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Voting at Swanson Middle School in Westover in November 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) The ballot for the general election has been set, with three races to be decided by local voters.

Multiple candidates for Arlington County Board, School Board and the 8th Congressional District have qualified for the ballot. The first day of in-person early voting is Friday, Sept. 23 and the last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 17, according to Arlingtons election office.

8th Congressional District

In the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary, incumbent Rep. Don Beyer overcame challenger Victoria Virasingh. Beyer goes on to the general election to face the GOP nominee, Arlington resident Karina A. Lipsman, and independent candidate Teddy Fikre.

The seat for the 8th District, which encompasses Arlington, Alexandria, the City of Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, has been held by a Democrat for decades. Beyer won a crowded primary for former Congressman Jim Morans seat in 2014 and the general election later that year.

Lipsman was nominated to take on the progressive establishment, said an email from the Arlington GOP after the nomination.

Lipsman, who is originally from Ukraine, outlines priorities such as supporting law enforcement, opposing tax increases, stopping illegal immigration and her stance against abortion on her website. She says she supports school choice and community colleges, technical schools and vocational training programs.

Among issues Beyer lists on his campaign website are climate change, housing, immigration, gun violence prevention, the federal workforce and others.

Fikres website says he is an IT project manager with an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, cares about inclusive justice and implementing policies that restore fairness in America and enacting laws that are rooted in love. Among issues hes focused on are making taxes voluntary for the working, middle and upper-middle-class, as well as forgiving all student loans.

Arlington County Board

Three familiar names are up for consideration for a County Board seat. Incumbent Matt de Ferranti was not challenged for the Democratic nomination.

During his tenure on the board, de Ferranti says he has focused on Covid response, racial equity and priorities like affordable housing, hunger, climate change and school funding.

Two independent candidates will also be on the ballot and not for their first time seeking a seat.

Independent Adam Theo, who is vice president of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, is running on a platform of expanding government accountability, prioritizing public safety and making housing affordable. Theo describes himself as a fierce non-partisan free-thinking progressive libertarian.' He was previously deployed to eastern Afghanistan while serving in the Air Force Reserve as a civil engineer.

This is Theos second time running for the County Board in as many years. Last year, he ran in a crowded County Board race for the seat that Democrat Takis Karantonis occupies.

Civic activist Audrey Clement is also running as an independent, seeking to reduce taxes, stop up-zoning, and preserve parks, trees and historic places. She said on her website shes running because the Board has pushed harmful policies resulting in: overcrowded schools, gentrification, loss of green space, and a 10 year average annual effective tax rate increase that is twice the rate of inflation.

The Westover resident has been a perennial candidate over the last decade or so and says she believes once people realize the Missing Middle housing push will rezone some neighborhoods, they will support a candidate like her.

Arlington School Board

After some commotion surrounding the Democratic endorsement for the School Board seat up for grabs, only two names will be on the ballot: James Vell Rives and Bethany Sutton.

The Arlington County Democratic Committee endorsed Sutton through its endorsement process, which saw a few changes this year in light of calls for a broader reform that were ultimately defeated.

Brandon Clark, a Gunston Middle School teacher, was also vying for the Democratic endorsement before he withdrew to run as an independent, claiming education shouldnt be partisan. But he has since withdrawn from the race altogether.

I decided to withdraw and focus on being a husband, father and teacher for the time being, he told ARLnow. I plan to be involved in advocating for educators as Chair of the Teachers Council on Instruction and through community engagement.

Sutton served on Randolph Elementary Schools PTA board for seven years, three of which she was president of the board. Since spring 2020, she has led the Randolph Food Pantry, a community-based volunteer effort to support families affected by the pandemic.

Rives is a psychiatrist and serves as co-chair of Arlington Public Schools School Health Advisory Board. His website asserts that as an independent, he is not indebted to any political party or interest group.

The Fairlington resident particularly wants to help as schools recover from the effects of the pandemic, keeping schools open so students can catch up on lost skills and ensuring that APS retains teachers.

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Here's who will be on the ballot for the November general election in Arlington - ARLnow