega- tionists who favored this policy were willing to see the public schools closed if necessary to prevent integration. MOSt Of the Arlington conservatives, however, were not willing to support such extreme action as they valued public education more than they did segregated schools. This group included almost all Of the major leaders in the local wing of the State Democratic organization. As a result Of these disagreements and the failure of the coalition to win the preceding election, the Arlington Independent Movement was dissolved. The 1958 election, therefore, Offered the voters of Arlington three choices. The liberal groups in the County .vnufi 4 01""; ‘ \ 120 remained united behind the ABC candidate, who was the former chairman Of the Democratic Executive Committee during the brief Span of liberal control in 1954 and 1955. The incumbent County Board member ran as an independent but received support of most Of the old.Arlington Independent MOvement Organization in pledging, like the ABC candidate, to keep the schools Open. Two other independent candidates ran for the office pledging support for the doctrine of "massive resistance" and refusing to repudiate, if not Openly to endorse, the possible closure of the public schools. At this election Arlington voters had the school closings in NOrfOlk and Front Royal, Virginia and the Spectacle in Little Rock, Arkansas as examples Of what could happen in Arlington if it chose to resist the Federal court orders which had been instituted against the School Board ordering token integration Of the schools the following February. There were also three distinct choices on the issue among the candidates. The ABC candidate advocated Obedience to the Federal court orders and pledged full support of the very powerful state wide interest group, the Citizens Committee to Preserve the Public Schools. The conservative incumbent also claimed membership in the latter organization and also pledged to keep the Arlington schools Open, even at the eXpense of some token integration. She had, however, a record Of voting support for the MOncure Bill which ,fl alkali-Ills! fl. ‘. 121 had been largely a reaction against the liberal School Board's voluntary integration plan. Those who very reluctantly would accept school integration if given no other choice except closing Of the public schools could in good conscience vote for the moderate conservative. For those in the county who adhered to the strong segregationist values represented by the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberty there were the other two candidates to support. There were, of course, other issues which undoubtedly had considerable influence on some voters. The appointment of the conservative School Board member over others with wider group support in the community was credited largely to the influence of the incumbent conservative. The usual issues of zoning favoritism, protection of residential prOperty, county Spend- ing policies, "progressive" education, and kindergartens were also brouglt up . The liberal ABC candidate won the election by the rela- tively substantial margin of 1,700 votes; however, the extreme segregationists polled over 3,500 votes even though they trailed the two more moderate candidates by a wide margin. Theoretically their vote added to those of the moderate conservative would have made the difference in the election. There is some doubt, however, whether the campaign that the moderate conservative would have had to wage to attract these votes would not have I .v z . H .Jlr ‘2)- ‘1; I": ‘ a x 122 resulted in considerable defections of more moderate segre- gationists to the liberal candidate. In any event, the election gave the Arlingtonians for a Better County a four to one majority on the County Board for the first time, and it appeared to insure their control for at least two more years, The 1959 campaign will be dealt with in detail in the following chapter where the Operation of the Arlingtonians for a Better County in carrying out a campaign will be described. It is necessary, however, to note a few of the highlights. In 1959 the liberal Democrats Opened another vigorous effort to capture control Of the Arlington Democratic Execu- tive Committee. In a letter dated July 4, 1959 a group calling themselves the "anti-machine members of the Arlington Demo- cratic Committee" addressed themselves to all "Informed Voters" who were planning to vote in the Democratic Primary on July 14, 1959. They accused the conservatives Of hiding the Committee's discussions "behind closed doors", called for Open discussions and nominations Of candidates and urged election Of an attached list Of persons running for the posts of precinct representa- tives on the Democratic Executive Committee. The letter also stated that "As long as the Hatch Act restricts participation Of government workers in national party policies, we Oppose participation by the national parties in the County Board 123 elections".l3 This appeared to be a complete reversal of the liberal Democrat's stand in their disastrous campaign of 1954. Of the fifteen signatures of Democratic Executive Com- mitteemen and Committeewomen appearing on the letter, eight were also listed as belonging to the Council Of the Arling- tonians for a Better County. Mest of the others could be identified as having actively supported ABC candidates in past campaigns. The two liberal incumbents were nominated at the ABC Convention in the spring, and this time the Democratic and Republican organizations each announced they were supporting one candidate each for the two County Board seats. The ABC candidates immediately charged collusion between the two major parties. The Democratic and Republican Spokesmen replied that no other candidates had filed for the race and that they could have done so had they desired. The Republican candidate, however, announced that he would vote for the official Demo- cratic candidate for the second Board seat and the Democratic candidate, while never officially endorsing the Republican, concentrated his campaign exclusively against the ABC incumbents. The liberals, therefore, continued their charges that the con- trolling conservative factions in each of the major parties' local organizations had moved from the Arlington Independent 13Open letter to all voters signed by fifteen members of the Arlington Democratic Executive Committee, July 4, 1959. 124 Movement to a new strategy to defeat the liberal ABC coalition. Their charges appeared well founded when on election day large posters appeared at many polling places, each one carrying pictures of both the Official Democratic and Republican candi- dates and urging their election. The school integration was no longer important as the schools had been peacefully integrated under a School Board assignment plan drawn up to satisfy both the Federal courts and the State Pupil Assignment Board at the State capital. The ABC candidates ran largely on their record of keeping the public schools Open, general completion of major school building needs, elimination of zoning variances harmful to residential prOpertieS, near completion of a master plan for future develOp- ment of the county, and the need for nonpartisan local elections. The result of the campaign was a substantial victory for both of the candidates of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. The ABC majority on the County Board remained four to one and, since the conservative incumbent's term was the next one to eXpire, the liberals seemed assured of control of the Board for at least three years. In December of 1959 the ABC majority made two appointments to the School Board, thus providing ABC control Of both the County and School Boards for the first time since 1952. The liberal leaders had every reason to be optimistic. 125 There were, howeven,a number of factors working against the internal cohesion of the liberal coalition, some of which were the direct result of their success. The completion Of a third large senior high school had virtually completed the major building needs of the County's school system; the teach- ing staff was on a definite salary schedule which ranked among the highest in the metropolitan area; only one elementary school remained on half day sessions in the first three grades; and early in 1960 the School Board approved establishment of a public school kindergarten program for the 1960-1961 school year. These accomplishments, when combined with peaceful set- tlement of the school integration controversy, left few of the burning issues which had enabled the Citizens Committee for School Improvement to recruit over a thousand angry parents for campaign work, or the Arlingtonians for a Better County to field six hundred door to door canvassers a month before election day. Membership in the Citizens Committee for School Improve- ment had fallen from a peak of over 1,100 to a paid membership of about two hundred. The Citizens Committee to Preserve the Public Schools had been abandoned and the Parent Teachers Asso- ciations proved a less fruitful recruiting ground as the school issues were settled. Zoning and civic planning remained as the major issues which could be used to rally a considerable following in a 126 mature, residential suburb like Arlington. The group support of the ABC movement tended, therefore, to change emphasis with the influence of the school groups being replaced by increased stature of the Civic Federation and neighborhood civic associations, the minority liberal faction of the Democratic Party, plus a number of government workers who enjoyed active participation in community political affairs but were prohibited from other political activity by the Hatch Act. It had become increasingly difficult to find "name" Republicans to give a truly nonpartisan flavor to the Party. During the 1959 campaign the ABC Campaign committee had attempted to prepare lists of "Democrats for Kaul and Krupsaw" (the two ABC County Board candidates) and "Republicans for Kaul and Krupsaw" to be published in the local neWSpaper. Little difficulty was eXperienced in obtaining a list of known Democrats to back the liberal candidates against their party's own nominee for the County Board, but the attempt to prepare a similar list of Republicans ended in failure. Opposed to the liberal coalition in 1960 were the regular Democratic organization, Chamber Of Commerce, Organized WOmen Voters, most real estate dealers, and the new Northern Virginia Apartment Owners Association. The increasingly active Repubican organization nominated no candidate and refrained from making any endorsements in the local County Board race. A number of prominent Republicans, chiefly local businessmen, remained .. . i _ 127 Opposed to the liberal coalition. The nonpartisan and liberal Democratic alliance had also been somewhat strained because of the State Democratic Party requirement that an oath must be taken by all candidates and County executive committee members that they had voted for all state and local Democratic candidates in the preceding election and would vote for all those running in the current campaign. Although this rule was totally impossible to enforce, it could prove very embarrassing to any Democratic organization member who had Openly supported the campaign of a candidate running in Opposition to formally endorsed Democrats. The liberal Democrats had used this rule when they controlled the county Executive Committee to embarrass the conservatives who had supported the candidate of the Arlington Independent MOvement against the endorsed Democratic liberal in the 1954 County Board race. In 1959 the tables were turned and the two ABC candidates, who were also members Of the Democratic Executive Committee, were called upon to pledge their support for the conservative Democratic nominee against their own ABC running mate. Similar pressure was brought upon the liberal minority of the Democratic Executive Committee who were Open supporters of the ABC candi- dates. A threatened purge by the conservatives was never carried out, but served its purpose in embarrassing the ABC liberals and putting an additional strain on the cohesiveness of the liberal coalition. 128 This strain was intensified when one Of the ABC County Board members who was reelected in the 1959 campaign agreed to run as the Democratic candidate for Congress in 1960 against the pOpular conservative Republican Congressman representing Virginia's Tenth Congressional District, which included Arling- ton County. Much dissatisfaction was eXpressed by some members of the ABC coalition who viewed this as a threat to their party's unity in the County Board race and as possibly causing another vacancy on the County Board SO soon after the candidate had been elected. There were no other Democratic congressional candidates, however, and the prOSpects of a united Democratic Party with no liberal -- conservative primary battle were strong inducements to make the race. The conservative Republi- can was running for a fourth term and had been the only Republican other than the County Treasurer, who had been ini- tially elected by school reform groups, to carry Arlington County. He was considered by most political leaders to hold conservative views on government Spending similar to those of Senator Byrd and was the only Republican member of the House of Representatives to Sign the "Southern Manifesto" supporting school segregation. Conservative organization Democratic leaders made no secret of the fact that his continued reelection was due in no small part to the tacit support of conservative Democrats and their failure to throw full organization support behind the liberal Democrats who Opposed him. In the previous 129 campaigns for the Republican's congressional seat the liberal Democrats had consistently managed to elect their candidate over the conservative Democrat in the party primary only to lose without full organization support in the general election. It was hOped 1960 would be different, as the conservatives put up no candidate for the primary deSpite the ABC County Board member's well—known affiliation with the liberal wing of his party. His candidacy had a detrimental effect on the ABC campaign organization. Many liberal Democrats withdrew from the organi- zation to campaign for the liberal Democrat in the congressional race. They were prevented by the Democratic Party oath from Openly supporting the ABC candidate for the County Board against any candidate endorsed by the local Democratic Executive Com- mittee. The 1960 election found two Board seats at stake when the other ABC Board member who had been reelected in 1959 was killed in a plane crash one month after being sworn in for his second term. The second seat was that held by the pOpular conservative who had won a narrow victory under the Arlington Independent MOvement's auSpiceS in the bitter 1956 campaign. The Circuit Judge appointed a "compromise" candidate to fill the uneXpired term of the deceased ABC Board member. The appointee was a self-styled "Jeffersonian Democrat" and Arling- ton banker who had supported the Arlington Independent MOvement 130 in 1952. His previous service on the Board of Zoning Appeals and his general support of the ABC stand for comprehensive community planning based on a low-density pOpulation policy with maximum protection of residential housing had won him many friends in the ABC organization. In addition he had adopted a liberal attitude toward local government Spending and supported the various school bond and county improvment bond issues. Prior to the ABC Convention in May of 1960, ABC leaders had carefully prepared the foundation for a drive to Obtain Convention endorsement of the new County Board member. It was necessary to overcome the reluctance of some ABC supporters to accept as a candidate an individual who had publically sup- ported the Arlington Independent MOvement even though this had occurred seven years earlier. Their suSpicions were further heightened by his frank admission to being a "con- servative Jeffersonian Democrat who had supported Eisenhower for President."14' Furthermore, he stated flatly that although he would accept endorsements from any political group which agreed.with his record, he would run strictly as an independent Since the panel of Circuit Judges which had appointed him had done so with the understanding that he would serve as a "com- promise" candidate. There was a considerable amount of 4— A 14The NOrthern Vir inia Sun, January 30, 1960, Section A., p. l. :H-.fl.u hullill r In. ‘ 131 discussion at ABC Executive Committee meetings, Precinct Operations Committee meetings, and at general ABC Council meetings over the question of endorsement of this candidate. At several of these meetings he appeared and was questioned by the members, but he never wavered from his original state- ments. At the ABC Convention the careful preparation for advanc- ing the candidacy of the."compromise" candidate paid off. After two of the County Board members made strong Speeches on his behalf testifying to his support of ABC "principles" and stating that a negative vote would be a personal repudiation Of their own judgement and leadership, the Convention by voice vote endorsed the candidacy of the "independent". Only a scattering of nay votes were heard from the over four hundred persons gathered in the auditorium. Both the Republican and Democratic organizations also endorsed the "independent" candidate. The Republican Spokes- man described him as one who acted "in conformity with the principles of the Republican Party" on the same evening he was endorsed by ABC leaders as a man "who thinks, acts, and votes ABC."15 The Democrats lagged behind in their endorsement but finally made him the first candidate to run for the County Board without Opposition since the days of absolute conservative 15The Northern Vir inia Sun, NOV. 28, 1960, Section A, p. 8. 132 Democratic control before World War II, The second candidate nominated by the ABC Convention was the past Chairman Of the Precinct Operations Committee who had organized this key work so successfully in two previous campaigns. He represented the type of candidate who had earned his nomination by coming up through the ranks of the organization having served as a precinct worker, precinct chairman, district chairman, and finally chairman of the Precinct Operations Committee. He was a relative newcomer to Arlington having lived in the county only Since 1954. He thus had a considerable handicap to overcome in making himself known to the electorate. The Democrats, in addition to endorsing the "independent", 'had nominated the incumbent conservative County Board member who had been elected under the Sponsorship Of the defunct Arlington Independent MOvement in the bitter campaign of 1956. The incumbent, a long-time resident who was very active in community groups, appeared to have an initial advantage over his less well-known rival. A fourth independent candidate also entered the contest, but his candidacy was never con- sidered seriously. The campaign was a quiet one with no issues that generatedtflua excitement and bitterness of earlier contests. _AS in 1959, the ABC candidate concentrated on the issues of zoning favori- tism and lack of civic planning and stressed, the need to 133 retain a community of high grade residential neighborhoods. This type Of campaign was attractive to conservative resi- dential prOperty owners, a noticeable trend in recent ABC election campaigns. This may well have accounted for the east in which a conservative businessman, who also supported school bond issues, could win the nomination of a political association regarded as dominated by liberal Democrats. The "independent" candidate did little campaigning although his name appeared jointly with both the ABC candidate and the Democratic candidate on their posters and campaign literature. He also refrained from making any endorsement of either of the other candidates. The ABC candidate worked hard, appear- ing before various community groups almost every evening, touring the large ShOpping centers on Saturdays to greet personally thousands of voters, and relying on the individual precinct organizations to make the most of local zoning irri- tations in their door to door canvass of their neighborhoods. The Democratic candidate relied on his well-known name and record of community activities and made few personal appear- ances. With a lack of exciting issues, the personal campaign' techniques Of his ABC challenger proved Successful. The liberal candidate won by a very narrow margin in the largest turnout of voters in the county's history. The large number of voters was attracted to the polls by the Presidential con- test rather than any urgent local issues. ABC leaders were 134 highly pleased with the results as it was the first time that an ABC candidate had been elected to the County Board in a Presidential election year. The members of the Arlingtonians for a Better County could now look forward to complete domination of both the County and School Boards for the first time. The terms Of the two re- maining conservative School Board members appointed when the Arlington Independent MOvement dominated the County Board were to expire in December of 1960. With appointment of ABC School Board members the chief decision making points in the govern- ment of Arlington County rested firmly in the hands of the ABC Party and it appeared impossible for them to be overturned by election for at least two years. The major values for which they had fought for so many years had been largely real— ized and final adOption of a low density master plan for the county's future develOpment remained the only unfulfilled goal. This planning value appeared completely acceptable to the majority of residents of a high income, dormitory suburb. It has been the fate of many "reform parties" to lose their core of workers and disappear once the goals which fostered their development have been achieved. Can the ABC political association continue to mobilize an active precinct organization of several hundred loyal workers for annual County Board elections? Can the organization overcome the strains that loyalty to the Democratic Party nationally and to liberal b P.HH_M"!I.'III’m V 135 Democratic state and local candidates place on the adherence of many of its close supporters? If Congress should amend the Hatch Act to allow civil service employees of the Federal government to engage in "partisan" politics on the local level, will the ABC lose most of its workers to the major parties? Or, like the Charter Party Of Cincinnati, has the organization develOped such a strong internal structure of its own that it can exist for many more years on the basis of its own organi- zation and the personal loyalties of its followers to the symbol Of nonpartianship and an appeal to Specific local neighborhood problems? The detailed analysis of the ABC organization and its membership which follows in the next two chapters is designed to shed some light upon the possible future answers to these questions. CHAPTER VI THE NONPARTISAN MACHINE The 1959 campaign of the Arlingtonians for a Better County is an excellent one to study in detail. Organization, which is so essential to a political association desiring to win elections and capture the decision making points in a government, becomes eSpecially important when there are no burning issues to arouse the rank and file of the voters and no major party contests to awaken long-held party loyalties. The 1959 election in Arlington was of this type. In a Special article entitled "Serenity Comes to Northern Virginia", con- cerning the 1959 election, the'Washingtonjgost and Times Herald summed up the situation as follows: "The thus far quiet campaign for the Arlington County Board contrasts sharply with election campaigns of other years. "Almost continuously for the past decade, the races have been boisterous, passionate efforts . . . "The ABC sought major issues and found them in schools, zoning, secret meetings, taxes. Gradu— ally . . . the group got its members on the Board. 'Last year the ABC assumed control and since then its Board members have painstakingly dried up 136 137 the issues."1 The only offices, other than two County Board seats, on the 1959 ballot in Arlington were for three seats in the House of Delegates and one seat in the Senate of the Virginia Assem- bly. The Republicans had nominated only one candidate for the House and one for the Senate and were given no chance of success. The races received scant mention in the local or metrOpOlitan press. The ABC organization was, therefore, forced to rely primarily upon the efficiency of its own organization to arouse the voters and get them to the polls to vote for its two candidates. This was eSpecially true because the Democrats and Republicans each had nominated only one candi- date for the two County Board seats. It was up to the campaign organization of the ABC group to overcome not only voter lethergy but to counteract the natural turnout of voters who would Simply vote their traditional party label. The Democrats, as usual, could rely upon the local wing Of the State organi- zation to turn out its cadres, and this had to be more than matched by the ABC machine. This election, therefore, is representative of the operation of the ABC organization at its best. An analysis Of the organization's functioning in a single 1"Serenity Comes To NOrthern Virginia, "The washington Post and Times Herald, September 27, 1959, Sec. 6, p. 2. 138 campaign is designed to illustrate several pertinent factors. It will Shed light upon the sources of strength which the ABC organization uses to win elections and maintain itself from year to year; it will examine the techniques used in applying this strength to a Specific political campaign. The analysis of the ABC Operation not only reveals how elections are won in a wealthy dormitory suburb but also how a suburban political machine brings its influence to bear on the key decision making points of the local government to allocate those values around which it is organized. It answers the questions as to what frequency this influence is brought to bear, and the reSponsive- ness Of the elected Officials to this influence. The post-mortum by the ABC Campaign Committee of its successful 1958 campaign for the County Board was held in mid-NOvember 1958, and the campaign organization of that year was dissolved. Shortly thereafter ABC Council members re— ceived a mimeographed notice urging their attendance at the December meeting of the ABC Council. This part of the ABC political association represents its permanent core which functions as the ABC party during the winter and Spring months between the annual campaigns for the County Board. Membership in the ABC Council is open to all eligible voters who in writing ascribe to the principles of the Arlingtonians for a Better County and pay an annual dues of three dollars, per person. This membership has varied between three hundred 139 and Six hundred persons. In 1959 it totaled 319 paid members. It has three general purposes which are Spelled out in its by-laws. They are (l) to advise and assist the ABC County Board members; (2) to inform the public of ABC policies, ob- ;pctives and activities; and (3) to establish a procedure for the nomination of ABC candidates for the Arlington County Board.2 The primary purpose of the December meeting was to choose a nominating committee Of five persons to propose names for all elected positions in the ABC Council for the year 1959. The Officers included a Chairman, two Vice Chairmen, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and a Treasurer, who serve for one year tenms. In addition, the nominating committee was charged.with presenting the names of ten other persons to serve as members-at-large, together with the Council officers and the ABC members Of the School and County Boards, as an Executive Committee. It is the Executive Committee which carries out the detailed decision making work of the ABC Council. It is form- ally charged.with appointing the chairmen and members of such standing committees as it deems apprOpriate and setting the times and place of meetings of the Council. The only meeting Specifically required in the by-laws is the one in January. 