Arlington County Dems Choose Howze as Candidate for County Board

Alan Howze, a civic activist and Arlington native, has been elected the Democratic candidate for the April Special Election to fill the Arlington County Board seat vacated by the resignation of Chris Zimmerman, according to a news release from the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Howze won with 52 percent of 3,585 votes cast during the two caucuses held Thursday and Saturday by the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC). Entrepreneur Cord Thomas received 30 percent, and former Planning Commission Peter Fallon received 18 percent.

Read: Alan Howze: Arlington County Board Candidate Q&A

Alan was born in Arlington, and he and his wife Pam and three children live in the Highland Park-Overlee Knolls neighborhood. He has a history of civic work in Arlington, and currently serves as president of the Highland Park-Overlee Knolls Civic Association, vice-chair of the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission (FAAC), and a board member of the Alliance for Housing Solutions. A graduate of James Madison University with an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, Alan is a management consultant at IBM. For more information visit the campaign website: http://www.alanhowze.com

Arlington County Democratic Chairman Kip Malinosky issued the following statement regarding the vote:

“Arlington Democrats are thrilled to rally around Alan Howze. He has an outstanding record of service to our community and a vision for greater Arlington. We know how important it is to have our Democratic values represented at all levels of our government.”

The Arlington County Republican Committee has scheduled a special 8 p.m. meeting Monday at Central Library to determine whether to endorse John Vihstadt, who is running as an independent.

The date of the special election will be set by the Circuit Court; most likely it will be on Tuesday, April 8.