He waited until the coast was clear – no intra-party challenges having materialized by the filing deadline – and on April 12, Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson announced his bid for a third eight-year term serving Arlington and Falls Church.
“We’re really proud to be one of the leading offices in the commonwealth,” Ferguson told members of the Arlington County Democratic Committee. “The office is there when you need it.”
Ferguson, an attorney who grew up in Arlington and graduated from Wakefield High School, served on the County Board for 12 years before being elected in 2007 to succeed veteran clerk of court David Bell. To win his first term, Ferguson defeated Republican Mark Kelly; he was unopposed in his bid for a second term.
So far, neither Republican nor independent candidates have emerged for the post. The filing deadline is June 20.
As the name implies, the position provides support services to the Circuit Court, including handling paperwork and overseeing the jury pool. It also handles land-use records and provides marriage licenses.
When he first sought the post, Ferguson pledged to “make it the most innovative technology office in the commonwealth,” and praised his staff for helping to get most of the way there. He also pointed to efforts in providing multi-lingual services.
Clerk of the Circuit Court is one of five “constitutional” elected offices in Arlington, called that because their duties are defined in the Virginia Constitution. All five are on the ballot this year; in addition to clerk of court, they include commonwealth’s attorney, treasurer, commissioner of revenue and sheriff.
At eight years, the term for clerks of court in Virginia is among the longest for any elected official in the U.S. There are a number of historical reasons for the abnormal length, primarily that – back more than a century ago – the succession of political machines that ran the state saw the position as the cornerstone of control in localities. Those machines (the one led by Harry Byrd Sr. being the last in a line of several) installed their candidate in the positions.
Ferguson is definitely not of the Harry Byrd school of Democrats. But that doesn’t mean he’s not appreciative of having eight years between political runs.
“I am glad to have an eight-year term,” he said.