2The complete by-laws of the Arlingtonians for a Better County may be found in Appendix F, 140 The others are traditionally held once a month beginning in December and continuing through April when the ABC Convention is called and the large campaign organization established. The campaign organization lasts through the annual County Board election in November when it is dissolved and the ABC Council then resumes the organized functions of the group until the next Spring. The Executive Committee generally draws up the agenda for each Council meeting, hears prOposals for action such as reso- lutions regarding policy on which a member or members may wish a formal resolution and formulates them into questions for a vote by the entire Council. It also can take action on any emergency questions which require a decision before the entire Council can be called into session. Such action can, of course, be overridden by the Council at a general meeting. The problem of formulating a party stand on Specific issues other than those Of general principles has posed a continuing problem to the organization. At every ABC Council meeting the party's members serving on the School and County Boards give reports to the group on the major decisions facing the Boards and describing what action has been taken. At this time Spirited debates Often take place, the School and County Board members are criticized or commended for certain Of their actions, and occassionally a vote is taken on a resolution intended for the guidance of Board members. From time to time Special 141 committees have been formed to investigate improved means of communication between rank and file supporters of ABC and the members of the County and School Boards. None of these committees has ever recommended any Specific action, and the monthly meetings of the Council remain the chief forums at which party members can eXpress their views. The Executive Committee actually stands as the chief source of guidance for the County and School Board members. At the smaller and closed sessions of this group, problems can be discussed frankly and views aired which would be very harmful politically if presented publicly before a large group. For example, a problem involving integration of Negro students at a new school or the necessity of constructing a fire station in a residential neighborhood of strong party supporters would require careful consideration informally, and public debate would be avoided until a definite plan of action was decided upon. The Executive Committee reports to the ABC Council at its monthly meeting any business which has been transacted at its interim meetings. Such reports, however, can be quite general, noting only decisions reached and recommendations rnade for general Council action. The details of arguments .and.rejected prOposals need not be revealed to the Council or the general public. In addition to regular meetings of the Executive Committee, 142 ABC leaders readily admit the influence of the countless in- formal contacts between the Executive Committee members and others in the ABC Council who have the time and incentive to participate actively in such other organizations as the Civic Federation and County Council of Parent Teachers Associations where their activities overlap. These are the individuals who still attend meetings Of the School and County Boards and meet over coffee before and after meetings. Many of these same individuals form a web of close friendships and meet socially numerous times when County affairs become major tOpicS for discussion. Decisions at the formal meetings of the groups in which they are leaders represent only the points at which decisions are made public and recorded. With this background of the organization of the ABC Coun- cil, the activities of the 1959 campaign can be viewed in better perSpective. The first 1959 meeting of the ABC Council was held in January. At this meeting the nominating committee chosen in December presented a Slate of officers and members- at-large for the Executive Committee. An Opportunity was given for additional nominations from the floor, but none were made and the new Officers and Executive Committee were elected by unanimous vote of those attending the meeting. The group then listened to reports of the School and County Board mem- bers and questioned the speakers regarding several items of County business. 143 The second meeting of 1959 was held in February and was chiefly concerned.with directing the Executive Committee to set up the arrangements for the 1959 Nominating Convention, thus indicating a formal intention of ABC to enter candidates for the 1959 County Board race. Members were requested to volunteer for service on the various arrangement committees for the Convention. The March meeting of the ABC Council resulted in approval of the Executive Committee's planned arrangements for the annual nominating convention to be held on May 27, 1959. The names of chairmen of the various com- mittees established to Operate the nominating conveiion were announced and approved. The committees established were the Candidates, Rules,.Arrangements, Tellers, Publicity, and Participation committees. At the April meeting of the Council, reports were heard from each Of these various committees. The Candidates Com- mittee was charged with the task of finding several candidates to be presented to the Convention. Those who desired to be- come a candidate for nomination were required to file a notification of their intent with the Candidates Committee before midnight three days prior to the Convention. In this notification they had to subscribe to the following require- mentsz (1) They met the requirements Of law for eligibility as a County Board member. 144 (2) They would campaign actively for election to that Office, if nominated. (3) They would run for the office of County Board member during 1959 only if nominated by the ABC Nominating Convention. Candidates meeting the above requirements were to have their names placed on Specially preparedballots by the Candidates Committee for vote by the Nominating Convention. Provision was also made for candidates failing to meet the deadline for filing to be nominated directly from the floor. These nominees were required to agree to the same three principles outlined above and, in addition, to be Sponsored in writing by twenty-five qualified Arlington voters attending the Nominating Convention. ABC leaders insist that this Committee does not screen candidates, putting up only those meeting their approval, but is designed to insure that well-qualified peOple are persuaded to present themselves to the Convention. In a community such as Arlington the job of a County Board member is generally a very thankless task involving an immense amount of work, eXposure to heavy public criticism, and only token compensation for what is deemed by law a part time job. Thus the task Of the Candidates Committee becomes one of contacting and per- suading prominent citizens who would make attractive candidates to run for Office. This was a difficult job in 1959 because the two incumbents whose terms had expired had proved themselves 145 vote getters. It was assumed by most persons that if they wished nominations for second terms the Convention could hardly refuse to endorse them. The ABC leaders were very interested in treating the Convention as an eXpression of the mass Opin- ion and were interested, therefore, in filling a one thousand seat auditorium. This could not be done if the incumbents were the only persons presented to the Convention. Other persons had to be urged tamake the race. The Runes Committee reviewed the rules of the previous Convention to decide whether any changes were necessary to insure the smooth Operation of the Convention. Generally, only minor adjustments are made in the previous year's rules and these are readOpted by the full ABC Council. The Arrangements Committee was reSponsible for preparing the Convention agenda, arranging for Speakers, a minister to provide the invocation, ushers, the auditorium, and the necessary furniture and supplies. The task of supervising the balloting for the nomination and tabulation of the returns was assigned to the Tellers Committee. The Publicity Committee arranged for neWSpaper coverage of the Convention and pre-Convention advertising in the form of a notice mailed to all voters. The Participation Committee had a somewhat similar task, insuring that all known ABC supporters were personally requested to attend. At the April, 1959 meeting of the ABC Council progress 146 reports were given by each of the committees described above. The Chairman of the Rules Committee read the prOposed rules for the 1959 Nominating Convention and they were adOpted with- out argument.3 After the usual report from the County and School Board Spokesmen, the Council adjourned until after the campaign, not meeting again until December, 1959. The ABC Nominating Convention The fifth annual NOminating Convention of the Arlingtonians for a Better County was held at the wakefield High School Audi- torium in Arlington, Virginia on May 27, 1959. Over six hundred persons were estimated to have attended, including a delegation of visiting foreign students who had been invited to see "democracy in action." The procedures used at the NOminating Convention followed closely those of the major political parties at the state or national level. The Convention was Opened by a temporary chairman previously selected by the Committee on Arrangements, the invocation was given by a local minister, a Boy Scout Troop presented the colors, and the Convention Keynoter delivered a fifteen minute address eulogizing the party and its represent- atives on the County and School Boards. These Opening cere- monies were followed by the temporary chairman's announcement 3The rules for the 1959 ABC Nominating Convention are given in full in Appendix G, 147 of the slate of permanent officers prOposed by the Committee on Arrangements and a call for nominations from the floor. None were made and a unanimous ballot was cast for the pro- posed slate. The permanent chairman then took the floor and appointed a long list of individuals to manage certain phases Of the Convention such as parliamentarian, timekeeper, and tellers. The prOposed rules were read by the Chairman Of Rules Committee and the motion for adoption made. AS there was no attempt to amend the rules they were duly seconded and adopted unanimously. The Convention then moved to the main business of the evening, the selection of two candidates to run for the two County Board seats, the terms of which eXpired in 1959. Three candidates had been presented by the Candiates Committee and no names were presented from the floor.4 The two ABC incum- bents were asking renomination and reelection. These two candidates had proven, in 1955, to be among the strongest candidates the liberal groups in Arlington had ever supported for the County Board. Both were businessmen whose Operations were largely outside of Arlington County. One was a former federal administrator under the Roosevelt and Truman adminis- trations in washington, and the other was by training a lawyer. 4Only once, at the 1956 nominating convention, has a nomination been made from the floor and this nominee was not chosen as the ABC candidate. 148 Both of these men were also members of the liberal faction of the.Arlington County Democratic Executive Committee. The third candidate was a retired Federal employee who had been very active in the County Board and School Board campaigns for a number of years. He was President of the County Council Of Parent Teachers Associations and had been a Vice Chairman and one of the founders of the Citizens Committee to Preserve the Public Schools during the school integration controversy.5 Each of the candidates was allowed an introductory Speech of three minutesby his nominator and a nine minute Speech by the candidate himself. Following the Speeches, written or oral questions were allowed from the floor to be directed to any candidate. Ballots were then distributed for voting on the candidates for nomination. The names of the three candidates had been printed on the ballots and Space had been left for writing in the names Of any candidates presented from the floor. The members of the Tellers Committee distributed and collected the ballots. NO proof was asked Of any person casting a ballot to show that he was a qualified voter in Arlington County as 5Although many persons believed the latter's candidacy ‘mas arranged.only to provide "Opposition" and create interest and.purpose for the Convention, his supporters passed out Special literature to all persons in attendance and he made a strong Speech requesting support. He was not a candidate for the nomination at the 1960 Convention. 149 required by Convention rules. There appeared little fear on the part of ABC leaders that there would be any attempt to "stack" the Convention. The committee of tellers was required by the by-laws to contain a representative of each candidate for the nomination if the candidate SO desired. To be nominated, the Convention rules required the two winners to have more than one—half of the total number of valid ballots cast, and continuous balloting was needed until two candidates had received the necessary number of votes. At the 1959 Convention, however, the two incumbent board mem- bers were nominated on the first ballot. Each made a brief acceptance Speech. The defeated candidate requested those assembled in the auditorium to join him in waging a strong campaign for their reelection, and the 1959 ABC Convention was history. The stage was now ready for the formation of the extremely efficient campaign organization. The ABC Fights 3 Campaign Shortly after the close Of the Nominating Convention the candidates held a series of informal meetings with their sup- porters, friends, and ABC Council Officers to plan the compo- sition of the key group in ABC campaign efforts, the Campaign Committee. This group would serve as the nerve center and board of strategy for the campaign and also would assume the functions of the ABC Council in guiding and supporting the 150 ABC members of the County and School Boards. While other ABC leaders could give advice and counsel, the final decision on the make-up of the campaign committee was left to the decision Of those most concerned, the two candidates for reelection. Great care was taken in selection of the members of the Committee. It was essential that its members be able to work well with the candidates themselves and to gain maximum cohesion Of all potential supporters and workers, it had to be widely representative of all groups making up the liberal alliance. In addition, most of the members of the campaign committee also served as chairmen of Special committees charged with carrying out various phases of the campaign. Thus, it was also neces- sary that they have some competence in the Specialized aSpect Of the campaign which they were supervising. For example, television and radio advertising experience was an important aid for the individual in charge of publicity. Most members of the Campaign Committee had been chosen and had accepted their positions by the end of June, but no formal meetings of the group were held until August 16, 1959. Past experience had shown the difficulty of getting the entire committee together during the peak summer vacation period. Informal meetings of various members of the Campaign Committee and the candidates took place throughout the month Of July, however, as the formal structure of the entire campaign organi- zation began tO develOp. District campaign chairmen and precinct 151 chairmen were contacted and replacements were recruited where necessary. A precinct finance organization began its Solici- tation of funds, a most important function as ABC was very dependent upon many small contributors. When the 1959 campaign committee held its first formal meeting on August 16th the opponent of the two candidates at the May NOminating Convention was designated chairman of the Campaign Committee. As a prominent leader in the battle to keep the public schools Open and a long time Officer in school groups, his name at the head of the Campaign Committee was the epitomy of unity. Two Vice-Chairmen had been appointed. One was a former Chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee, and although he was not very active in the work of the campaign, his name in a prominent place on the Campaign Committee provided a further symbol of nonpartisanship for a political association that had been accused of being a haven for liberal Democrats. The other Vice-Chairman was a Federal employee who had been prominent in the ABC political asso- ciation for a number of years. Probably the post on the Committee which was most vital to the actual functioning of the campaign and required the greatest eXpenditure Of time ‘was the position of Coordinator. The individual filling this ‘position was required to serve as the focal point for coordi- 'nation Of all aSpects of the campaign. A woman long active in School Board politics and a member of the liberal Democratic 152 faction in Arlington was chosen for this important post. Another woman who had been active in the school campaign and the ABC movement was named Deputy Coordinator and Secretary. Ten important functional offices represented on the Cam- paign Committee included the Chairmen of the following com- mittees: Precinct Operations, Finance, Research and Duplications, Engagements Calendar, Social, Press, Radio and Television, Printed Literature, and Display Materials, plus a Treasurer. Most Of these committees were headed by peOple who had Special talents and/or time to devote to the detailed tasks involved, and there was less regard shown for balancing community in- terest groups in their appointments. The Finance Committee function was, however, headed by one of the acknowledged leaders of the liberal Democratic faction in the County who had led the 1954 liberal Democratic County Board campaign. The balance of interest group representation was Obtained by naming nine members-at-large to the Campaign Committee. They included the two ABC members of the School Board, an ABC member of the County Board, the President of the Civic Feder- ation, two former ABC County Board members who were among the strongest and most active leaders of the group, a local attorney 'who had been the Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates the previous year, and two women who were active both in ABC and the liberal faction Of the Democratic Party. 'The Campaign Committee appeared to be a group Of able organizersand 153 campaign Specialists who represented a wide base of community support for the coming election battle. Before turning to a description of the actual campaign, however, it is necessary to examine the rest of the organizational structure represented by the functional officers on the Campaign Committee. By far the most vital committee chairmanship was that Of the Committee on Precinct Operations. It was through this Committee's efficient door-tO-door canvassing operations, its complete records on tens of thousands of registered voters,and its cadre Of several hundred precinct workers that the Campaign Committee staked its greatest hOpe of being able to arouse interest in the election and insure that ABC supporters would get to the polls on election day. The Chairman of this Com- mittee was a Federal employee who had successfully served as a District Chairman the previous year and had proven himself an efficient organizer. The Precinct Operations Committee consisted Of, in addition to its Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary, and fourteen District Chairmen, each of whom was reSponsible for develOping a campaign organization in two or three precincts. Each Of the District Chairmen sought to persuade an ABC sup- porter in each precinct under his jurisdiction to assume the reSponsibilities of Precinct Chairman and to aid them in setting up a staff of door to door canvassers and clerical ‘workers. The District Chairmen met with their Precinct 154 Chairmen at least once a week to learn of any problems or needs for their area. The Committee on Precinct Operations met every other week early in the campaign (mid-August through September) and weekly the last four or five weeks when the main precinct canvasses took place. At these meetings the complaints and needs of the rank and file were transmitted to the Chairmen who carried them to the Campaign Committee meetings later in the week. The Precinct Operations Committee therefore became the main channel of communication from the grassroots precinct level to the candidates and the other ABC members of the County and School Boards on the Campaign Committee. A description of a meeting of the Committee on Precinct Operations will illustrate how the efficient precinct organi- zation of the ABC Operates. This meeting was held on October 21, 1959 at the home Of one of the District Chairmen. The first item on the agenda was a discussion led by the repre- sentative of the Campaign Committee in charge Of display materials. He was concerned with preparing the most effective campaign posters for diSplay at each precinct's polling place on election day. Each District Chairman was urged to pick up his posters at a Specific place and arrange with his precinct chairmen to have them erected at the polls the morning of election day. .A request was also made by the display chairman for a search to be made among the precinct workers to find election day ”volunteers who would carry signs at the Virginia end of the 155 three main bridges leading across the Potomac River into the District of Columbia. The group agreed that high school students could be recruited for this activity. The next item on the agenda concerned the prOper coverage of all polling places on election day. District Chairmen were requested to have lists ready the following Wednesday showing who had been assigned to duty at each polling place in their district and the hours they were eXpected to be on hand. These poll workers were to pass out friendly greetings and sample ballots to each voter as he approached the polling place and to insure that the ABC diSplay signs remained in place. Those who believed it would be impossible to recruit sufficient poll workers in their precincts to man the polling places for the twelve hours the polls were Open were requested to call the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Committee who would send extra help to the weak precincts. District Chairmen also placed orders for additional sample ballots and campaign mat- erials for their last stretch drive. A check was then made of the status of house to house canvassing in each precinct. The District Chairmen turned in the names Of new canvassers and clerical workers for filing ‘with the permanent list Of ABC workers, reported the total number of workers in each precinct, and the percentage of the registered voters in each precinct who had been contacted. 'The number of precinct workers varied from two or three in 156 the very weak "old neighborhood" precincts to a high of over sixty in one of the newer single home develOpment areas in the northern part of the County. Precincts which could report over fifteen workers were considered well organized and over one half were in this category, with six reporting over thirty canvassers on their rolls. It was estimated that well over five hundred persons had been recruited for precinct work in the thirty-seven Arlington precincts and it was planned to add even more. The District Chairmen reported which of their precincts were having the most trouble maintaining a complete canvass Of new voters. These usually were areas with large new apart- ment projects, and the Committee Chairmen reported that Special flying squads of canvassers would be furnished by the Campaign Committee to insure coverage of such areas. These Special canvassing squads consisted of ABC leaders and ardent workers, ‘who, in addition to their other duties in the campaign, reserved Saturday and Sunday afternoons during the final three or four ‘weeks of the campaign to assist small precinct organizations in covering at least all the new voters in large apartment areas. One other important item of business was on the agenda of the Committee on Precinct Operations. District Chairmen *were asked to report on the status of the "precinct letter" in each of their precincts. This document represented another attempt to approach voters on an intimate neighborhood basis. 157 Most precinct chairmen were charged with preparing a Short one page letter of support for the ABC candidates, extolling their virtues and pointing out what they had done for the County, especially in their own neighborhoods. This letter was signed by as many peOple in the neighborhood as the precinct chairman could persuade to do that much for "good government". The meeting closed with a reminder by the chairman that 1 all precinct chairmen Should be instructed to use the telephone on election day to contact personally every known firm ABC sup- “ porter in the precinct who had been uncovered by the door to door canvass. "We must turn out our hard corps of loyal supporters without whom we Shall lose" were his parting remarks. One other important phase of the precinct organizations was not on the agenda, most of this activity having already been completed. This was the arranging Of neighborhood teas and worker's parties designed to acquaint the neighborhood voters and the precinct workers with the candidates. These were held at the home of the precinct chairman or some other volunteer and, after brief introductions and political conver- sation, the candidates answered the questions of the guests before hurrying Off to another tea or to Speak before a civic group. These teas and parties were effective means of increasing the intimate contact between voters and candidates, a strategy deemed vital by the leaders Of the Campaign Committee. The strong precinct organization was kept vigorous by 158 year around activity of a few ardent ABC supporters. Several women had volunteered in the Spring and early summer to check the voting registration lists for possible new voters. These were added to an alphabetized card file of every registered voter in the county whose card cOntained not only his address, but such other information about him as canvassers in the 1958 election had gleaned in their conversation with or knowledge fig of the voter. Was he favorable, neutral, or committed to the Opposition? Did he have any children? What ages? Did he represent a potential worker for the party? Whenever possible, canvassers were urged to note this information on the voter's card. This annotation was made possible by producing a dupli- cate set of cards on an addressograph machine, one set to be kept at the party's mailing headquarters in the basement Of an ABC stalwart to be used in addressing the county wide distri- bution of brochures to all eligible voters. The other set was divided according to precinct and turned over to the Committee on Precinct Operations for distribution to the precinct chair- men. The precinct chairman checked the cards against the posted list of eligible voters in his precinct, noting those who had moved away or those who had failed to pay their poll tax. The drop outs were then sent back to the mailing center SO that the address file could be brought up to date. The precinct chairman also pulled those cards on which it had been noted that the voter was strongly committed to the Opposition. 