Pike Transit Initiative

[1] Following three successive defeats of county board candidates who supported the streetcar proposal in 2014, the project was shelved indefinitely.

[4] However, since then, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Authority may not collect taxes, as it isn't an elected body.

[6] Garvey quoted mayor of Toronto Rob Ford's criticisms of streetcars, only to realize his credibility had been eroded due to a series of scandals.

[7][8] Garvey stirred further controversy in 2014 when she supported and raised funds for John Vihstadt, an Independent,[9] instead of fellow Democrat Alan Howse, because he agreed with her opposition to the streetcar line.

[10][11] Vihstadt upended Arlington politics in 2014 by becoming the first non-Democrat to land a seat on the county board in 15 years, winning on the strength of his objections to high-cost projects such as the Columbia Pike streetcar, the Long Bridge aquatics center and a million-dollar bus stop.