At the close of a tumultuous economic year for Arlington, County Board Chair Takis Karantonis is seeking a return to stability and continued focus on infrastructure goals in 2026.
Karantonis, who is coming to the end of his one-year turn at the County Board chairmanship, used an interview with Fox 5 yesterday (Thursday) to emphasize the hardship that 2025 has brought to many of Arlington’s federal workers, immigrant communities and businesses large and small.
He said he’s looking for ways to restore economic growth and continue prioritizing development, safer streets and investments in schools.
Returning to a core talking point since the election of President Donald Trump, Karantonis said that “federal troubles” have brought a difficult year for Arlington and the D.C. area as a whole, stressing businesses and contributing to a rising unemployment rate.
“Things are not looking good, and the local government is responding,” Karantonis said. “So 2026 will be the year where we’ll put all our efforts to stabilize and return to growth.”
At the same time, the Democrat expressed pride in investments in education, transportation and pedestrian safety that he believes have contributed to county leaders’ past success in building up the county as an economic hub.
“We are growing just right,” Karantonis asserted. “We are growing with the region. We are growing jobs and we’re growing opportunities here in Arlington. What you see actually … is the result of robust economic growth and focusing on a community that really cares.”
Some decisions, the official acknowledged, come with trade-offs — such as bike- and transit-friendly streets that can disadvantage motorists. Still, he argued that the overall approach to growth and infrastructure results in a community that benefits everyone.
In the new year, Karantonis pledged to “aggressively” continue pursuing Arlington’s goal of eliminating fatal and severe crashes and making the county’s streets safer for all.
“We are trying to design our public right way — our streets and our sidewalks — in a way that is safer for everybody,” he said. “It may inconvenience, from time to time, some of those who had absolute priority until now, which were mostly motorists. But this is only a little bit, and at the end, what it achieves is that we can all have nice, walkable neighborhoods … that invite businesses.”
Karantonis, who handily won reelection this year, promised ongoing investments in areas such as schools and transportation, and collaboration with incoming Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) to address economic challenges in order to make this possible.
“The critical question is, can we continue to grow our economy in the center of the region like we did before?” Karantonis said. “And we need the partnership of everybody, including the federal government, who is one of the biggest employers in the region … to continue to offer opportunities and prosperity to all our residents.”