159 A canvasser's time was not to be wasted on these unlikely sources Of votes. The voter cards were then divided among the canvassers with an attempt being made to keep a canvasser in his own neighborhood when possible. The number of cards given to each canvasser varied with his willingness to under- take the work and the Speed with which it would be accomplished. At the end of the campaign the up-to-date annotated cards were returned to the mailing center, to be held for next year's campaign. This briefly describes the effective ABC precinct organi- zation. Its success was attested to by one ABC leader of long standing who remarked, "Our precinct organization is our main source of strength. If you have seventy families as a core and they can each influence two other families you have won the precinct". Through this type of organization, a personal appeal could be made at the neighborhood level to most of the voters in the County. A second committee, also essential to the functioning of the campaign, was the Finance Committee. This group was organized on the same type of precinct basis as was the Com- cnittee on Precinct Operations, but its function was to contact only known ABC partisans for contributions to the 1959 campaign fund. A precinct by precinct organization was required because of the need to contact hundreds of potential contributors for snmall amounts of money to meet a budget of ten thousand dollars. 160 In 1959 seven hundred and eighty individual contributors gave an average of twelve dollars per person to the campaign for a total of $9,370. The campaign proved less eXpensive than anticipated and the party ended 1959 with a surplus of some $1,500. The Finance Committee served as a fund raising group and all the contributions were turned over to the Treasurer Of the Campaign Committee who was charged with the actual A deposit and diSpursement of funds. L The other Special committees included a one man Research and Duplication "Committee". This task was undertaken by an individual who had virtually made a hobby of keeping a compre- hensive set Of files Of neWSpaper articles and other pertinent published material on the ABC organization and Arlington County political problems. He had been reSponsible for preparing what were termed "fact Sheets" on every major problem or issue that might be a subject Of controversy or question during the campaign. These "fact Sheets" were then reproduced in large quantities to be furnished to the candidates and all door to door canvassers so they would be prepared to discuss the major issues and answer questions posed by the voters. Enough Of these were prepared so they could be left with voters who eXpressed an interest in a particular issue. The "fact sheets" were usually one page or less in length, noting just the main points in the development of any issue in a simple, easy to 161 read style.5 Decisions on which issues to cover in the "Fact Sheets" were carefully planned by the Campaign Committee, and each fact sheet was examined and approved by the candidates and the Campaign Committee Chairman. A listing of the twelve "fact sheets" used in the 1959 campaign provides a picture of the major issues in the campaign: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) "The Opposition Candidates and How the “J Candidates were Nominated" i "The Need for NOn—Partisan Elections in \ Arlington" "The Delay in Building Yorktown and ABC & the Schools" "Helen Lane, Her Record" (Mrs. Lane was the ex- tremely conservative School Board member appointed by the Oppo- sition in 1956). "Planning" "Zoning" "Taxes" "The Business and Professional License Tax" "Interstate Route 66" "The Enforcement of the Sunday Closing Laws" "The Job of the County Board" "The Hatch Act in Arlington" 5See Appendix H.. 162 In addition to the above "fact Sheets," the research material was used to prepare three brochures and a candidates' bio- graphical statement which were mailed to all voters in the County. The names of the other sub-committees represented on the Campaign Committee are generally self eXplanatory. The Engage- ments Calendar Committee and Social Committee worked closely together to guarantee proper scheduling of the many public and social appearances by the two candidates. They also had to work in close liaison with the Committee on Precinct Oper- ations so there would be no conflict between the worker and precinct voter teas and the numerous scheduled appearances by the candidates at civic association and Parent Teacher Association meetings. These appearances of the candidates before so many small neighborhood groups was another attempt by the Campaign Committee to personalize the campaign. It was hard on the candidates but effective with the voters. A typical schedule of personal appearances for one week Of the 1959 cam- paign gives some indication Of the gruelling schedule ABC candidates were eXpected to keep: MOnday October 5 - 12 AMI Press Luncheon, washington, - D. G. 8:30 PM. Glencarlyn Citizens Asso- ciation Tuesday 6 - 8:00 PM. County Board Zoning Hearing. 163 Wednesday 7 - 8:00 PM Jefferson Civic League and Arlington Ridge Civic Association Thursday 8 - 8:00 PM County Board Zoning Hearings Friday 9 - 7-9:00 PM Open House (Yorktown Precinct) 9:15 PM. WOrkers Meeting (Overlee Knolls Precinct) Saturday 10 - 9:00 AM County Board Meeting wJ Sunday 11 - 3-5:00 PMi Open House (Madison Precinct) ; 4:30 - WOrkerS'Meeting : 6:00 PM (Claremont Precinct) r“ Their Opponents, on the other hand, conducted a much less vigorous campaign, giving rise to fears by some ABC campaign leaders that they were trying deliberately to keep the campaign quiet and discourage voter turnout to allow the Byrd organi- zation in the County to win with its well organized group of conservative Democrats. This was discussed at several Campaign Committee meetings and resulted in renewed efforts to contact more voters on as personal a basis as possible. The Campaign Committee took Special care through its ress and Radio and Television Committee representatives to cultivate good news Sources and develOp a willingness of poll- tical reporters to devote considerable Space in their papers to the campaign. Appearances of the candidates on public events television programs and radio news panel shows were arranged, Early in October a big press luncheon was arranged at one of the finest Washington restaurants for the political reporters 164 from the three major metropolitan dailies and the local northern Virginia daily paper. Representatives from the tele- vision stations and several Of the northern Virginia radio news departments also attended. In addition to being wined and dined, the guests were allowed to interview the candidates and the Campaign Committee chairmen. Although the Campaign Committee had been meeting at least “J every two weeks since mid-August, the real beginning of the ABC campaign was marked by the County-wide ABC workers rally “ on the 29th of September 1959. The initial county-wide mailout of a campaign brochure also was timed for this last week in September. The candidates began their ceaseless round of per- sonal appearances, and the Precinct Operations Committee began its canvass of voters. Campaign bulletins were issued every two weeks to all party workers, bringing them up to date on the latest campaign develOpments. Two more county wide mail- outs were used, a minimum of neWSpaper advertising was con- tracted and radio Spot announcements were limited to election eve and election day. These two latter campaign methods were deemed expensive and less effective than the personal type campaign. Proof of the effectiveness of the campaign, ABC leaders believe, has been their success at the polls. They won the 1959 contest easily and have won every County Board contest in the six year period between 1955 and 1960, except for the 165 extremely close defeat in 1956. The campaign organization described above has proved itself durable and strong, even in 1959 and 1960 when the major burning issues had disappeared and the campaign depended upon the organization itself. More than ever it has become necessary to capture the Spirit of what Robert Wood has defined as "an ideology, a faith in communities of limited size and a belief in the conditions rt, of intimacy . . ."6 The American suburbanite caught in the giant metropolitan society apparently values highly this small L town intimacy which is difficult to find in the city. To him the old New England type town meeting to nominate candidates, the cozy evening chat with his neighbor who is an ABC precinct canvasser, the face to face questioning of the ABC candidates at another neighbor's candidates' tea, and the precinct letter he receives Signed by many of those in his immediate area whom he knows well -- all these are the most persuasive type of political influence which can be brought to bear. To develOp a political party which can create this image of small town intimacy in a large suburban community of 160,000 persons is a large undertaking, requiring maximum effort from many individuals. The next chapter will deal primarily with an examination of the persons who make up the grass roots organization of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. 6WOOd, oo. cit., p. 12. 166 Questions about these peOple will be answered -- where they came from, why they became interested in politics, where they live. CHAPTER VII AN ANALYSIS OF NON-UNANIMOUS COUNTY BOARD VOTES In previous chapters the establishment of the Non-partisan and the School Board Convention political associations and their growth into the Arlingtonians for a Better County has lessen described. The isolation of the County and School Boards from the changing value structure in Arlington County has been shown to have resulted from the failure of the dominant poli- tical organization in the County to serve as a channel for the powerful new interests, demanding a new allocation of values at these key decision making points. The result, as Professor Key accurately points out, was that: "Unable to find eXpreSSion through channels offered by the party system, the impulses to political conflict in a society with a faith in pOpular government, were bound as ssocial tensions built up, to break the hold (of party oligarchies of the dominant party."l (Ihapter VI described the channels through the ABC Council, 12he EbUNANIMOUS VOTES OF THE ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD, 1957-1959 PERCENTAGE Subject 1957 1958 1959 Zoning and Planning 48.1 49.2 80.0 Appointments 32.6 35.2 8.4 #4 Other 19.3 15.6 11.6 A Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 II} No. Cases 135 128 155 zoning changes, variances, or use permits. These were classi- fied as "favorable for high density -- commercial zoning" when all ABC Board members or all of their Opponents voted for a change in the existing zoning regulations to a classi- fication involving a higher density of residences, or from a residential to a commercial area. Their vote was also placed in this category if it was cast against the down- grading of high density classification or the change from commercial to residential use. The Board member votes which were cast against the former and in favor of the latter type of zoning change were classed as "favorable for low density -- residential zoning." 174 TABLE 7 PARTY SOLIDARITY IN NON-UNANIMOUS VOTES ON ZONING ISSUES BY THE ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD -- 1957, 1958, 1959 100% Party Solidarity 1957% 1958% 1959% .Averagg By Stand on Zoning ABC Opp ABC Opp ABC Opp ABC Opp Issues Unanimous Pro High Density 8.7 78.3 29.2 66.7 4.9 79.3 11.2 76.7 Unanimous Pro Low Density 82.6 10.8 70.8 16.6 67.6 8.3 72.5 10.6 Split Party Vote 8.7 10.8 0.0 16.6 26.2 12.5a16.3 12.7 Total 100.0 100.0100.0 100.0 100.0 1(I).0100.0100.0 No. Cases 46 46 24 24 72 72 142 142 aAs only one ABC Opponent was on the Board his absent or not voting record is listed as aSplit vote. A study of the data presented in Tables 6 and 7 illustrate a definite change in the County Board decisions concerning zoning changes following the capture by the ABC group of control of the Board in 1958. Prior to 1958 the Arlington County Board tended to grant zoning changes and variances favorable to high density residential and increased commercial development of the County. Upon obtaining a majority on the County Board the ABC members, deSpite less cohesion in their voting records, continued to vote together in favor of low density residential develOpment and against easy commercializing of areas zoned primarily for residential use. A different set 175 of values was allocated from this key decision making point, at least in the area of County land use policy. In the one other area susceptible to quantitative analysis, the non-unanimous votes on appointments to regulatory and advisory boards and commissions, there was a definite decrease of such votes as the ABC majority grew stronger. This seems to indicate that it became easier to place individuals loyal to the dominant political association after they obtained the j four to one majority on the County Board. A. CHAPTER VIII AN ANALYSIS OF ABC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN AND THEIR VALUES The next analysis of the ABC Party's membership is to . .t“ ‘i determine the kinds of individuals composing or voting for 5 the ABC organization and to learn to what other local interest “4 groups the active individuals in the political association belong. Interviews were held with a sample of the precinct leaders of the ABC Party and a control group of precinct leaders from the local Democratic organization who could be classed as "regular” or State organization Democrats.l Gross election returns for County Board elections by precinct were correlated with the 1950 census tract data to provide further evidence of the type of general following among voters attracted by the ABC movement.2 One of the major assumptions, not only regarding the source of SUpport for ABC, but also Of the political division in most new suburbs, concerns the conflict in values between 1For a description of how the pOpulation of this sample was selected see Appendix D. 2The methodological problems involved in this comparison are described in Appendix E. 176 177 the old and new residents which gives rise to their alignment into Opposed political associations.3 The new residents are generally assumed to be the dominant "potential" group in the ABC movement and in the various active political interest groups which support the ABC Party, either overtly or covertly. For the purpose of analysis the "old" residents are classed as those residing in the County prior to the rapid increase Of its pOpulation with the beginning of World War II in 1941. The answers of the two groups of precinct chairmen to the question concerning what year they arrived in Arlington County revealed that the "regular" Democrats tended to have lived in the County much longer than the ABC precinct leaders. The median year of arrival for the ABC group was 1948, while the median year for the "regular" Democrats was 1932, the year before the great Depression eXpansion of the Federal government began. Table 8 shows the very marked difference between the time of arrival of the precinct chairmen of the two political associations. Further support is provided the effect of date of arrival upon the political division in Arlington County by the rank- difference correlation of census tract data for housing growth (percentage of dwelling units constructed between 1940 and 1950) and the percentage of votes for the ABC candidates by 3Wood, pp. 179-180. 178 precinct, The rank-difference correlation coefficient of the two variables is a highly significant .73. TABLE 8 DATES OF ARRIVAL OF ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN Time of Arrival ABC Reg. Dem. Pre 1930 (Rural) 4% 50% 1930-1940 (New Deal Era) 8 23 1941-1945 (World War II) 24 18 1946-1960 (Post-war Era) 64 9 Total 100% 100% No. Cases 25 22 The clash of the liberal values of the newcomers of Arlington with the more conservative views of its older resi- dents may well be due to the fact that the newcomers were not raised in areas of the nation where the conservative -- southern values are part of the dominant culture pattern. All precinct chairmen were asked what states they had resided in prior to moving to Arlington County and the length of time they had resided there. The interviewer also probed further into these answers to determine which states of earlier resi- dence were those in which the reSpondents had lived before the age of twenty-one when their basic value patterns were 179 being formed. The results are set forth in Table 9 below. When these states of early residence are separated into those of the old Confederacy of 1861 to 1864 plus the District of Columbia where before WOrld War II the values of the "old" South were dominant, and the northern and western states, an interesting pattern emerged. Two of every three ABC precinct chairmen were raised in the North and West, while all but three of the "regular" Democrats were raised in the "Old" South or q the District of Columbia. The three "regular" Democrats raised Am in the North and west were from Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware which could be classed as border states in which southern values were influential. One-half of the "regular" Democratic pre- -cinct chairmen were native Virginians, butonly four of the ABC precinct chairmen were raised in the Old Dominion. TABLE 9 RESIDENCE OF ABC AND DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN PRIOR TO AGE 21 Northern and Western States Southern States State ABC Reg.Dem. State ABC Reg.Dem. New York 4 Virginia 4 11 Kansas 3 District of Columbia 1 6 Pennsylvania 2 Texas 1 2 Illinois 2 Tennessee 1 0 Missouri 2 1 N. Carolina 1 0 Vermont 1 180 TABLE 9 -- Continued Northern and Western States Southern States State ABC Reg. Dem. State ABC Reg. Dem. Minnesota 1 Michigan 1 Varied N. States 1 F“ Maryland 0 l ( Delaware 0 l g Total 17 3 Total 8 19 4' Percent 68.0% 13.6% Percent 32.0% 86.4% The ABC precinct chairmen also represented a population with a much wider geographic background of origin, with four- teen states representing the areas in which they were brought up. The "regular" Democrats meanwhile, represented only five different states and the District of Columbia. The wide dis- persion in geographical background of the ABC group tends to provide additional verification for the contention that the political dividing line in Arlington tends to be based on the new versus the long-time residents of the County whose sharply different origins have resulted in Opposed sets of values. The liberal attitude of the ABC political association toward the issue of racial integration, which will be described later in this chapter, apparently has made it the party sup- ported by most of the small negro voting pOpulation in Arlington. 181 The representation of members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple on the ABC Council has been noted previously.4 The ABC Council has always had several negro members; however, none are found among the "regular" Democrats, nor are any of this latter group connected in any way with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple. [Said .4.— --- .. The only census tract and precinct which contains a ev- - b number of negro voters is tract thirty-one, Glebe Precinct, *3 which in the 1950 census was reported to contain a negro pOpu- lation of 74.8 percent of its total. This precinct has con- sistently rated among the top four precincts in the size of the majorities given to ABC candidates. It has never turned in a vote of less than Sixty percent for the ABC candidate and never less than seventy percent when only two candidates were on the ballot. Glebe Precinct, was eliminated from our rank-difference correlation because the social and economic data provided by the census tract studies varied so widely from that of any other tract in the study. This was assumed to be due to the lower economic and educational Opportunities available to the general negro population in this area. ABC precinct leaders have been shown to be predominently from the North and West and are assumed to have more liberal attitudes toward such local problems as Spending for county 4'See pagell4. 182 improvements, educational cu school integration. The prOposition that these liberal values place most of the group in the category of liberal, northern Democrats was also tested. which political party they believed could do the best job of governing the State and which could do the best job of govern- ing the nation. The results TABLE rriculum and facilities, and ABC precinct leaders were asked are set forth in Table 10. 10 MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY PREFERENCES OF ABC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN ----t: Party Preferences State Nation Democrats 40% 72% Republicans 4 12 Don't Know 56 16 Total 100% 100% Number of Cases 25 25 The hypothesis that the primarily made up of liberal least partially sustained by ABC political association was northern Democrats appears at the above evidence. Not only are ABC precinct chairmen largely from the northennpart of the United States, but an overwhelming sympathy for the Demo- crats is shown in the above figures. in reSpondents' minds, however, when confronted with the choice More confusion is evident 514i 1‘" wuf — F 183 of who should govern Virginia -- the conservative Byrd Democratic organization or the Republicans. MOst reSpondents indicated they could see no difference and could make no choice. While none indicated any hOpe that the Democratic liberal wing, virtually non—existent on a statewide basis, could control the party in the state, afbw stated that they would be in favor of the Democrats if this could come about. The Republicans fared :1 even worse among ABC precinct leaders on a statewide basis 4 than they did nationally, apparently mirroring the belief that L. Virginia Republicans support the conservative Democratic Byrd organization. ABC leaders, perhaps, can still call their Party a "non-partisan coalition" as over one-quarter of its precinct leaders failed to give the Democratic party their affirmation as the Party to govern the United States. In addition to the line of political demarcation in suburbia being between "old" versus "new" residents, Dr. Robert WOod has indicated that the struggle is also between two other "po- tential" grOUps -- "the commuters versus the stay-at-homes."5 Opponents of the ABC political association usually referred to the association's supporters as commuters who worked outside the County, rented their dwellings and thus had no real interest in the long term financial soundness of Arlington. The pre- cinct leaders in both the test and control groupS‘were queried 5Wood, op, cit., p. 180. 184 concerning their place of employment, in an effort to test the validity of Wood's thesis. The evidence appears quite clear in Table 11 that ABC is primarily a commuters' political asso- ciation. TABLE 11 PLACE OF WORK OF ABC AND "REGULARVDEMOCRATIC PRECINCT LEADERS ya Place of Work of Precinct Leaders Precinct Leaders m or their Spouses ABC Reg. Dem. ' Outside County or at Pentagon 80.0% 31.8% Inside County 20.0% 54.5% Both Inside and Outside County 0.0% 3.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Number of Cases 25 22 Another interesting contrast which highlights the pre- dominance of the commuter in the ABC movement can be found in the place of work of the candidates for County Board of the ABC Party as compared to that of their opponents. 0f the six candidates nominated by the ABC since its establishment in 1955, five have been employed outside of the County, while of their nine Opponents only three have not been local busi- ness or professional men. Of these latter three,one was a widow with no full-time occupation, one a retired local 185 government Officer, and only the third was a businessman with Offices outside of Arlington. No conclusive evidence exists that the ABC movement is predominently one that appeals to persons who rent their dwellings, as ABC Opponents often claim. The rank order cor- relation between the percentage of votes for ABC County Board candidates and the percentage of rental dwelling units in the 3‘ 1950 censustracts was only .34. Although a positive correlation, it was the third lowest of the nine variables tested.6 It ”” ranked close to the .30 correlation of the percentage of per— sons in professional-managerial positions and only the income- ABC vote correlation ranked significantly lower with a .19. The impression that renters constitute the bulk of ABC support appears to reflect the variable of new housing growth. 0f the precincts and census tracts consisting wholly of apart- ments, two were completely built since 1940and therefore also rate at the top of precincts with new housing growth. The adjustment for census tract twenty, the other one-hundred percent apartment area to reflect new housing growth, would bring the housing growth variable the phenomenally high rank- difference correlation of .87, by far the highest of any variable tested in the rank-difference correlation analysis. This could be done without much violation of accuracy as the apartment units in tract 20, Buckingham Precinct, were 6See Appendix E. . FIIF'IV’ 186 completed just prior to the 1940 census and were thus counted as pre-1940 housing in the 1950 census when, in fact, it might have been more accurate to rate it all as new housing. Even without the inclusion of Buckingham Precinct the correlation was a significant .72. Census tracts twenty-eight and one, on the other hand, contain almost no rental units, ranking last among the pre- ‘3 cincts analyzed. Yet these two tracts ranked third and fifth ‘f‘"‘““‘“f .... in the percentage of votes given ABC candidates. The one common denominator among all five of these precincts appears to be their very high post-1940 housing ranking. A comparison of the two groups of precinct leaders shows little difference in the degree of rental of their dwelling units or previous rental of their dwellings in Arlington. Only twenty-four percent of the ABC precinct leaders were presently renting as were 13.6 percent of the "regular" Democrats. This hardly illustrates apartment dweller domination of ABC.4 No candidate of the ABC has ever lived in an apartment at the time of his candidacy. Of the forty percent of the ABC precinct chairmen who previously had lived in a different dwelling unit in Arlington, sixty percent had rented their dwellings. Forty- five percent of the "regular" Democrats had also lived earlier in a different dwelling unit in the County and 66.7 percent of these precinct leaders had rented these dwellings. 187 There appears, therefore, little to substantiate the assumption that the ABC political association is made up primarily of renters. Rather, this assumption seems to be the erroneous result of viewing the strong showing made by ABC candidates in the large apartment areas built since 1940, without noting the almost equal strength the group receives from areas of single family, privately owned dwellings built since World War II. This latter factor of new housing growth q as a measure of time of arrival, remains the most significant Ah variable thus far studied. The new arrivals who make up the ABC group also are apparently younger and have more small children than do their opposition. The census tract data dividing the pOpulation into different age groups was also correlated with the vote given ABC County Board candidates again using the rank-differ- ence correlation coefficient. The result was as follows: a) Under five years of age -- .74, b) Under twenty-one years of age -- .35, c) Under forty-five years of age -- .64. Significant positive correlations are shown between the per- centage of children under five and the percentage of the vote for ABC County Board candidates, and between the latter and the percentage of persons between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five. It may be that the liberal appeal of the ABC program draws younger voters which have been found to be 188 generally more liberal than are voters over forty-five. This younger group of voters would also tend to have the largest number of very young children which could account for the similar high correlation of children under five. It would also appear natural that the emphasis on school improvements in ABC platforms would appeal to young voters with large numbers of small children. As there was no means by which .-a one of these age variables could be held constant while the other was checked against it, one can only Speculate as to ”- the independent causative effects of any Single variable. It has also been assumed that the young ABC commuters would be primarily private professional men and federal em- ployees holding professional positions in the Civil Service. ABC leaders usually proclaim that their chief opposition arises from the local business community centered in the Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Golf and Country Club. The test group of ABC precinct chairmen proved to consist of an over- whelming number of professional men, but, surprisingly, con- tained not a Single businessman, or owner, manager or business type employee. The control group of Democratic precinct leaders, on the other hand, had over a quarter of its members engaged in business as an occupation. An examination of Table 12 illustrates the occupations of the precinct chairmen in both groups. It is interesting to note that when reSpondents who indicated their occupation was that of a housewife are added 189 to those indicating a professional occupation, almost ninety percent of the test group is accounted for. The control group not only included many businessmen but, in general, represented a much wider occupational Spread and very few housewives. TABLE 12 OCCUPATIONS OF ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN Precinct Leaders Occupation ABC Reg. Dem. Business 0.0% 27.2% Professional 64.0% 40.8% Sales 0.0% 9.1% Clerical 8.0% 4.6% Retired 4.0% 4.6% Skilled Labor 0.0% 4.6% Housewife 24.0% 9.1% Total 100.0% 100.0% NUmber of Cases 25 22 The Federal Employee and the ABC Party Perhaps the most common assumption regarding ABC is that it represents primarily a means by which Federal employees may participate in local politics. It is the large number of Federal employees living in the suburbs surrounding Washington, 190 D. C. which might tend to set any study of political behavior in these suburbs apart from those done elsewhere. It is well, therefore, to examine this variable at some length. Prior to the passage of the Hatch Act of August 2, 1939, Federal employees residing in certain localities near the District of Columbia were granted permission to become candi- dates for and to hold local political office. Such permission was granted by individual Executive Order or by Specified ; action of the Civil Service Commission under authority of an “N Executive Order. The Hatch Act of 1939, however, prohibited all participation on the part of Federal employees in any poli- tical campaign -- national, state, or local. Pressure for permission to allow Federal employees to participate in the political campaigns on purelylocal issues in communities where they made up the bulk of the pOpulation proved to be very gnaat; and the logic behind the argument that most of the peOple in certain communities should not be denied this Opportunity was difficult to refute. The July 19, l940,amendments to the Hatch Act, therefore, added two sections which allowed the Civil Service Commission to prepare regulations permitting Federal employees to participate in local political campaigns7 in the political subdivisions surrounding the District of Columbia _ 7United States Code: Chap. 5, 118 m, secs. l6 and 18. 191 and in those municipalities elsewhere in the United States having a majority of voters employed by the Federal Govern- ment. This participation was hedged with a number of important restrictions. Before such participation could be authorized a Specific request had to be made by representatives of the community involved. The Civil Service Commission then passed on each community's request individually; there was no blanket authorization covering any Specific class of local communities. Arlington County was listed by the Civil Service Commission as coming under provisions of Section 16 of the Hatch Act as amended in 1940. After a Specific request by Arlington offi- cials, the Commission granted exemption from the Act's other provisions for Federal employees participating in local poli- tical campaigns there. Federal employees, however, were prohibited from serving in part-time local government positions if such service was judged to interfere unduly with their regular duties. This determination was to be made by the head of the Federal department or agency involved. Section 18 further limited such participation to: "Any election and the preceding campaign if none of the candidates is to be nominated or elected at such election as representing a party any of whose candidates for presidential elector received votes in the past preceding election at which presi- dential electors were selected. . ."8 81bid,, Sec. 18. "I r. 192 This prohibition would appear to eliminate participation of Federal employees in Arlington County political campaigns since the Democratic Party usually endorses a candidate for the County Board, the only office sought by the ABC Party. An interpretation of this controversial Section as it applies to Arlington County has been made, however, by the Civil Service Commission. The following explanation was given in a letter from the General Counsel of the Civil Service Com- mission answering an inquiry from the president of a local Arlington Civic Association: fi..it would be practically impossible to advance the candidacy of an independent candidate without being in some way in Opposition to his Opponents who may be seeking the same office. Moreover, when permission ... was granted to Federal employees of Arlington to become candidates for local office, it was presumed that Federal employees supporting the independent candidate would, in effect, be working in Opposition to partisan candidates as a normal incident in supporting an independent candidate for Office. "This is an entirely different matter than actively Opposing a partisan candidate running for the same office... "If such activity, in fact, is not associated with the support of an independent candidate running for the same office, then such activities would be pro- hibited by the Hatch Act."9 With the dissolution of the Arlington Independent MOvement 9Letter from L. V. Meloy, General Counsel, united States Civil Service Commission, to the President of the Cherrydale Civic Association, Arlington, Virginia, as reprinted in the Northern Vir inia Sun, October 22, 1959. Sec. B, p. 1. 193 after the 1957 election, the ABC became the only political association in the County Open for active participation by Federal employees. The result can be seen in the responses of the test group of ABC precinct leaders to the question of whether or not they or their Spouses work for the Federal government. Sixty-four percent indicated that either they or their Spouses did so. There apparently is some tendency in a party composed largely of Federal workers to develop local issues that appeal to such workers. The rank-order correlation Pu coefficient between the percentage of the votes for the ABC County Board candidates and the percentage of the labor force employed by the Federal government in the census tract -- precinct areas was a high .75, the same as that for new housing growth. MOst of the newcomers to Arlington were Federal employees who apparently rallied around the local party of their fellows. The interpretation of the Hatch Act's application to Arlington County described above has resulted in Federal employees being allowed to campaign actively for the chief Opponents of thecandidates for County Board endorsed by the Arlington Democratic Committee as official Democratic Party candidates, while no Federal employee may do any campaigning for the Democratic candidates. "Regular" Democratic organi- zation leaders and Republican leaders are quite vocal in their demands that the Hatch Act be amended either to allow Federal employees to campaign actively for "partisan” as well as 194 "non-partisan" candidates for local offices, or to prohibit them from such activity altogether. An amendmentto the Hatch Act which would have permitted Federal employees to take part in local "partisan" elections passed Congress in 1952 but was vetoed by President Truman. This legislation had been vigorously supported by Democratic and Republican organization leaders from Arlington and had been Opposed with equal vehemence by the NOn-partisan political association leaders. Attempts to have similar amendments brought forth since then have never been reported out of com- mittee in Congress. In 1959 the Democrats in Arlington made a Special effort to get the amendment passed with the full backing of the Republican congressman from the Tenth Congres- sional District which includes Arlington. The ABC leaders testified against the bill in committee and it was never sent to the floor. During their interviews with the writer, Demo- cratic organization leaders stated they planned to push such a bill in 1961. They feel certain a change in the Hatch Act will destroy the ABC and break the hold the liberals have on the Arlington County Board. The fact is well established that Federal employees con- Stitute the bulk of the active members of the ABC political association. If one is to generalize from the case of Arling- ton to the political process in similar American residential 195 suburbs of relatively high income professional and business families, it is necessary to determine whether the newcomers to Arlington who are not Federal employees would fit the same pattern in terms of background and values toward local affairs. The study of the values of ABC members will be taken up in a later section of this chapter. As far as the personal back- ground of the eight ABC precinct leaders who are not Federal 5- employees is concerned, little difference is discernable re- I garding their place of origin, time or arrival in the county, or national political party choice. Like the Federal employees they come from a wide variety of states. Only one was a native Virginian and of the eight only three were from the ”Old" South and the District of Columbia, or 37.5 percent; while Federal employee precinct leaders had 29.4 percent of their number claiming this area as their original homes. Both the Federal and non-Federal precinct leaders arrived in Arlington during the same general period with all of the non-Federal employees arriving after WOrld War II, and eighty-six per- cent of the Federal employees came in this same period. The former had a very slight edge in the percentage owning their own homes compared with 70.5%,Of the Federal employee precinct leaders. Both groups of ABC precinct leaders favored the Democratic Party quite heavily as being best able to run the national government, with 62.8 percent of the non-Federal 196 precinct leaders giving this answer compared to 71.5 percent of the Federal employees. However, almost twice as many of the non-Federal employees indicated a neutral position, twenty-five percent to 11.2 percent. The tendency for the non-Federal employees to be more nonpartisan was revealed in their choice of the political party best able to administer the state government. Only 12.5 percent favored the Democratic Party, while fifty-three percent of the Federal employee re- Spondents continued their support of the Democrats at the state level. The other significant difference between the non-Federal and Federal employee ABC precinct leaders was their pbace of work. Of the non-Federal employees, 62.5 percent worked outside the County, while 88.2 percent of the Federal workers were employed outside of Arlington or at the Pentagon Building. The 62.5 percent of the non-Federal ABC precinct leaders employed outside the County was still well above the 31.8 percent of the "regular" Democratic precinct chairmen so employed. The general background and political prediSposition of ABC precinct leaders appears to vary at about the same degree from that of the "regular" Democrats regardless of whether the ABC precinct leader is employed by the Federal government or by the private enterprise. The ABCactivities and supporters among the general electorate are also most probably newcomers to the County, most of them arriving after World.War 11. They 197 are young voters, under forty-five years of age with the largest share of small pre-school age children. TheABC poli- tical_association represents newcomers who are commuters employed by the Federal government in a professional capacity, although almost a quarter of the group's precinct leaders list their occupation as housewife. MOst of the group's active members, therefore, are prohibited from Openly cam- paigning for any candidate of either of the major political parties under the provisions of the Hatch Act which limit the political activities of Federal employees. ‘With this general background in mind it is necessary to study briefly the formal memberships of ABC's active supporters in other County politi- cal interest groups which overlap with their membership in the ABC political association. Overlapping Group Membership with ABC When the tidal waves of new arrivals swept over Arling- ton County beginning in 1941, they were bound to work great changes in the pattern or organized political interest groups within the County. As soon as the pressing business of World War II was completed and the recently arrived residerts became aware that Arlington might well be their permanent home they felt an increasing desire to reshape the sleepy southern rural County to fit their own values. They generally found that the values represented by the few existing political interest groups in the County did not conform with their own and the r r ' mi: 198 drive began to either capture control of the existing groups or create new ones to push the drive for a changed community. Since most of the new arrivals worked outside of the County and were not engaged in private business, the local Chamber of Commerce and the various community service clubs such as the Kiwanians and Rotary, which usually represent the local business and professional men were not easily acces- sible to them. These organizations continued to represent. the more conservative values of pre-war Arlington and became centers of the Opposition to the ABC movement. Thereighbor- hood civic associations and the county wide Civic Federation were, however, the very type of interest group organizations directly concerned with develOping community policies and bringing pressure to bear on the key decision making points in the County government for allocation of different values. Thus in the new neighborhoods new civic associations were formed and old neighborhood associations were captured by the newcomers in those Older neighborhoods, like East Falls Church, which were still expanding. It was not long before the Civic Federation with its delegates from each neighborhood asso- ciation contained a majority of delegates representing values favorable to the Non~Partisans and later to the ABC political association. Since ABC represents younger voters with the largest number of small children it is natural that there is also 199 considerable overlapping membership between ABC and the Parent Teachers Association. Is it not surprising that the sample of ABC precinct chairmen shows the greatest degree of overlapping interest group membership with the Parent Teachers Association, neighborhood civic associations and the Civic Federation. The control group of "regular" Democratic pre- cinct chairmen also had the largest overlapping membership with neighborhood civic associations, usually from the older areas of the County, and from the Parent Teachers Association, although with a much lower percentage of overlap than in the ABC group. The "regular" Democratic precinct chairmen also showed a very large overlap with the local service clubs and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, but not one member of either of these type interest groups was found among the ABC precinct leaders. Other local interest grOUps having an overlapping membership of ten percent of more of the ABC precinct leaders included the Boy Scouts of America, neighborhood recreation associations, and the League of WOmen Voters. The neighbor- hood recreation associations were largely a post—war phenomenon and the League of WOmen Voters, which had a reputation in Arlington of being the most liberally oriented.women's group, was not established until after World War II. The "regular" Democratic precinct chairmen represented an overlapping member- ship of ten percent or more of those active in Boy Scout 200 work which was about the same proportion as for the ABC group. The Masonic Lodge and the Arlington County Bar Association also had overlapping membership with the "regular" Democrats at a rate of over ten percent. The Masonic Lodge and Boy Scouts of America, however, were not very active as political interest groups, but the Arlington County Bar Association represented the numerous lawyers who practiced at the Arlington County Court House, many of whom were active in the Democratic political organization. Strangely absent from the list of overlapping memberships of the ABC group was the Citizens Committee for School Improve- ment, which was much less active and had a much smaller member- ship in 1960 than it did in the immediate post-war years when obviously pressing school needs and an elective School Board stimulated direct political action by those interested in public improvements. Table 13 outlines all overlapping mem- berships of both the test and control groups which were held by three or more members, over ten percent, of either group. Perhaps a better indication than nominal membership of interest group influence within the political association is a study of the overlap between office holders in other interest groups and the precinct committees of the.ABC and the "regular" Democratic organization. Those who are interested enough in other organizations to hold offices in them are assumed to be more active representatives of the other interest group's 201 values within the political associations. The pattern of overlap is little different from that of the ordinary members as shown in Table 13, except in the case of officers of Parent Teachers Associations who are almost equally divided between the two groups of precinct leaders. Since the ques- tion asked the precinct leaders was whether they had ever held any office in the local organizations to which they belonged, and PTA officers were prohibited from serving as officers in an active political association, allof the reSpon- dents indicating a Parent Teachers Association office had held them previously. The same great difference between the over- lapping membership of the Civic Federation officers in the ABC and the Chamber of Commerce officers in the "regular" Democratic organizatiaw appears here. It would seem that the Arlington Civic Federation represented the most powerful active political interest group within the ABC political asso- ciation, while the Arlington Chamber of Commerce represented the most powerful active political interest group within the "regular" Democratic organization. This is not solely because of the numerical overlap of nominal members or officers, but also because these two groups are extremely active in County political affairs and carry much prestige. The Civic Federa- tion is the representative body for the many neighborhood civic associations, while the Chamber of Commerce represents the local business community. The major issue in the 1959 and J .31an if U 0 202 1960 County Board campaigns concerned the question of whether Arlington's master planning for future develOpment should seek to retain a low-density residential community at the expense of commercial, industrial, and apartment develOpment. This approach was advocated by the ABC and most civic associations. Emphasis on increased commercial, industrial, and high density, high-rise apartments and an increasing population were advocated by the conservative political leaders in both the Democratic and Republican Parties and by the leaders of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. The newly elected 1961 president of the Chamber of Commerce virtually threw down the gauntlet to the ABC and the civic associations when he announced he did not believe it would be "economically feasible“ for the County to continue as a "single family community". He was further quoted as stating the County Board's plan of limiting the pOpulation of the county was "trying to stOp the wheels of progress" and that the high-rise apartment buildings represented the "wave of the future. "10 The degree to which these announced values actually express the sentiments of the active members of the ABC and "regular" Democratic organization was tested through a series of questions designed to elicit their attitudes about County problems. It is to this analysis of the values of ABC and its opponents that attention must next be turned. 10Northern Vir inia Sun, December 15, 1960, Sec. B, p. 2. 203 TABLE 13 OVERLAPPING INTEREST GROUP MEMBERSHIP OF ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN Interest Groups <_:Precinct Leaders .ABC Reg. Dem. PTA's . 72.0% 40.9% Civic Associations 60.0 45.5. Civic Federation 24.0 4.6 Boy Scouts 20.0 18.3 Recreation Association 12.0 4.6 League of Women Voters 12.0 0.0 Service Clubs 0.0 45.5 Chamber of Commerce 0.0 31.8 County Bar Association 0.0 13.6 Number of Cases 25 22 ABC Members and Their Political Values The analysis of the values of ABC precinct leaders and their Opponents included questions designed to learn how they viewed administration of the local government, community planning goals, public education, and civil rights as repre-' sented by school integration. As these were major issues in most campaigns it was assumed that distinct differences of Opinions would result from Opposed sets of values. As ABC "I 204 stressed the concept of nonpartisan politics under a county manager form of government it was believed.ABC precinct leaders would display a prOpensity to place a high value on some of the major tenents of the municipal reform movement of 1930's and 1940's. One of the chief dogmas of this movement has been the centering of administrative responsibility in the hands of an appointed executive who chooses his own administra- tive department heads. The Arlington County Manager Plan varies from the ideal of the National Municipal League as the Commonwealth Attorney, Treasurer, County Clerk, Commissioner of Revenue, and Sheriff are elected. The two groups of re- Spondents were asked whether they believed the County Manager and three of the largely administrative officers listed above should be elected or appointed. The results are set forth in Table 14 below. ABC precinct leaders appear more favorably diSposed toward appointmentcf the County's chief administrative Officer than are their Opponents and there is a great difference of Opinion between the two groups over appointment of the other officers listed above. Over one-half of the ABC precinct leaders favor appointment of the presently elective administra- tive officers but only two regular Democrats favored appoint- ment of the Clerk and none favored appointment of the Commonwealth Attorney or Treasurer. 205 TABLE 14 METHOD OF CHOOSING ARLINGTON COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICERS FAVORED BY ABC AND DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN Method of Manager TreasErer Attorney Clerk Appointment ABC DEM .ABC DEM .ABC DEM .ABC DEM Appoint 90% 73% 56% 0.0% 52% 0.0%. 72% 9% Elect 0 22.5 36 95.5 36 95.5 20 91 Don't know 8 4.5 8 4.5 12 4.5 8 0.0 Total 100% 100% 100%. 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% No. Cases 25 22 25 22 25 22 25 22 Those holding the traditional values of the municipal reform movement Should also prefer to have the manager appointed by the County Board and, in turn, appoint his own department heads including the County Treasurer, Commonwealth Attorney, and County Clerk. This is not true, however, of most ABC precinct leaders. 'While they unanimously favor appointment of the County Manager by the County Board, they do not tend to favor his appointing the other officers about which they were questioned. The great majority of the ABC reSpondents indicated they preferred to have the County Board appoint these officials also. The writer was surprised by the lack of knowledge of most reSpondents regarding the positions other than that of the County Manager. MOSt reSpondentS in both 206 groups indicated they had given the matter no previous thought, and several stated they knew virtually nothing about the manager plan of government and could only make an unedu- cated guess about how the officers should be chosen. Their reSponses are tabulated below in Table 15. TABLE 15 APPOINTING AUTHORTTY PREFERRED BY ABC AND DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN WHO FAVOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Appointing Manager Tgeasurer Attorney Clerk Authority ABC DEM ABC DEM ABC DEM ABC DEM Cty. Board 100% 87.5% 66.7% ... 69.2% ... 66.7% 50.0% Cty. Mgr. 0.0 0.0 33.3 ... 15.4 ... 33.3 0.0 Circ. Court Judge 0.0 0.0 0.0 ... 15.4 ... 0.0 50.0 Don't know 0.0 12.5 0.0 ... 0.0 ... 0.0 0.0 'Total 100%, 100% 100% ... 100% ... 100% 100% 'NO. Cases 24 16 15 13 18 2 ‘ PrOponents of municipal reform also usually support those civil service reform values which call for a strong career service in local administration and tend to Oppose limited, fixed terms for local administrative officers. ABC members favoring appointment of each of the officers listed in the questionnaire were asked to give their opinion as to whether these officers should hold their position for limited 7' _. J ‘ 9 n (- a c n a 0 " a o O . O I i O u c I o o O o o a o 1 I o v ’ Q Q I 9 ~ 207 terms subject to periodic reappointment, or should have in- definite terms on career civil service status. The conser- vative Democrats were asked this question only about the County Manager as only two of them had indicated any preference for appointment of any of the other Officers. ABC respondents were almost evenly divided on the question favoring limited terms for the Treasurer and Commonwealth Attorny while favor- ing indefinite terms for the County Manager and County Clerk. "Regular" Democrats who favored appointment of the County Manager also favored an indefinite term for him by a very wide margin, see Table 16. Since the public schools have been integrated and most of the public school building program is completed, the major issue which has develOped in the County Board elections is the long range planning for develOpment of the County. It was necessary to determine whether the ABC chairmen followed the leaders of the party in their fight to maintain Arlington as a low-density, single family, residential com- munity, and whether conservative Democratic precinct chairmen actually supported the position of their Party's conservative leaders and the Chamber of Commerce in Opposing the ABC pro- gram. ReSpondents were asked if they favored modifying existing zoning regulations: (1) to allow more commercial and indus- trial develOpment, and (2) to allow more large scale apartment develOpment. The replies tabulated below in Table 17 show 208 that the ABC precinct leaders generally supported their Party's stand on the issue, eSpecially in Opposing an increase in pOpulation density through increased apartment develOpment. There was more reluctance to continue strict regulation of light industrial development which could be used to increase the tax base. The "regular" Democrats, however, were divided almost evenly on both questions. The suburban middle class emphasis on improved schools and education is assumed to be one of the strongest values of active ABC members and one of the chief issues which led to the develOpment of the ABC political association. ABC precinct leaders should, therefore, diSplay appreciably more favorable opinions on questions involving increased school expenditures and expanded educational programs than would their Democratic opponents. ReSponses to four different questions tested this hypothesis. The first question asked the respon- dents whether they favored any of the four bond issues which had been defeated in a referendum in the spring of 1960. One of these was a school construction bond issue. Both groups of precinct chairmen favored the school bond issues but by widely differing majorities. ABC precinct chairmen were almost unanimously in favor of the bond issue while the "regular" Democrats favored it by a fifty-four percent majority, the largest endorsement given to any of the bond issues by that group. 209 TABLE 16 TYPE OF TERM FOR COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICERS FAVORED BY ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN Type Term Manager Igeagurer Attorney Clerk of Office ABC DEMZ ABC DEM .ABC DEM .ABC DEM Career Type 52.0% 45.5% 40.0% 0.0% 28.0% 0.0% 52.0% 13.6% Limited 44.0 45.5 52.0 91.0 60.0 91.0 40.0 82.0 Don't know 4.0 9.0 8.0 9.0 12.0 9.0 8.0 4.4 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% No. Cases 25 22 25 22 25 22 .25 22 TABLE 17 ATTITUDES OF ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN'TOWARD COMMERCIAL- INDUSTRIAL AND.APARTMENT ZONING MOre MOre ReSponses Commercial-Indust. Apartment .ABC Reg. Dem ABC Reg. Dem. Yes 24.0% 50.0% 16.0% 41.8% Qualified Yes 8.0 4.5 4.0 4.4 No 56.0 45.5 72.0 41.8 Qualified No 8.0 0.0 0.0 12.0 Don't know 4.0 0.0 8.0 0.0 Total 100%. 100%. 100% 100% No. Cases ‘ 25 22 25 22 210 When the reSpondents were questioned as to which of the defeated bond issues was the most important,the school construction bonds were named by both groups of precint leaders in almost identical percentages -- forty-eight percent by ABC supporters and by 45.5 percent of the "regular" Demo- crats. Apparently both groups place the public schools at the head of the County's needs, but differ markedly upon how much they are willing to Spend on this or any governmental activity. The third question concerning public education asked reSpondents if they believed the pay of Arlington County Public School Teachers was too high, adequate, or inadequate. The replies showed the ABC precinct leaders more inclined to believe that salaries are inadequate. Sixty percent of their replies fell into this category as compared to 41.3 percent of the "regular” Democratic precinct chairmen. Forty percent of the former rated teacher salaries adequate, while 59.2 percent of their Opponents believed the salaries were suffi- cient. Four and one-half percent of the Democrats indicated they did not know. Arlington's teachers apparently need have no fear of salary cuts, as not one reSpondent in either group believed the salaries were too high. The last question concerned the respondent's Opinions regarding the action of the ABC dominated School Board to institute a public kindergarten, the first in Northern Virginia 211 and one of the few such programs in the State. Respondents were told that this action would probably mean an increase in school taxes. It was believed the ABC members, with their more liberal outlook toward Spending for the school program and their northern and western educational heritage from areas where kindergartens are far more common, would overwhelmingly approve of this action. This hypothesis was completely sub- stantiated by the answers which are summarized in Table 18. Those who indicated they believed the School Board's action was unwise were then asked if they believed a public kindergarten was justified at any time. The answers to this question are presented in Table 19. TABLE 18 ATTITUDE OF ABC AND "REGULAR” DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN ON ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC KINDERGARTENS IN ARLINGTON Favor Public Kindergartens ABC Reg. Dem. Yes 80.0% 13.6% No 16.0 77.3 Don't Know 4.0 9.1 Total 100% 100% No. Cases 25 22 212 TABLE 19 DEGREE OF OPPOSITION TO PUBLIC KINDERGARTENS BY ABC.AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN When Establish ABC Reg. Dem. When taxes not raised 50.0% 17.7% When properly planned 25.0 5.9 Never 0.0 76.4 Don't know 25.0 0.0 Total 100% 100% NO. Cases 4 l7 This question of expanding the program of the public schools to include a kindergarten program showed the greatest difference between the two groups of precinct leaders on a question of school policy. Fifty percent of the "regular" Democratic precinct leaders were Opposed entirely to the principle of public kindergartens while none of the ABC group was against them, although a very small percentage believed the establishment of the program should have been delayed until other school needs were adequately met and a tax increase avoided. Another area of Opposing values between the more liberal .ABC followers and the conservative Democrats was concerned ‘with the issue of racial integration of the Arlington schools. 213 In 1955 the ABC dominated School Board had initiated a gradual system of school integration, only to meet the wrath of the State legislature which deprivesthe County's voters of the privilege of direct election of the School Board. The school integration question and the loss of the elective School Board was, perhaps, the leading issue in the campaigns of 1956, 1957, and 1958. It was certainly the most emotional issue. In 1959 the schools were peacefully integrated under Federal Court order, but the emotion remained and the ABC County Board candidates campaigned with the reminder that they were members of the County Board which kept complete order throughout the period of tense, initial integration. Given the geographical background of most ABC precinct leaders and the liberal attitude of the Party toward the school integration question, it was assumed that most of the reSpondents in the ABC group, while perhaps not all enthu- siastically embracing the cause of racial integration, would indicate an overwhelming preference for keeping the public schools open at any cost. Their Opponents would probably be more inclined to support the "massive resistance" policies of Senator Harry F. Byrd. ReSponses of the two groups of precinct leaders to the question of whether they would have preferred to see Arlington's public schools remain segregated are tabulated in Table 20. 214 TABLE 20 ATTITUDE OF ABC AND "REGULAR" DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN TOWARD RACIAL SEGREGATION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Prefer Segregated ABC I Reg. Dem. Yes 20.0% 72.7% NO 80.0% 9.1 Don't Care 0.0 9.1 Don't know 0.0 9.1 Total 100% 100% No. Cases 25 22 Those who indicated a preference for continued segre- gation of the public schools were then asked what course of action they would prefer if given only a choice between integrated schools or the closing of all County public schools. The results are described in Table 21. TABLE 21 ATTITUDES OF SEGREGATIONISTS TOWARD CLOSING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PREVENT INTEGRATION ABC Reg. Dem. Close 0.0% 25.0% Keep Open 100.0% 75.0 Don't know 0.0 0.0 Total 100% 100% No. Cases 5 l6 215 The results were rather surprising. Although it was believed ABC precinct leaders would be almost unanimous in supporting continued public education deSpite integration, their strong positive support of the principle of school integration as a value in itself was not eXpected. ABC candidates had been very reluctant to use such a positive approach in their campaign statements. Their decision may well have been a wise one, for support of the integration of the public schools by active ABC members might well have not reflected the feel- ing of the majority of the voters in the County. It was im- possible to empirically test such a proposition and the writer ventures no Opinion regarding the general feeling of County voters on this issue. Summary The analysis of the election returns and census tract data and the results of interviews with ABC and "regular" Democratic precinct chairmen described in this chapter appear to confirm the contention that the main political division in suburban Arlington County has been between those who have taken up residency in the County since the rapid expansion of the Federal government took place at the beginning of WOrld War II and those who had resided in the County prior to that time. The new residents were drawn chiefly from among the thousands of workers added to the staffs of expanding Federal agencies and those in private businesses closely connected to 216 the Federal government. The Federal employees were prohibited by the Hatch Acts of 1939 and 1940 from actively working through the "partisan" political parties to bring about the Official allocation of their new values. It is from this large group of "Hatched" federal employees that the ABC political asso- ciation obtains the bulk of its membership. These new residents who have been attracted to the ABC banner naturally have the majority of their places of employ- ment at government and business offices in the District of Columbia or at the Department of Defense Pentagon Building in Arlington just across the Potomac River from the central city. MOSt of the active workers in the "regular" Democratic organization have their offices and shOps within Arlington County. The ABC workers also represent new arrivals from all parts of the United States with the large majority from the northern and western areas of the United States where the political, social, and economic values are often quite dif- ferent from those of the "old" South where most of their Opponents were raised. In addition, ABC voters appear to be generally younger with more young children than do those supporting the Opposition. The new arrivals who joined the ABC movement were also unlit"; I 217 found to have political values whiCh contrast rather sharply with those of the “regular" Democratic workers. They are in favor of additional functions and services from the County government and are more willing to pay for these increased local government activities. Specifically, they favor an eXpanded school system and integrated public schools. The desire of the new residents to live in a suburban atmosphere while working in the city results in ABC workers favoring a T -- —-.-. 1 County planning policy which is Opposed to heavy industrial development, rapid eXpansion of commercial areas, and high density residential apartment development. The typical ABC supporter could probably be described as a postwar resident, between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five, with small children of elementary or pre-school age, and employed outside of the County by the Federal govern- ment in a professional capacity. He would describe his political orientation as an "anti-Byrd Democrat", and would favor increased functions for the County government and advocate additional taxes and bonding to pay for them. He would be a strong supporter of the finest possible public schools for his children and would argue that Arlington should have integrated its public schools several years ago and avoided much trouble. To promote these values he will have been active in his local Parent Teachers Association and neighborhood civic association. . V , ”mes-l- _. .7 fl- 218 The rise of the Arlingtonians for a Better County has been traced from the days of the post-war rebellion over the lack of adequate educational facilities to the present struggle over the pOpulation and zoning policies which should be adOpted by the County. The organization of the ABC Party has been explained and its membership analyzed. It is now necessary to turn again to the series of questions incor- porating the interest group analysis of Professor Truman. . These questions, outlined in Chapter Two, were deSignated in as the framework for the summary of this study. The outlining of answers to these questions will be the subject of the con- cluding chapter. CHAPTER IX THE OPPOSITION A study of the Arlingtonians for a Better County would not be complete without a brief description of its major source of opposition. Candidates to run against the ABC ‘A ‘lV—x—.——-_—— 1 , p Party usually have been recruited from two main sources. Initially they were nominated by a competing "nonpartisan" federation of conservative interest groups which carried the name of the Arlington Independent MOvement. Following the dissolution of this group after its defeat in 1957 and the conservative Split between staunch segregationist and moderate conservative independent candidates in 1958, the chief organized Opposition to ABC has been the conservative faction of the Arlington Democratic County Committee. The Republican Party in Arlington had been relatively inactive at the local and state level, and in most races prominent Republicans could quite easily support conservative Democrats. In 1959 the Republicans did nominate a candidate for one of two vacancies on the County Board but he ran far behind the one Democratic candidate and the two ABC candidates. Therefore, to gain an accurate picture of the main 219 220 Opposition to the ABC party, it is necessary to review the organization and Operation of the Arlington Democratic County Committee. It represents the formal organizational element of the Democratic Party in Arlington. Under the "Plan Of Organization" adopted by the State Democratic Convention in 1932 County and City Committees, including the Arlington County Committee, are granted the following wide powers: (1) The Committee has the power to determine the basis of its own representation from each precinct in the County. q... 1“”--.‘gofl (2) It is given general charge of "the affairs and the nomination of candidates of the party ... and shall regulate and direct same." (3) Each County Committee may elect a chairman, secretary, and "such other officers as they may see fit." The officers so selected are not required to have been elected to member- ship On the Committee. (4) The Committee may eXpel any member deemed guilty of "wiflful neglect" of his duties or for failure to support the party nominees at any election while he is a member of the Committee. (5) It is required to prescribe whether the elec- tion of delegates to any county, district, or State convention shall be by precinct, magis- terial district, county meeting, or primary election. The Committee also determines the number Of delegates to be chosen from such districts. (6) The County Committee may at its discretion establish additional precinct, ward or magisterial district organizations. (7) It has the power to provide for nomination of candidates for all elective county offices and for the election of Party Committee members ‘ - 221 and delegates to Party Conventionm It may determine whether such nominations will be by mass meetings, conventions, or primaries.l The powers listed above virtually make the County Com- mittee the Democratic Party in Arlington. It may determine its own form of organization, choose officers from outside the Committee (although this has not been done), develOp any subsidiary organizational elements, and most important, :9“ determine whether there will be a Democratic nominee for any county elective office and the method by which such candidate S will be nominated. These extensive powers make the Democratic Committee similar to the ABC Council and Campaign Committee in the ABC Party's structure.2 DeSpite their similar functions, the Democratic Executive Committee's membership requirements are far different from those of the ABC Council. The latter consists of anyone willing to subscribe to its general program and pay a three dollar dues; the former consists of two precinct committeemen or com- mitteewomen from each of the County's thirty-seven precincts who are chosen by the voters in the Democratic primary held in July of each uneven numbered year. In addition, all elected 1Plan of Organization and Primary Plan of the Democratic Party of the State of Virginia, adopted by the Democratic State Convention, Richmond, Virginia, 1932, pp. 3-4. 2For a description of the function of the ABC Council see page 139. ‘3“;3‘ .II. a Lilli-RF; III-L. 'F’ 222 county officers and members of the County's state legislative delegation from the Democratic Party are ex officio members, a status which gives them the right to attend the County Committee meetings but not to cast a vote therein. Several are also the precinct committeemen from their home precincts and in this capacity are entitled to vote. The officers of the Arlington Democratic Committee are chosen for two year terms by majority vote of the Committee members. They consist of a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a 4"; Secretary, and a Treasurer. In addition, the Chairman is required by the rules of the State Democratic Party to appoint a Vice Chairman of the Opposite sex; thus, the Committee has two Vice Chairmen.3 As is the case in any large group, most of the routine business and confidential discussions and decisions must be carried out by a much smaller number than the seventy-six member County Committee. This smaller group is known as the Steering Committee, the real key to control of the County Committee. The Steering Committee consists of the five offi- cers of the County Committee plus six members-at-large. The by-laws of the County Committee provide that appointment of the six members-at-large shall be by the Chairman with the 3Plan of Organization and Primary Plan of the Democratic Party of the State of Virginia, 0 cit., p. 3. MLIIF‘ 223 approval of those Executive Committee members present and voting at gay meeting the Chairman designates. This is a vital rule as it provides the Chairman with a relatively free hand to place his personal choices on the Steering Com- mittee by moving to have his nominees approved at the meeting in which he has the most control. The Steering Committee is thus not representative of the actual factional divisions within the County Executive Com- mittee, but usually is dominated completely by the faction which can muster sufficient strength to elect its represen- tative as Chairman. Except for a short period in 1954-1955, this has been the more conservative faction in the Executive Committee and the group most sympathetic toward the aims of the state organization of Senator Harry F. Byrd. The Steering Committee is the instrument of control used by the conservative party leaders to direct the activities of the County Executive Committee. One member of the Steering Committee describes its functions as planning for the party leaders by anticipating arguments against their prOposals, analyzing the Opposition likely to develOp, and working out strategy to overcome it. The party leadership prefers to work through the Steering Committee and not appear to be dictating to the Executive Committee. An apparent contradiction of the liberal Democratic strength frequently puzzles observers of the Arlington political 224 scene. The liberal candidates have won substantial primary victories over their more conservative Opponents in the 1952, 1954, 1956, and 1958 primary contests to nominate a Demo- cratic congressional candidate. Yet, they have been unable to capture the grass roots control of the Arlington Democratic County Committee through victories in the precinct committee- man races. There are several reasons for this apparently contradictory phenomenon. Probably the most important reason is the advantage a, gained from being an incumbent committeeman in a strictly party office which is understood by few and is of little in- terest to most of the party's rank and file voters. One conservative committeeman who had just been reelected in a strong ABC precinct eXplained his success this way: "The best way to get to be a precinct committee- man is to be the incumbent. Few peOple know what a precinct chairman is or does and will simply vote for you if asked. You just have to stand at the polls on election day, greet youririends and neighbors, and also remind them you would appre- ciate that vote for precinct committeeman. They are happy to support you since they don't really care who has that office. Another source of strength for the conservative Democrats is the fact that in the odd year primary elections only state and county offices are on the ballot and usually these are so tightly controlled by the local organization that there is 4Personal interview with Democratic Precinct Committeeman for Arlington Forest Precinct, Arlington, Virginia, November 15, 1960. 225 seldom a primary contest to bring out many Democratic voters. In contrast, the 10th District congressional primary battle has usually witnessed a bitter struggle between the liberal and conservative wings of the local Democratic Party. Demo- cratic County Board primary races are virtually nonexistent since the conservatives have been able to prevent competition between their own supporters and the liberals have avoided -7 L. l. nominating a candidate who, as in 1954, might Split the liberal ...-u -» m4... _. .. _. V I vote with the ABC candidate and lost the election. Thus, the Byrd organization has an advantage in a strictly Democratic primary held in an Odd numbered year when it can draw upon the hard core of its traditional supporters, gain the aid of knowlegeable local conservative interest groups, and utilize the support available from the offices of the elective Offi- cers at the County Court House. Finally, the liberal faction of the local Democratic Executive Committee, although it constitutes a significant part of the group support for the ABC Party, cannot use the ABC precinct organization to campaign for Democratic precinct posts. Federal employees make up the bulk of the efficient ABC organization and the Hatch Act provisions prohibiting "partisan" campaigning by them effectively prevents their active work in a Democratic Party primary. In addition, other ABC precinct workers are ideologically committed to A.n-r 226 the concept of "nonpartisanship" and a few are adherents to the Republican Party on the state and national level.5 When all of these individuals are subtracted from the ABC organi- zation little remains which would provide much additional aid to the cause of the liberal Democrats. The conservative or "Byrd" Democratic leaders interviewed by the writer were unanimous in their belief that amendment 1 of the Hatch Act to allow Federal employees to participate A) n~;“..___.. _— in "partisan" elections at the local level would destroy the ~3 ABC precinct organization and bring about the dissolution of that Party. They were planning to introduce such legislation during the 1951 session of the U. 8. Congress with the full backing of both Democratic and Republican leaders in Arlington and the support of the Congressman from the 10th District which includes Arlington. In view of the fact that most ABC precinct workers eXpress liberal attitudes toward state and local political policies, it is interesting to Speculate about the implications of such an amendment on the struggle of the minority liberal faction to wrest control of the Democratic County Executive Committee from the conservatives. Freedom for Federal employees to participate in local "partisan" elections might bring about the dissolution of the ABC Party, »5For a detailed account of the political preferences of ABC precinct leaders see pages 182-183. 227 but it could also provide the liberal Democrats with the addi- tional precinct worker resources needed to capture a majority of the Executive Committee posts. The Democratic Loyalty Oath The Virginia Democratic Party was among those Southern delegations to the 1948 and 1952 Democratic Conventions which fought the prOposed loyalty oath to the national party ticket. The Party, however, has no such qualms regarding a loyalty oath for its own local organization members within Virginia. State Party rules require each member and officer of a county committee to subscribe and file with the Chairman or Secretary of such committee the following oath: "I, do state upon my sacred honor that I am a member of the Democratic Party; that I voted for all the nominees of the Democratic Party in the last preceding general election in which I participated and in which the Democratic nominee or nominees had Opposition; and I hereby on my honor pledge myself to support all nominees of the Demo- cratic party in every election as long as I shall remain a member of this committee. Given under my hand this day of , l9__,"6 A similar oath is required of all official Democratic candi- dates in primary and general elections. The strange ways of Virginia's conservative politics has also resulted in limitation of the oath's coverage to only state and local candidates. In 1948 and 1952 when 6Plan of Organization and Primary Plan of the Democratic Party of the State of Virginia, Op, cit., p. 4. .|.I | . . a u .. |1| I... lJuz {ril‘lél 228 Senator Byrd expressed disenchantment with the national nomi- nees of the Democratic Party, the State Attorney General ruled that the oath, as it applied to candidates running in party primaries controlled by the 1912 Party Primary Law, covered only support of state and local party candidates. In 1954 when the liberal faction gained control of the Arlington Demo- cratic County Committee they changed the oath for members of that Committee to Specifically include the Party's presidential candidates. Liberal members admit freely that in view of the ruling of the State Attorney General it was doubtful whether the extended oath could have survived a court test. During their short time in control of the Committee it was never challenged and the Committee has since reverted to the previous law. This oath has proven to be a source of great embarrassment to both factions on the County Committee and although action to dismiss Committee members for violation of the oath has been threatened such charges have never been proven nor has any action actually been taken against a member. In 1954 the controlling liberal faction threatened conservative members of the Committee for alledgly failing to support the liberal Democratic candidate for the County Board and in 1959 and 1960 ABC County Board members who were also members of the 3m 7;" if 229 Democratic County Committee were charged with failing to support the conservative Democratic candidate for the County Board.7 To the observer of the Arlington political scene, it does appear that it would be extremely difficult for manyof the members of the County Committee to stand by their oath to all state and local candidates in the secrecy of the ballot 4.5- booth. It is no secret, however, that the term ”support" as r H‘. used in the oath is construed very widely. Depending upon in the political views of the Democratic nominee, "support" appears to range from grudging acknowledgement of one's vote for the candidate to all out doorbell ringing and recruiting of workers. Nominating Procedures There is also a distinct difference in the nominating techniques of the ABC Party and the Arlington Democratic Party organization. Under the rules of the State Party the local County Committee may choose to nominate candidates for the County Board through the primary election provided under State ' law, a mass meeting, or a county convention.8 There have been 7In 1960 one of the ABC County Board members resigned from the Democratic County Committee stating he could not support the Democratic nominee for the County Board. 8Plan of Organization and Primary Plan of the Democratic Party of the State of Virginia, Op, cit., p. 4. 230 no party primary contests for any County offices since 1951. Single candidates have filed for the County Board race and have been endorsed by very limited “mass" meetings called by the County Committee and limited to those who would sign the Democratic oath and pay a fee. The ABC Party, on the other hand, has consistently provided a choice of candidates to those attending its open conventions. No ABC or Nonpartisan con- vention has ever been held without a contest for the party's nomination, even in 1959 when it was difficult to persuade in anyone to run against the popular County Board incumbents. The Democratic Campaign Organization Unlike the Arlingtonians for a Better County, Arlington Democrats do not rely upon hundreds of door to door canvassers which are the mainstay of the ABC campaign effort. The pre- cinct organization of the Democrats is based chiefly upon the two committeemen or committeewomen in each precinct. They may frequently recruit some additional help during a campaign to serve as poll watchers, perform clerical jobs, and arrange candidate teas. In a few of their strongest precincts some limited canvassing of known Democrats is carried out, but their campaign organization is much smaller in numbers than that of the ABC Party. The precinct chairman usually is an active individual with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in his neighborhood, 231 many of whom can be influenced on election day. The Democrats, however, have such widely divergent views concerning the prOper role of government that never can active support for all Demo- cratic candidates on the ticket be eXpected from all precinct committeemen and committeewomen. The dominant conservative group can rely upon both precinct committeemen in only seven- teen precincts, ten others are divided between liberals and conservatives, and ten are controlled by the liberals. Thus the conservative County Board candidates can not depend on in active work from a large portion of their organization. Liberal congressional candidates face even greater odds in attempting to gain full support of the County Committee in their campaigns. Several of the conservative members of the Committee were quite frank in stating that the incumbent Republican Congressman owed his continued majorities in Arlington to the tacit support of the dominant conservative majority on the Democratic Exe- cutive Committee. ABC County Board candidates, on the other hand, have generally been assured of a loyal precinct organ- ization. The conservative Democrats place their main reliance in the County Board campaigns upon their affiliation with a national party which also runs a slate of national or state officers with whom their candidate can identify. As part of the total Democratic campaign effort their County Board 232 candidate's name and picture appears on the mail-outs, posters, and sample ballots of the Democratic Party. Funds collected for the general Democratic campaign can be made available to help the County Board candidate as well as the other members of the Democratic slate. Most important for the Democratic County Board candidates is the natural influence of the Demo- cratic Party label over a large segment of the voting pOpu- altion, most of whom pay scant attention to a County Board race but simply vote for all the Democrats on the ballot. The use of the nonpartisan office type ballot instead of the party column type undoubtedly mitigates against this advantage of the Democratic label. The degree to which this type ballot is a factor in the Arlington County Board elections was not tested in this study as it would have required sampling of the general voting population. This is a task.which is beyond the capability of an individual researcher. The use of the Democratic Party label is even more impor- tant, however, when the covert support of Republican leaders can be obtained. In the 1959 campaign the ABC candidates accused the leaders of the two major parties of making a secret agreement to each field one candidate for the two County Board seats. This charge was vigorously denied by the parties concerned. However, the advantages enjoyed by both major party candidates in not having their vote Split between rival conservative candidates lent some substance to the ‘ -..c—; ...‘A.-__...—.__ 233 accusations. Additional support was provided the ABC charge when the Republican candidate publicly endorsed the Democrat and the pictures of both men appeared on the same campaign posters. Many former leaders of the old Arlington Independent Movement were Republicans who undoubtedly found their views on Arlington County problems very close to those of their ——r former AIM allies, the conservative Byrd Democrats. Thus in 1959 and 1960 the Democratic candidate did not have to compete ’i ‘3‘“. ... 'h'» r v with the counterpull of the other major party. In both 1959 and 1960 the Democrats carried on a much less vigorous campaign than did their ABC Opponents. The ABC leaders eXpressed fear that the Democratic strategy was simply to let the state and national candidates carry the County Board candidate on their coat tails against Opponents who had no such advantage. .A vigorous campaign on the part of the Democrats would have had the effect of focusing attention on county problems which could have resulted in the loss of some traditional Democratic voters to the Democratic County Board candidate. The effect of the light campaign of the opposition on ABC strategy was to cause a redoubling of that Party's efforts to have a campaign worker personally contact as many voters as possible in order to attract attention to the local campaign. Summary This short review of the Democratic Party in Arlington .. f'la!‘l'l’x.l . 234 has centered on that Party's only permanent organized form, the Arlington Democratic County Committee. It has revealed an organization which tends to reflect Professor Truman's concept of the party "almost devoid of ideological or policy content". The various groups which attempt to utilize the Democratic organization as a means of access to points of power in the Arlington government may have well established sets of values which Shape their members' views of what Arlington's political policies should be. It would appear, however, virtually impossible to synthesize these into an agreed set of values which would determine the general poli- cies of the local Democratic Party. Within the Democratic Executive Committee are found individuals ranging from extreme segregationists to members of the NAACP, supporters of the fiscal policies of Senator Byrd to disciples of Lord Keynes, former AIM.County Board members to ABC Council officers. It is little wonder, therefore, that one would seek in vain for a statement of what the Democratic Party of Arlington stood for. In contrast, all ABC precinct leaders appear agreed on such general County policies as maintaining Arlington as a low density residential suburb, establishing a tax rate de- signed to ensure a high quality of public services, and main- taining a public school system despite integration of the schools. When Speaking of the Democratic organization as opposed IF 235 to the ABC Party it is, therefore, necessary to keep in mind that this is in reality the conservative majority which con- trols the Democratic County Committee and thus determines the local Party's course of action. It is only within this group that one would find a consensus of social and economic values which are actually closer to those of the right wing of the Republican Party than those of the "new frontier“. The Democratic Party in Arlington appears to fall near the end of the political party continuum referred to pre- viously where a party has no generally agreed set of its own ideological motivations, and serves chiefly as a means of access for competinggroups to reach the key governmental decision mak- ing points. This is in contrast to the ABC Party which, while it too is used as a means of access by other interest groups, is unified behind a generally agreed set of values common to its affiliated interest groups. CHAPTER X CONCLUSIONS AND THE FUTURE OF NONPARTISAN POLITICS IN'ARLINGTQV COUNTY The preceding chapters analyzed the develOpment of a strong nonpartisan political organization in one of America‘s fastest growing suburban centers. An answer has been sought to the question of why a strong nonpartisan, local, political party arose in an area where there were no legal prohibitions against the operation of the major political parties in the selection of local officials for elective posts in the County government. The conclusions of this study will be summarized in the form of answers to the four sets of general questions outlined by Professor Truman and paraphrased by the writer to apply Specifically to the situation in Arlington.1 Causal Questiong. Why did the ABC Party emerge to chal- lenge the control of the local Democratic Party organization over the formal decision making institutions of the County government? What social and economic changes in the County brought about the move of some interest groups to form the ABC? ISee pp. 49-51. 236 : ‘lx---.—n-\. ‘ 237 These questions relate directly to the main prOposition set forth in this study -- that local "nonpartisan" political parties arise because a significant number of interest groups in a community are denied access to the key decision making points in the local government through either of the major "partisan" political parties and the decisions of the local government fail to recognize the values of these interest groups. To obtain access to these decision making points the disenchanted interest groups form their own "nonpartisan" tn political party. This study has shown that in Arlington County the Demo- cratic Party was controlled by the conservative Byrd organi- zation Democrats who valued the minimum services and pay as you go fiscal policies of Senator Harry F. Byrd. This organization represented the previously dominant interests in the County and controlled all the major points of decision making in the local government. Those interest groups which demanded increased governmental and educational services to meet what their members believed were the needs of the rapidly growing County were rebuffed by the Democratic Party leaders. Attempts by the members of the interest groups seeking expanded public services to align with the conservative and very weak Republican Party met with failure. Unable to gain access to the key decision making points through either of 238 the County's major parties, the disaffected groups -- chiefly school and civic organizations -- joined together to form what eventually became the dominant political association in the County, the "nonpartisan" Arlingtonians for a Better County. Research into the develOpment of the ABC Party reveals a second variable which appears to have some influence on the ease by which sufficient pOpular support can be generated to g enable a "nonpartisan" local party to succeed in establishing and maintaining itself against the Opposition of the major "partisan" political associations. The majority of Arlington's working adults are employed by the Federal government and are prohibited from participating in "partisan” political cam- paigning by the provisions of the Hatch Act. The U. S. Civil Service Commission interpretation of the Act does allow them to participate actively in "nonpartisan" political parties, even when campaigning against a "partisan" party. This situation makes possible formulation of another prOposition concerning establishment of local "nonpartisan" political parties. This prOposition states that formation of such parties is encouraged in communities where a large prOportion of the potential political party workers are Federal employees prohibited by the Hatch Act from partici- pating in the activities of the major ”partisan" parties. Either to promote their political values or to fulfill a psychological drive to political activity, such persons will 239 be ready to join with others in establishing "nonpartisan" political organizations in their communities. Such a prOposition would appear logical from a superficial view of the situation in Arlington. The conservative Democratic leaders appear certain this is the case since they enthusias- tically support amendment of the Hatch Act to allow Federal employees to participate in "partisan" politics at the local level. They believe this would result in abandonment of the ABC Party. However, in other washington suburban areas such as Fairfax County and the city of Alexandria in Virginia, or Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland, which also contain many Federal employees,"nonpartisan” political asso- ciations are noticeably absent from the political scene. It would appear that there are more basic factors which determine why the "nonpartisan" movements develOp. The use of the nonpartisan, office type ballot in Virginia undoubtedly limits the voting of a straight party ticket and thus is of some aid to the ABC Party on election day. Yet, all communities in Virginia use this type of ballot, but very few contain strong "nonpartisan" political parties. Still, the most important ingredient necessary for the development of ABC Parties in other communities appears to be the existence of two Opposing sets of social and economic values each supported by Significant organized group interests. 11". ‘\.l}.9i - " 240 When urban development Spills over into the boundaries of small towns and rural communities, the former city resi- dent who enters the scene frequently views the locality's problems from a different value frame of reference than does the inhabitant who was born and raised there. Both types of individuals can find supporters among the new suburbanites and the stage isset for a power struggle to capture the key points of decision making in the local government at which the dis— puted values are allocated. This would appear to be the next likely common ingredient found in both areas of high and low Federal employment. One case study can not possibly be taken as general verification of this prOposition but the writer believes it does provide a fruitful focus for further case studies of the political process in suburbia. Questions on Organization and Cohesion. Has the organi- zational structure or the group representation and influence within the ABC Party changed Since its inception? What is the degree of cohesion among the groups comprising ABC? What are the main sources of ABC's strength? A review of the chapters dealing with the develOpment of the nonpartisan movement in Arlington County shows a definite change in the interest group representation and influence between 1946 and 1960. When Arlington was a rapidly growing suburb the chief motivating force behind the interest group support of the nonpartisan movement was the desire to obtain 241 urban services valued by so many of the new Arlington resi- dents, eSpecially improved educational facilities. The most influential of the interest groups supporting the Nonpartisans and later the ABC Party were the Citizens Committee for School Improvement and the PIA'S. The principle non-school group which was influential in develOping the ABC Party was the Civic Federation. ' 1 The school issue reached its peak in the integration con- Fl} troversy in 1955, 1956, and 1957 but since has receded into the background. As the school issue has subsided, the school groups have taken less active rolls in ABC campaigns. The issue which came to dominate the ABC campaign of 1959 and 1960 was the maintenance of Arlington as a low-density residential community. The fight against commercialization of its residential neighborhoods was led by the Arlington Civic Federation and its allied neighborhood associations. Today these are the most active groups supporting the ABC Party. The Arlington story thus presents still another interest- ing proposition for research in studies of other suburbs. It appears that as the most pressing needs for public services and educational facilities are met by our growing suburban communities, the political action of local interest groups will shift to promotion of more conservative values concerning the preservation of private property rights. .A local political 242 party which represents the desires of the new suburban resi- dents for changing the community's status quo attitude toward public services will become more conservative as its supporters seek to use it to maintain the residential atmOSphere of their community. Perhaps this will lead to a gradual lessening of the gulf between the Opposed value systems and result in event- ual disappearance of real political controversy in the mature ' suburb. .This is an interesting prOposition which only a 13.3 . ._ —_.-— ...—1 thorough study of several communities over a long period of time could confirm. Three prOpositions concerning the suburban political process which have been advanced by Professor Robert WOod appear to describe some of the main sources of ABC strength and there- fore,'were tested through interviews with ABC and conservative Democratic precinct leaders and by correlation of census tract data and precinct election returns. The results of these empirical analyses tended to confirm Dr. Wood's prOpositions to an amazing degree. His first prOposition, and the one which was most over- whelmingly supported by the evidence obtained in this study, hypothesized that the suburban political divisions tend to reflect a division between the newly arrived residents and those who have lived in the community for some time. What was uneXpected in the findings was the very sharp degree of this difference.2 2See pages 177-178. I}. 4 -.b ‘5. 243 His second proposition, which is also confirmed by the data collected in this study, stated that suburban political conflict is also a reflection of a division between the com- muters and the "stay at homes" (those whose place of employment is in the suburb). Again the data collected supports this prOposition.3 Since the ABC Party is supported chiefly by both new residents and commuters, it appears that the majority of those moving from the central city to the suburbs moved only to change residences and continued to keep their places of employment in the city. Thus, the new resident-commuter actually represents a single source of support. In addition, the data indicates that these new resident - commuters are also young voters with small children, former residents Of the Northern and'Western sections of the united States, and professional men employed by the Federal government. Their political Opponents, on theother hand, tend to have Opposite social and economic backgrounds which have influenced develOp- ment of Opposed political values.4 The campaign techniques and organizational philOSOphy Of the ABC Party also tends to support Professor Wood's main hypothesis -- that the suburban political process reflects the influence of "a belief in conditions of intimacy" found 3See page 184. 4See pages 179-180 and 187-189. ... U ‘} IP. I!) A. 244 in the small town life of early America. The Open mass meet- ings for nominations of ABC candidates are reminiscent of the old New England town meeting concept. ABC's predecessor, the Nonpartisan Party, actually called its nominating convention the "TOWn Meeting". The highly effective ABC precinct organization works to create a feeling of friendly personal contact with the mass of voters. The success Of the neighborhood canvassing methods of ABC and the candidate teas and social hours held ¥ in individual precincts all bear testimony to the belief of L- ABC leaders that such campaign techniques are not only one of their Party's greatest sources of strength but represent a value in themselves. The cohesiveness of the members of the ABC Party and that of the members of the local Democratic Party around a common set of values for their reSpective political associations illustrates a wide difference between the two groups. A general consensus of values regarding local problems was noted among ABC precinct leaders, but the Democratic precinct com- mitteemen had to be limited to those counted in the conservative wing to avoid questioning those completely committed to the ABC's stand on local issues. The ABC Party appeared to be supported by interest grOUpS whOse members possessed the same general goals while their Democratic opposition was badly divided. The ABC Party, therefore, tends to lean more toward the concept of a political party formed around a set of common . ...? :IF. .I» 245 values, and the Democrats come closer to the type of political party held together, not by common values, but by tradition and the desire for power. The writer believes that the classification of local party organizations by the degree of their common value orientation provides an efficient frame of reference by which they may be studied. Whether the ABC Party has become sufficently well organized and has develOped enough traditional support after only six years of existence as a party so that it may exist without a strong value orientation can only be determined by future campaigns. In 1960, despite a lack of many popular issues, it won an election for the first time in a presidential election year when the pull of traditional major party loyal- ties were at their strongest. Relationship of ABC to Other Interest_§roup§. Through a study of the interaction of ABC membership, can it be deter- mined how the various interest groups making up the tangent political association are interrelated? Is there a relation- ship between ABC and other tangent political associations? Both the interviews with knowledgeable political leaders in Arlington and the data on group membership of ABC precinct leaders confirms that the ABC Party is the tangent political association of the local civic associations and the school groups. Probably the most startling finding is that not a 246 single ABC precinct leader interviewed belonged to any organi- zation representing Arlington's own business community. ‘While it assumed that local businessmen were generally Opposed to ABC, it was not eXpected that they would be completely absent in such a large sample of active ABC workers. It is not that the businessmen have avoided grass roots politics, for member— ship in local business oriented interest groups makes up the largest number of interest group affiliations acknowledged by conservative Democratic precinct committeemen. The very close relationship between the ABC party and the liberal wing of the Democratic County Committee is amply illustrated in this study. Robert Wood views this factional struggle within the local Democratic Party as the chief reason for the creation and existence of ABC.5 Analysis of the national "partisan" political party preferences of ABC pre- cinct chairmen, however, indicates that ABC cannot be considered simply the local liberal wing of the Democratic Party in Arling- ton. One out of four ABC precinct committeemen indicate they do 295 support the Democratic Party. MOst of these reSpondentS consider themselves independents. In addition, the ABC Party has succeeded in winning four consecutive County Board elections at which the County electorate also gave a majority to either conservative Democrats for state offices or a conservative 5WOod, o cit., p. 179. 247 Republican in the congressional race. The writer believes that evidence such as this casts doubt upon the proposition advanced by some political scientists that participation by the national parties in strictly local elections should be encouraged because voters tend to divide the same way on the national, state, and local level. The evidence presented in this study certainly does not refute such a proposition, but it does indicate that further research a . n.— ...__., ... a ‘ ‘ 3‘ must be done before it can be considered a valid argument for more active participation of the national parties in local elections. Influence of the ABcggarty Over_Decision Making Points in the County Government. To what degree does the ABC Party actually influence the decisions of the governmental units in Arlington County? With what frequency is this influence brought to bear? By what means is it accomplished? The description of the organization of the ABC Council and the Campaign Committee illustrates the means by which the ABC Party attempts to channel precinct sentiment to its mem- bers on the County and School Boards. MOSt influence over the ABC members of the two Boards, however, appears to be exercised by the top party leadership in the ABC Council's Executive Committee and the Campaign Committee.6 Evidence of a marked change in the decisions of the County 6See pages 141 and 154. 248 Board toward protection of single family residential neigh- borhoods from the encroachment of commercial and apartment zonings is noted in the analysis of County Board votes after the ABC Party obtained control. Few other divisions of Board votes were found except over appointment to administrative and advisory boards and commissions.7 However, the County and School Boards did tend to increase the frequency with which large bond issues to finance added public services and educational facili- .- m-na->-...— _. - I .A '- ties were approved for presentation to the voters of the County. So frequent did these proposals become that the conservative members of the County Board arranged to have a Special law passed to require approval of such bond issues by both a majority of real property owners as well as a majority of the registered voters casting ballots on such issues. This law was later declared unconstitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court. One interesting aSpect of the analysis of divided County Board votes is the tendency of the ABC members to display increasingly less unanimity as their majority on the Board increased. It is interesting to Speculate whether future research focused on the increase of a political party's majority on a legislative body would reveal a consistent pat- tern of declining cohesion in the votes of its representatives. Changes in Governmental Institutions Because of ABC Activity. What visible changes have occurred in the governmental institutions 7See page 173. 249 of Arlington County as a result of the activity of the ABC Party? The only change in the formal governmental structure of Arlington County brought about by action of the new "non- partisan" political associations was in the method of selecting a School Board. The initial change to an elective School Board and the later action of the state legislature in chang- ing the method of choice to appointment by the County Board i were the direct result of efforts of the Citizens Committee .h for School Improvement and later of the ABC Party. Arlington County is one of the few counties in the United States to utilize the manager form of government and this is in agreement with the traditional values of municipal reform held by most active ABC members. Therefore, there has been little desire on the part of the Party's leaders to tamper with what they believe is an "ideal" form of local government. The Future of the ABC Party This Study cannot close without at least some Speculation as to the future courSe of the Arlingtonians for a Better County. A number of the local political eXperts interviewed by the writer, including a few prominent in the ABC Party, predict that the Party is going the way of most reform move- ments and will disappear as the issues which brought it into existence lose their importance. They forsee no burning issues such as poor educational standards or the threat of 250 closed schools which could excite the passions of the community and bring the cadres of eager precinct workers into the ranks of the protectors of the schools and the community. They further predict that the diSpute between the pure nonpartisans and the liberal Democratic faction will hasten the demise of the Party. The Opposition leaders in the conservative Demo- cratic organization and in the local Republican Party Speak hOpefully of an amendemnt to the Hatch Act in 1961 which would allow them to recruit workers from the vast number of Federal employees in the County. This they firmly believe will provide them with the organizational strength they need and pull many workers out of ABC ranks. DeSpite the ABC Party's increased concern with protection of residential prOperty rights, a gulf still separates its supporters from the local businessmen, realtors, and advocates of a lower local tax rate. These interests view eXpanSion of commercial and apartment development in the County as a boon to its economy, a means of increasing profits, and the source of vast additional public revenue which can be used to hold down tax rates. This represents a direct threat to what most ABC SUpporters appear to feel is the “good suburban way of life". The writer believes that as long as the two major political parties maintain very similar stands concerning County problems and neither provides a channel by which the values of a very E 251 large segment of the community can make themselves felt at the key decision making points of the government, the ABC Party will remain a strong factor in Arlington's political life. The Party has survived Splits and severe electoral defeats in the past and always emerged stronger and more viable than before. Amendment of the Hatch Act might possibly destroy the nonpartisan movement in Arlington, but only by turning into -..‘_'___ -.-?“ a Frankenstein monster for its present advocates in the major 3” party organizations. Should Federal employees be allowed to participate freely in local partisan campaigns the liberals might well gain firm control of the local Democratic organi- zation. The interviews with precinct chairmen described earlier indicate a large proportion of the Federal employees favor the liberal views of the Democratic Party on the national level. Freedom for this group to participate in local Demo- cratic councils might create the power to drive out the Byrd adherents. This would result in a liberal Democratic Party Opposing a conservative Republican Party and provide a clear choice of liberal and conservative values for Arlington voters within the framework of the two major parties. Until such an event takes place, however, it is quite likely that the Arlingtonians for a Better County, or some similar tangent political association, will continue to play a large role in the political life of Arlington County. APPENDIX A PARTY COMPOSITION OF THE ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD Year 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 Party Composition Dem. Dem. Dem. Dem. Dem. Dem. Dem. Dem., l Ind. GAA, 2 NP, 2 Dem. GAA, 2 NP, 2 Dem. GAA, 3 NP, GAA, 3 NP, 1 Dem. l Dem. Rep., 3 NP, 1 Dem. Rap., 3 AIM Rap., 2 AIM, l Dem. Rep., 2 AIM; l Dem. Rep., 1 AIM, l Dem., 2 ABC AIM, l Dem., 2 ABC 252 .4 ..1--- _-_.--__ ‘ ‘ . . , . t I W . 1958 1959 1960 1961 253 3 ABC, 4 ABC, 4 ABC, 4 ABC, 2 AIM 1 AIM l ABM l Ind. (endorsed by ABC) L. I. ...—l ‘- APPENDIX B ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD ELECTION RESULTS 1946-1948 - Elect One Daniel EL Dugan Edmund D. Campbell - Elect Two F. Freeland Chew Florence Cannon T. Oscar Smith Harry W. Cuppett Lincoln Mackey Lawson Wimberly Robert W. Gaines Millar P. Divine Jacob C. Bechtel - Elect One Alfred E. Frisbie I. Lee Potter Francis J. Clair Jacob C. Bechtel - Elect One Robert W. Cox Basil DeLashmutt Jacob C. Bechtel - Elect One Daniel E. Dugan Fred W. Bach Jacob C. Bechtel Norman Lee 254 Nonpartisan Democrat Greater Arlington Association Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Greater Arlington Association Independent Independent Independent Independent Independent Official Democrat Republican-NOnpartisan Independent Independent Nonpartisan (first Town Meeting) Official Democrat Independent Nonpartisan Official Democrat Independent Write in ] 1 ]!._I 1951 - Elect Two ‘5299 Robert3§eck 4777 Alan L. Dean 4713 T. Oscar Smith 4336 Carroll Wright, Jr. 3778 Geo. M; Rowzee, Jr. 3536 R. Wade Pearson 2718 F. Freeland Chew 1194 Fred W. Bach 377 Jacob C. Bechtel (The offices held by Cox, Dugan, and Dean, the Nonparti- 255 Official Republican Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Endorsed Democrat Official Republican Endorsed Democrat Independent Independent Independent sans, were removed from office in September of 1952 when the Virginia Supreme Court upheld a Circuit Court decision pro- hibiting Federal employees from serving on local legislative bodies. The Circuit Court appointed three citizens to serve until December 31, 1952 and ordered elections to fill the three vacant seats at the regular election in November of 1952). 1952 - Elect Four Four Year Term 11440 Geo- M. Rowgeel Jr 11376 Ivan E. Booker 6542 Wesley W. COOper 1678 Jacob C. Bechtel 2 Daniel E. Dugan Three Year Term 18977 Alvin Kimmel 13298 ‘Wm. J. DeMik Two Year Term 18409 Leone Buchholz 13918 Martha W. Gammon One Year Term 19757 Robert T. Detwiler Official Republican Nonpartisan Official Democrat Independent write in AIMZ Nonpartisan AIM Nonpartisan AIM 256 13355 Ruth O'Dell Cox Nonpartisan 1953 - Elect One 7551 Wesley W. Cooper Official Democrat 6625 Glenn Bayless Nonpartisan 4889 Richard L. Parli Endorsed Republican 1954 Elect One 8700 Leone Buchholz AIM 8538 Ivan Booker Nonpartisan 5534 Brian Bell Official Democrat 1564 Daniel E. Dugan Independent 1955 - Elect Two 11554 Ralph Kaul ABC 11021 David L. Krupsaw ABC 8225 .Aubrey B. Leggett AIM 7589 Arthur R. Pomponio AIM 1956 - Elect One 17963 Lucas H. Blevins AIM 17845 Curtis E. Tuthill ABC 1957 - Elect One 14015 Herbert L. Brown- Jr._ ABC 11760 Maynard Magruder AIM 1 Vincent Marcum Write in 1958 - Elect One 13581 Leo Urbanske, Jr. ABC 11892 Leone Buchholz Independent (AIM group dissolved 2008 B. M; Miller Independent but most leaders 1552 Russell Runyon Independent support Mrs. Buchholz) 1959 - Elect Two 9698 David.L..Krupsaw ABC 9577 Ralph Kaul ABC 8245 Alfred E. Crowe Official Democrat 5734 Alvin B. Snell Official Republican 1659 Russell Runyon Independent On January 21, 1960 M’. Krupsaw died and Ernest W. Wilt was 257 appointed by the three Circuit Court judges to fill out his term. The election of a successor was set for the next general election in NOvember 1960. 1960 - Elect Two Four Year Term 19939 Thomas W. Richards ABC 19442 Lucas H. Blevins Democrat Three Year Term 31922 Ernest W. Wilt Independent endorsed by unopposed ABC, Democrats, and Republicans APPENDIX C INTERVIEWS WITH POLITICALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE SOURCES IN ARLINGTON COUNTY Intensive, relatively unstructured interviews each lasting lu- several hours were held with twelve Arlington political leaders who had been active in county politics for at least ten or t”. more years. Only a few general questions were prepared in ad- vance and injected into the conversation from time to time in order to insure that all the necessary information would be given. By allowing respondents freedom to tell their own story, a great deal of enlightening information was revealed which might never have been mentioned in a highly structured question and answer Situation. These long interviews proved to be one of the most valuable sources of data since most of the information concerning the organization and operations of the various political factions and groups which have appeared on the Arlington scene in the past fourteen years does not exist in published form. All reSpondents were COOperative and very willing to discuss in detail their conception of the political process in Arlington. ‘Much of the information concerning the early local interest group affiliations with the political associations which later 258 259 formed the Arlingtonians for a Better County could be obtained only from this source. The following is a list of the questions used in the course of these conversations: 1. What were the first moves which led to the organi- zation of the present ABC Party? 2. What stimulated these moves? 3. Who were the people involved? 4. ‘What organizations were involved? 5. was any effort made initially to work through the local party organizations of either the Democrats or Republicans? Why or why not? 6. How is the ABC party organized? 7. What are the main sources of ABC strength? (a) finan- cial, (b) organizational, (c) personnel? 8. Is there any mechanism within the Party's organi- zation for reaching agreement on new or current issues? 9. How do the ABC members on the County Board or School Board know what the ABC stand is on particular issues? 10. Do they usually follow the stand taken by the Party? Why? 11. ‘What local groups usually support ABC? How open is this support? Has it changed since 1950? Why? 12. What has been the impact of ABC activities on Arlington County government? ‘What will be its future impact? 13. Is there any relationship between ABC and the local organizations of the Democratic or Republican parties? ‘Why did such relationships develop? 14. If one of the local organizations of a major party were to fall under the control of the liberal group in Arlington and nominate men such as Brown, Urbanske or Kaul what would be the effect on ABC? II.- I -_.‘~__b——.—- " '0 ‘4 i 260 The first four questions were designed to obtain information identifying the groups and individuals who initially organized the nonpartisan movement and those who were Opposed to it. This information was vital to substantiate the main hypothesis that those local groups representing newly arrived residents, commuters, government employees, and renters were denied access to the County Board and School Board and organized the non- l partisan political party to obtain such access. The fifth - question was also related to the main hypothesis. It asked “whether the respondents were aware of any effort by the groups or individuals constituting the early nonpartisan movement to work through the existing party machinery to obtain favorable hearings before the County and School Boards. Some general evidence of refusal of the political leaders in the County in 1945 and 1946 to work with the dissident groups was necessary before it could be stated that they were denied access through the regular party organization. Questions 6 through 11 were concerned with determining the internal organization of the ABC party. They sought to ascertain how the ABC organization obtained agreement on new or changing issues, how it transmitted the party's stands on such issues to its representatives in the key decision making points of government, and.whether these representatives tended to follow the recommendations of their party. The questions produced information which helped answer the questions on how 261 the organizational structure and group influence within ABC developed and what constituted the party's chief sources of cohesion and strength. They also provided an indication of the degree to which the ABC actually influenced the decisions of the governmental units in Arlington and how it was accom- plished. Question twelve was framed Specifically to determine if \, any changes in the governmental institutions of the County resulted from the activity of the ABC. The last two questions !. sought to determine the extent to which the party represented the dissident liberal minority group of the local Democrats. APPENDIX D INTERVIEWS WITH SAMPLE GROUPS OF PRECINCT LEADERS A questionnaire was prepared to be answered in interviews of a test group consisting of a large sample of active members of the Arlingtonians for a Better County.‘ A somewhat shorter questionnaire was prepared for a control group of active mem- bers of the dominant conservative or "regular" wing of the local Democratic Party. In order to obtain comparable groups of political activists it was necessary to use the ABC pre- cinct chairmen as the test group. The only group of "regular" Democrats which paralleled a Similar group in ABC was the Democratic County Executive Committee, consisting of two Demo- cratic precinct chairmen from each of the thirty-seven Arlington precincts. The ABC used one chairman for each precinct and did not keep an active year round precinct organization as did the Democrats. In the summer of each year, however, ABC pre- cinct chairmen were chosen to conduct the campaign in their precinct for the annual fall County Board election. The precinct organization which had been develOped by August of 1960 was used as the pOpulation for the sample. It is, perhaps, erroneous to term the test group a sample as twenty-five of the 262 263 thirty precinct chairmen who had been appointed by August were interviewed. No refusals were encountered and only conditions beyond control of the writer and the potential reSpondents prevented the remaining five from being contacted. A problem of selection faced the writer in choosing indi- viduals to be interviewed for the control group. This was due to an overlapping membership between ABC and the Democratic l~ County Executive Committee. Since the control group was to ! consist of those who were working actively against the.ABC it ‘ was necessary to eliminate those members of the Democratic ‘ Committee who were also allied.with ABC. This task.was simpli- fied because two prominent members of the ABC Council had led a fight in the 1958 Democratic primary to capture control of the County Executive Committee. As part of their campaign to win control of the Committee they had circulated a list of anti—organization or liberal candidates for Democratic precinct chairmanships which was sent to all registered voters. Those members of the 1960 Democratic County Executive Committee whose names appeared on the anti-organization list were not considered part of the control group. The Chairman of the Democratic Committee reviewed the list and aided in making corrections and additions that had occurred among the "regular" Democratic precinct chairmen. Of the total of seventy-four precinct chairmen, twenty-eight were eliminated in the screening described above. Out of the remaining forty-five,twenty-six were contacted and four refusals were encountered. To insure 264 an adequate sample an attempt was made to contact at least one respondent in each of the twenty-seven precincts in which there was at least one conservative organization Democratic precinct chairman. This was possible in all but seven of the precincts. Similar interview schedules were used for both the test group and control group since the purpose was to Obtain com- parative reSponses. The questions concerning major party preference and whether any work had ever been done for a major party were not, however, asked the control group. The question about a willingness to work for ABC if liberal local candidates were nominated by the Democrats was, of course, not applicable for the control group. The questions asked were designed to test the hypotheses outlined previously. One of these assumptions was that the struggle was between the Old residents and the postwar new- comers. To verify this proposition and also to determine whether the liberals and their Opponents may have been brought up in areas of the nation with different sets of values, questions one and two queried the respondents as to what year they moved to Arlington County and which states they had pre- viously resided in for periods of three or more years. It was not believed that a three year residency in a locality would have any appreciable effect upon the basic political values of the reSpondents. Their answers, however, did provide 265 a complete picture of each individual's residency background, - eSpecially the area in which they were raised. Only one reSpondent had lived in several different areas as a child. Another popular assumption often heard was that the majority of ABC members were renters as Opposed to the more conservative real prOperty owners. The precinct chairmen were asked in questions three and four whether they rented or owned their own homes. It was also assumed that the active ABC worker was a professional man,employed by the Federal government, and commuted out of the County to his place of work. Questions five and Six were designed to elicit answers which would aid in determining the validity of these assump- tions. Questions seven and eight concerned the local organized groups to which the reSpondents belonged and what offices they held or had held in them. The questions were asked to aid in determining the present interest group composition of ABC and the conservative Democratic Opposition. It was recognized that simple dues paying was not a particularly significant indication of active membership in an organiza- tion, i.e. virtually all parents of school children in Arlington pay one dollar to join a PTA. Therefore, the respon- dents were encouraged to list the offices or positions they had held in the groups. It was deemed necessary to determine the reSpondentS 266 relationship to the formal structure of the County government since it was known that a number of the respondents held or had held public offices. For the ABC precinct chairmen it was also essential to ascertain if they had ever been active in one of the major parties. Such previous activity would have indicated either previous interest in a particular major party or overlapping membership. Both the test and control groups were asked whether they had held any County office or served on a commission or advisory board. Only the ABC mem- bers were questioned about present or previous active parti- cipation in a major party organization. All were questioned regarding their motives for becoming politically active and when and why they had chosen to become precinct chairmen. This information was requested in questions nine and twelve through fourteen. Questions ten and eleven were asked only of ABC precinct leaders and were designed to determine if they were predominently Democrats with liberal tendencies. The reSpondents were asked which party they preferred to see govern the State of Virginia and which they preferred to see govern the Nation. If respon- dents were liberal, anti-Byrd Democrats it was assumed they would diSplay some reluctance toward supporting Democratic control of the State but would favor control of the Federal government by the national Democratic Party. Another series of questions was used to provide evidence 267 of the degree to which the two groups adhered to the tradi- tional civil service reform values of nonpartisan elections -- an appointed county manager, appointed county department heads, and career service benefits for high ranking county officers. The precinct leaders were asked if they believed the major national parties should enter candidates for local Office; whether the County Manager, Treasurer, Clerk, and Commonwealth's Attorney should be elected or appointed. If the reSpondents favored appointment they were asked who should make the appoint- ment and whether it should be for an unSpecified or fixed term. They were also asked whether Arlington needed a highly paid County Manager. The term "highly" had to be changed to "well" as a number of reSpondents were chiefly OOncerned with the degree of compensation rather than the concept Of a well qualified, eXpert administrator attracted to the position by adequate pay. When the comparative term "highly" was dropped the negative answers almost disappeared. The liberal - conservative division of values in Arlington has been deemed to involve the desire of the newcomers for increased governmental services even at the cost of higher taxes or bonding Of the County as Opposed to the minimum services, pay-as-you-go philOSOphy of the Byrd machine. Question twenty-one asked reSpondents a general question about increasing - decreasing the functions of the County. Questions twenty-two and.twenty-three were formulated to bring the general issue down to specific choices which reSpondents had recently had to make in a bond election. They were requested 268 to indicate whether they supported four rejected bond issues involving new school buildings, additional road and street improvements, acquisition of park land, and improvement of die public health clinic facilities. They were also requested to rate each of these bond issues according to its importance. Conservatives were likely to be Opposed to an increase in government services while the liberals would be for an increase. The ABC's Opponents were assumed likely to Oppose most of the bond issues and approve the roads and schools over the parks and public health facilities. Little hOpe was held that the conservative Democrats would rate the schools any lower than the ABC precinct leaders since the schools were such a burning issue. The ABC group should, however, be more inclined to rate public health and parks ahead of road improvements. The question of zoning and planning, eSpecially the pro- tection of individual homes against commercial, industrial, and apartment invasion, has been a pOpular issue in ABC campaigns A division of values on this subject was tested by questions twenty-four and twenty-five which inquired whether or not reSpondents favored modification of existing zoning ordinances to attract more industrial, commercial, and apartment develOp- ment to the County. If the ABC represents the residential commuter, its precinct chairmen Should tend to look with dis- favor on a zoning policy which would interfere with a low- density, residential pattern in Arlington. Local businessmen 1". nux‘-‘ nfi ' . ‘. 269 and realtors, assumed to be predominant in the conservative Democratic organization, would tend to favor a greatly expanded tax base to avoid heavy tax levies on their enterprises, as would be necessary for meeting the demands for additional ser- vices by the new commuters. It was necessary to require reSpondents to eXplain their answers to these questions for it appeared obvious that most people would favor some degree 1 of business eXpansion to increase the tax base. The real ] . question involved the degree to which the persons questioned ] would go to allow for this expansion. The willingness of persons to allot an ever increasing share of the community's tax resources for increased teachers' salaries, an eXpanded educational program and additional school facilities were deemed adequate measures of their values relating to the County's educational program. The liberals were presumed to be more willing than conservatives to continue eXpansion in this area. Questions twenty-six through twenty-eight, therefore, requested an Opinion on whether the salaries paid Arlington teachers were too large, adequate, or inadequate and whether the county was justified in raising taxes to initiate a kindergarten program. Those who answered "no" to this latter question were then queried as to whether or not they believed a public kindergarten program was ever justified. In 1959, under Federal court orders, the Arlington 270 School Board and the State of Virginia had carried out the peaceful, token integration of the Arlington public schools. The school segregation question had been a major issue in Arlington County since 1953. The Arlingtonians for a Better County had supported a policy of keeping the public schools Open and complying with the Federal court decision, but they did not Openly advocate desegregation of the schools. Their opponents generally supported Senator Byrd's policy of "massive resistance" but few of them Openly advocated closing of the schools to prevent integration. Question twenty-nine was designed to test the two groups' values in regard to both segregation and public education. They were asked whether they would have preferred to have had the Arlington public schools remain segregated. Those who answered affirmatively were asked if they would favor closing the public schools to prevent integration provided there was no other way to prevent it. Answers to these questions should demonstrate whether the precinct leaders were actually opposed to segre- gation of the schools as a value in itself or if their con— cern for public education outweighed their segregationist values. A comparison of the answers to the questions in these schedules was eXpected to demonstrate a definite similarity in the personal background of the precinct leaders of the Arlingtonians for a Better County which would differ from 271 their opposition counterparts. It was also eXpected to Show a consensus of values among the liberals which would differ sharply from those of the conservative organization Democrats. The following is an example of the interview schedule used in the survey of the test group: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR AN INTERVIEW OF ABC PRECINCT CHAIRMEN 1. When did you first move to Arlington County (year)? 2. Where did you previously reside (state)? If you have lived in more than one other state please list and give approximate number of years residence. 3. Do you Own your own home? Yes No What year did you purchase it? 4. Have you lived elsewhere in Arlington previous to moving to your present residence? Yes No . If answer is yes: a. Where did you reside (address)? b. Did you own your own home at this location? Yes No . 5. Check the classification which best describes your occupation. Manager and/or owner of business Retired Professional (law, medicine, Skilled labor engineering, teaching, science, (plumber, public administration, etc.) electrician, carpenter, etc.) Sales Unskilled labor Clerical Housewife Other (please describe): 10. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 272 Is your place of work in Arlington? Yes No (Housewives give husband's occupation.) Do you work full or part time at the above occu- pation? Full Part DO either you or your Spouse work for the Federal government? Yes NO What local organizations (clubs, school, church, business, labor, or civic groups) do you participate in? (Include local units Of national organizations, e.g. PTA, League of WOmen Voters, Chamber of Commerce, etc.) _ ] a i What office, if any, have you held in any of the above organizations? Have you or do you now hold any local governmental offices? Describe? (Include any part-time or non— payment positions such as membership on a Special advisory committee). Have you belonged or do you presently belong to the local organization of any major political party? Yes No If yes, which one? Have you ever held any office in the local, state, or national organization of a major political party? Yes No If yes, which one? What year did you begin to work actively for ABC? What factors influenced your decision to work actively for ABC? Describe any office or any other type of work.you have done previously for ABC? Which major political party do you believe can do the best job of governing the state? . the nation? 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 273 If one of the major political parties were to come under the control of those with a liberal outlook on local affairs and nominate men such as Ralph Kaul, Herbert Brown, or Leo Urbanske for the County Board would you favor continuing the ABC organization? Yes NO a. Why? b. Would you still work for ABC? Yes NO Do you believe the major political parties should enter candidates for the Arlington County elective offices? Yes No Please indicate whether the following Arlington officers should be elective or appointive? Should their terms be limited or career posts? Elect- Appoint- By Limited ive ive ‘whom Career term County manager County treas. County attny. County clerk Is there a need for a highly paid professional county manager in Arlington? Yes No In general do you believe services rendered by the county should be (a) Increased (b) Decreased (c) Remain about the same. Arlington voters recently rejected several prOposals for additional bond issues. Please check which, if any, of the following you believe should have been passed: School Building Bonds Bonds to acquire park land Road Improvement Bonds Bonds to establish public health clinics Which of the above bond issues do you deem most important? Which least important? Should Arlington modify its zoning regulations to 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 274 attract more industrial and commercial enterprises to locate in the County? ___Yes ___No Please use back of this sheet to eXplain your answer. Should Arlington modify its zoning regulations to encourage further large scale apartment develop- ment in the County? ___Yes ___No Please use back of this sheet to eXplain your answer. The School Board approved a substantial salary increase for Arlington teachers in 1960. Please check the following comment which most closely parallels your own: this increase was .___too large, ___adequate, ___inadequate. Do you believe the School Board was wise in adopting a kindergarten program this year even though it probably means higher taxes? Yes No Would you have preferred to see Arlington's public schools remain segregated? Yes No If your answer to the above question is Yes please answer the following: Given only a choice between integrated schools or the closing Of all county public schools which course of action would you prefer? ___Close the schools ___Keep the schools Open Is a public kindergarten justified at any time? When? APPENDIX E CORRELATION OF ABC POPULAR VOTE WITH SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA A very important act performed by the followers of any United States political party is the actual casting of a ballot for the party's candidates. This mobilization of votes to enable its candidates to capture the decision making points constitutes its fundamental purpose.1 It was, therefore, necessary to obtain some insight into the back- grounds of those who voted for the Arlingtonians for a Better County. Fortunately, Arlington County was one of the areas for which census tract data had been assembled in the 1950 census.2 The data was correlated with the precinct election returns for those precincts falling within a single census tract. This provided an indication of the effect certain economic and social variables illustrated by the census data could have on the prOpensity of voters in these precincts to 1Pendleton Herring, The Politics of Democracy (New York: Rhinehart and Co., 1940) p. 55. 2U. S. Bureau of the Census, Seventeenth Censgs of the ,Ugited States: 1959, Census Tract Statistics Washin ton, District ofgolumbia ang.Adiacent_Are§§, III, 9, U. S. Govern- ment Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 275 ‘6!“ Aqua: nay-.5. -. 276 support ABC candidates. It was found that twenty-one of the thirty-seven Arlington election precincts coincided with or were completely within eighteen of the census tracts. The precincts represented by census tracts formed an excellent sample which included five of the precincts consistently returning very large ABC majori- ties and five which returned some of the lowest percentages of votes for the party. In order to have comparable figures the socio-economic data and votes for the ABC County Board candidates were reduced to percentages. Rank-difference correlation coefficients were computed to assess the relation- ship between the socio-economic variables obtained from the census tract data and the tendency to voteABC.3 The total vote received by two ABC candidates in the 1955 election and the one candidate in the 1956 race were totaled for use in computing the percentage of ABC vote in each pre- cinct. The Arlingtonians for A Better County was not organized until 1955 and to avoid possible error which might arise from pOpulation shifts occurring since the 1950 census it was decided not to extend the analysis beyond the 1956 election. 3Data in the form of percentages do not meet the require- ments for use of the Pearson product-moment formulas. In any case,useofrankpdifference correlation formula provided results similar to the more complex techniques and are completely adequate for the purpose of this study. If. U! PST “xii-"Kr. ' F I‘ .w I"! 277 Changes in the pOpulation content of the census tracts between 1950 and 1956 were believed not to be very great. There had been no major deterioration or upgrading of Specific neigh- borhoods and no major single family housing develOpments had been constructed. Some new apartment buildings had been con- structed in three of the precincts studied -- Columbia, Arlington, and Rosalyn. Otherwise, it was believed the tracts in 1955 were satisfactorily representative of their 1950 com- position. The data chosen to serve as variables for correlation were related to the prOpositions and questions set forth in Chapter II. The first of these concerned the appeal of the ABC to the post-war residents of Arlington. This prOposition was tested by comparing the rank of census tracts by the majorities given ABC candidates with their rank by housing growth based on the number of new dwelling units erected between 1940 and 1950 as a percentage of all such units in the County. The appeal of ABC to renters was tested by using the data on the number of rental units in each census tract as a percentage of all housing units in the tract. The hypothesis that the party was supported primarily by government employees was checked through use of data on the number of persons in the working force employed by the Federal government. The variables of age and number of children were also correlated with the voting returns 278 on the assumption that interest in greater eXpenditures on school facilities, a prime value of the ABC group, would corre- late highly with young voters, with a high prOportion of small children. Data were available to determine the percentage of persons over forty-five years of age, between twenty-one and forty-five, between five and twenty-one, and under five years Of age. In order to assure that other possible positive correlations ‘were not overlooked and to provide a basis of comparison the census tract data for percentage ranking of the professional- managerial portion of the working force, income level, and years in school were also tested. One census tract which was coterminus with Glebe Precinct was eliminated from the rankings. This census tract contained over forty percent of the negro population of Arlington and this group constituted over seventy-five percent of the pOpu- lation in the precinct. In virtually every reSpect it was atypical of all the other census tracts in the County, but it consistently returned majorities of seventy percent or more for ABC candidates. Inclusion of these data in the correlations would have been inapprOpriate as it introduces the variable of race which is absent from all the other census tracts used in the above analysis. ‘ ' .3 1‘45.” I . A 279 TABLE XXII RANK DIFFERENCE CORRELATION OF.ABC VOTE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA BY 1950 CENSUS TRACTS Precinct Census-Tract ABC Population Population Population Vote Under 5 Under 21 D2 Under 45 D2 29 l 4 9 7 36 4 9 30 2 5 9 9 49 5 9 28 3 2 l 2 1 2 1 20 4 10 36 15 121 12 64 l 5 7 4 5 0 8 9 38 6 3 9 l 25 1 25 32 7 6 1 ll 16 10 9 l7 8 ll 9 17 72 7 l 2 9 8 l 3 36 9 O 35 10 l 81 6 l6 3 49 11 11 9 4 4 49 11 O 19 12 17 25 13 l 17 25 18 l3 l4 1 16 9 l3 0 37 14 15 1 12 4 l6 4 6 15 12 9 8 49 6 81 3 16 13 9 10 36 15 1 15 17 16 1 14 9 l4 9 Total D2 210 529 296 Correlation .74 .34 .64 m" '1'.— f :T 'Kfi.‘ W. o c 4 280 Precinct Ranking Census-Tract ABC Housing Rental Gov't. Vote Growth D2 Dwellings Employees D2 29 l l 0 2 1 2 l 30 2 2 O 1 l l 1 28 3 4 1 16 169 3 0 20 4 14 100 3 l 4 O l 5 5 O 12 144 13 64 38 6 3 9 '7 l 12 36 32 7 ll 16 5 4 6 1 l7 8 7 1 4 16 7 1 2 9 8 l 13 16 14 25 35 10 6 l6 l2 4 5 25 ll 11 10 1 l4 9 9 4 19 12 17 25 9 9 10 4 l8 l3 9 l6 6 49 8 25 37 14 13 1 ll 9 11 9 6 15 16 l 10 25 17 4 3 16 12 16 15 l 15 l 15 17 15 4 8 81 16 1 Total D2 208 540 202 Correlation .75 .34 .75 281 Precinct Ranking Census-Tract ABC Prof.;Mgr. Per Family Years Vote Occupation D2 Income D2 Educ. 29 l 2 l 4 9 2 l 30 2 3 l 2 O 1 1 l8 3 10 49 9 36 9 36 20 4 4 O 8 16 4 0 1 5 5 0 5 O 7 4 38 6 16 100 17 121 14 64 32 7 12 25 11 16 13 36 17 8 15 49 14 36 10 4 2 9 6 9 6 9 6 9 35 10 17 49 15 25 16 36 11 ll 8 9 7 16 12 l 19 12 9 9 l3 1 ll 1 18 13 13 O 10 9 8 25 37 14 7 49 3 121 5 81 6 15 14 l 16 1 l7 4 3 16 l 225 l 225 3 169 15 17 ll 36 12 25 15 4 Total D2 612 666 476 Correlation ‘25, ,.12 ,.4g ARTICLE This Arlington, Virginia. ! APPENDIX F BY-LAWS FOR.THE A B C COUNCIL ARLINGTONIANS FOR A _B_ETTER COUNTY I - NAME organization shall be known as the A,B C Council, ipflJ ]4 To advise and assist the A,§ 9 County and School Board ’4': (2) Certify support of the general principles and eligible person shall become a member in good standing. ARTICLE II - PURPOSE (A) Members. (B) To inform the public of A §,Q policies, objectives, and activities. (C) To establish a procedure for the nomination of A_B_g candidates for the Arlington County Board. ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES (A) The Council shall comprise all persons who comply with these requirements: (1) Apply for membership in writing. objectives of A_§_§, (B) Annual membership dues shall be $3.00 per member for the year beginning January 1. Upon payment of dues and meeting the requirements set for in "(A)", each ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS AND'THEIR ELECTION (A) The officers, all of whom shall be members in good standing, shall be: a Chairman; two Vice-Chairmen; a Recording Secretary; a CorreSponding Secretary, and a Treasurer. These officers are to be elected by secret ballot and take office at the January meeting. The Chairman shall not succeed himself in office. (B) Any vacancy occurring in any office, except that of Chairman, shall be filled by election of the Executive Committee for the unexpired term. In the event of a 282 F7 283 vacancy in the office of Chairman, the two Vice- Chairmen shall act in COOperation in that capacity until the next regular meeting of the Council at which time a permanent Chairman shall be elected to serve until the next annual meeting. A Nominating Committee of five (5) persons shall beenlected at the December meeting to prOpose names for all elected positions (including officers and at-large members of the Executive Committee) to the January (Annual) Meeting. NOminations may also be ...-'9‘..— t9*_ The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Council and of the Executive Committee and shall be the administrative director of the affairs of the Council. The Chairman shall make a report of the year's activities at the January (Annual) Meeting. 75...: I In. f q _';' ‘ . The two Vice-Chairmen shall preside in rotation in the absence of the Chairman and Shall act as aides The Recording Secretary shall keep a correct record of all meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee; Shall conduct the external correSpondence of the Council and Executive Committee; shall have custody of all records pertaining to the business of the Council except those of the Treasurer and Cor- reSponding Secretary; shall notify officers and committee Chairmen of all assignments or other offi- cial actions pertaining to their functions taken by The CorreSponding Secretary shall be reSponsible for the timely and adequate circulation of all announce- ments, bulletins, and other official communications to the members of the Council, the Executive Committee, and.A B Q Supporters and shall keep the stencils for addressing the Council and Supporters up-to-date. (C) made from the floor. ARTICLE V - DUTIES OF OFFICERS (A) (B) to the Chairman. (C) the Council or Executive Committee. (D) (E) The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds of the Council; Shall collect all dues and keep account of same; shall pay out funds only by check in settlement of expenses authorized by the Council or Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall keep a record of all receipts and eXpenditures; shall give a report ateach meeting of the Council and Executive Committee of receipts, expenditures, and amount of money on hand; of" 284 shall make an annual written report, after an audit, at the January (Annual) Meeting. The January meeting shall be known as the Annual Meeting at which time officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee are elected, and when annual reports are submitted. The time and place of meetings Shall be established by the Executive Committee. Council members shall be notified in writing at least 48 hours prior to all meetings. Special meetings shall be called by the Chairman within ten days when requested by a majority of the Executive Committee in writing or upon petition stating the purpose of the call and signed by (10%) per cent of the Council Members in good stand- Twenty-five (25) Members of the Council shall consti- The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Officers and ten members-at-large elected by the Council plus School and County Board members who are ghg Q_Council Members. The Executive Committee shall transact such business as may be referred to it by the Council and Shall also act for the Council between Council Meetings. Eight (8) members of the Executive Committee Shall constitute a quorum for the The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected for one year and any vacancies occurring in the office of Chairman or the ten members-at-large Shall be filled by election by the Council. The Executive Committee is authorized to incur up to $25.00 in eXpenditures (not provided for in the budget) between meetings of the Council. VIIL -_S_;I'ANDING ANDf SPECIAL CONMITTEES ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS (A) (B) ing. (C) tute a quorum. ARTICLE VII - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (A) transaction of business. (B) (C) ARTICLE (A) An Auditing Committee shall be selected by the Council at the December Meeting to audit the books of the Treas- urer and to submit a written report to the January (Annual)‘Meeting. ...._ 1. 11;. ‘ ...—...- L \ 285 (B) The Executive Committee Shall appoint the Chairmen and members of such standing committees as it deems appropriate. The members of Special committees created by the Council shall be appointed by the Chairman. ARTICLE IX - PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY Roberts' Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern this Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws. ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members present in a Council meeting if the proposed amendment has been introduced at a previous Council meeting or has been advertised to the Council Members by United States Mail at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting. WHLEMVh -'THII' ; - i ("A APPENDIX C ARLINGTONIANS FOR A BETTER COUNTY 5th ANNUAL ABC CONVENTION PROPOSED RULES PROCEDURE IN CONVENING THE A B 9 NOMINATING MEETING FOR THE COUNTY BOARD; “— = hwy-n 2'.» an.” ’J . I '7 I - .~ 1 1" - _ 1. A temporary chairman previously selected by the executive committee of the A_§ 9 Council will convene and eXplain the purpose of the nominating meeting, and the preliminary work in preparing for it. 2. The temporary chairman will call for nominations for a chairman, 2 co-chairmen, secretary, treasurer, time-keeper, who upon election will assume their reSpective offices. (A representative of the Executive Committee will offer nominations, after which nominations will be invited from the floor.) 3. The elected chairman will appoint a committee of tellers (which will include a representative Of each candidate for nomination, unless representation is declined by a candidate), a committee on candidates, and such other committees or individuals as are necessary for the orderly conduct of the meeting. 4. The chairman will call for presentation of rules for the meeting. RULES 1. Robert's Rules Of Order will prevail unless otherwise pro- vided by the meeting. 2. Any person may attend the meeting, but only qualified voters of Arlington County may have the privilege of the floor, or vote in the meeting. 286 fl .7 rte-raw. _ 287 Any person addressing the chair first must state his name and the precinct in which he votes. The time that any person may Speak from the floor on any one subject shall be limited to 3 minutes. Candidates for nomination in the A,B C nominating meeting for the Arlington County Board will be those who: a] are certified by the committee on candidates as subscribing in the affirmative to the following: 1) I meet the requirements of law for eligibility as county board member. 2) I will campaign actively for election to the office of County Board member if nominated. 3) I will run for the office of County Board member during 1959 only if nominated by this meeting or as provided by the meeting, and b] have filed with the candidates committee Of A,B g before midnight, Saturday, May 23, 1959; or c] are nominated from the floor, having been Sponsored in writing by 25 qualified voters attending the meeting, and.who are certified by the committee on candidates as in "a" above. Equal periods of time, including the time for introductory Speeches, will be granted to each candidate to address the meeting. Introductory Speeches shall be limited to 1/3 of a candi- date's allotted time. The order of Speaking by candidates will be determined by lot. After all candidates have had an Opportunity to Speak, a question and answer period will be provided. Questions to candidates may be oral or written, but the time for statement of any question will be limited to 1 minute. 7. 288 Each candidate will be permitted to comment on a question put to any other candidate. The time limit will be 2 minutes for each candidate to answer or comment on a question. Voting for nomination will be by secret written ballot. The ballot forms provided will contain the printed names of candidates who filed before midnight May 23 [see par. 3 above], and additional Space for writing in the names of candidates nominated from the floor. Each ballot form shall Carry at the top a statement sub- stantially as follows: "In marking this ballot I certify that I am a qualified voter in Arlington County. I under- stand my signature is not required." A candidate will be declared a nominee of the meeting when, as a result of a balloting, he receives a vote numerically larger than one-half of the total number of valid ballots cast; provided that: a] If more than two candidates receive a majority vote, only the two receiving the largest number Of votes Shall be the nominees of the meeting. If there is a tie vote among any two or more of them (other than 2 receiving the largest number of votes), an additional balloting will be held, limited to those involved in the tie; b] If no candidate receives a majority vote as the result of the first balloting, a second balloting will be held. In a field of 4 candidates, all will be included in the second balloting. In a field of 5, the candidates receiving the lowest number of votes on the first ballot will be drOpped. In a field of 6, the two candidates receiving the lowest number of votes will be dropped. NO candidate may be drOpped if tied with a candidate who would otherwise be included in the second balloting. c] If only 1 candidate receives a majority vote as a result of the first balloting, an additional balloting will be held. Of those candidates not declared a nominee of the meeting as a result of the first balloting, all in excess of three will m 11. 289 be dropped from the second balloting; provided, however, that no candidates may be dropped if tied with a candidate who would otherwise be included in the subsequent balloting. d] If, as a result of the second balloting, no candidate is declared to be a nominee of the meeting, additional ballotings will be held as necessary. After each such balloting, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will be dropped from the following balloting, but not tied with another candidate. To be counted, a ballot must show votes for the same number of candidates that are to be nominated at that balloting. Ballots will bepreserved for a period of six months. In case the nominee of the meeting is unable to campaign, or additional vacancies occur on the County Board during “1959, another open nominating meeting will be held, under Sponsorship of A §.Q. and candidates unsuccessful at the present meeting may again be candidates at such subsequent meeting; or in the event there are less than 10 days before the official filing deadline, the unsuccessful candidate receiving the largestnumber of votes on the last ballot- ing at this meeting shall be a nominee of the meeting. No person who attends or votes in the meeting is bound to support or campaign for any nominee of this meeting. Adopted by the AME C Council, April 1959 WP— ‘-“--_ my.“ 5‘~....~ . ' ' ' ‘~ \__ . “Loo“. To Help Reelect The Facts On: K.A U L K R U P S A W APPENDIX H TAXES The big story on taxesin Arlington in 1959 is the welcome newsthat-FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS- E there will be NO INCREASE IN'TAXES THIS YEAR: {‘1 ! Kaul and Krupsaw were able to accomplish this fiscal mira- cle in 1959 while granting substantial increases in pay for teachers and county employees, and carrying out substantial improvements in the county program. Tax revenues come from four main sources: . real prOperty tax .. personal prOperty tax ... business and professional license tax .... automobile tags Only the personal prOperty tax (falling heavily on automobiles) is excessively high when compared with other urban communities in Arlington's size. The real prOperty tax is somewhat lower than the averages reported by the National Mnnicipal Associa- tion and the business privilege tax is among the lowest in Virginia. The following tables indicate what has happened to taxes in Arlington: REAL ESTATE TAX.RAT§S PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES Year For Schools For County Total Year Rate 1952 $1.68 $1.13 $2.81 1952 $3.10 1955 1.90 1.36 ' 3.26 1955 4.47 1956 2.03 1.48 3.51 1956 4.50 1957 1.91 1.33 3.24 * 1957 4.29 1958 2.07 1.47 3.54 1958 4.40 1959 2.07 1.47 3.54 1959 4.40 * [The seeming decrease in real property taxes in 1957 was the 290 291 result of the General Reassessment of 1956 which brought an average increase of 11% in assessments. Thus most voters found that their 1957 tax bill had increased as the result of the higher valuations on their prOperty. This is a forcible practical reminder that taxes must always be thought of as rate times assessment, and not just in terms of the rate. With the new annual reassessment procedure, with about one-sixth of all prOpertieS reassessed each year, there will be no future Opportunities to make seeming reductions in taxeS.] The personal prOperty tax (the most inequitable and most widely evaded of Arlington's taxes) is still below its high point of $4.50 under.AIM. Kaul and Krupsaw took a strong position against further increases in this tax as soon as they took Office, and badgered the ADM majority into a reduc- tion in 1957. The small increase in 1958 was a result of a compromise with the AIM members, who were urging a 40-cent increase in this tax instead of the 11 cents finally agreed to by the Board. ************ REELECI‘ KAUL 6. KRUPSAW (A B 9) TO THE COUNTY BOARD ON NOVEMBER 3 Kaul - Krupsaw for County Board Committee - 231 NO. Evergreen St. - Arlington 3, Va. BIBLIOGRAPHY ABBOTT, FRANK C. "The Cambridge City Manager," Public Administration and Polichevelopment:.A Case Bogk, ed. Harold Stein. 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