  A Certain Air About Him
Don’t let his boyish good looks fool you—County Board Chairman
Paul Ferguson boasts a law degree and years
of experience.
By Monica Cardenas
He may be the newly appointed Arlington County Board Chairman, but Paul
Ferguson finds his biggest challenges at home, with his sons, ages 5 and 8.
“I find I’m actually more tired at the end of a full day with them than I am
after a full day of work,” says the 41-year-old father with a laugh. “There are
great joys in being a father, but parenting is far more challenging than
anything I’ve ever done.”
 Ferguson’s wife, Karen, an attorney, works just across the street from his office
on Clarendon Boulevard in Courthouse. “She works very hard to support what I
do,” says the chairman appreciatively of his wife. Also an attorney, Ferguson
has set aside his practice to focus on his goals for Arlington.
This year, one of those goals includes his climate initiative, Fresh AIRE
(Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions). Ferguson requested an emissions
reduction target for 2012 that is 10% below 2000 levels—the equivalent of
removing more than 2,000 cars from Arlington’s streets.
The environment is something for which Ferguson has battled most of his life. In
fact, he implemented an on-campus recycling program while earning his law degree
at George Mason. Although there was little support for the project, he purchased
and maintained garbage cans and recycling bins on his own initiative.
At home in Fairlington, he practices energy efficiency whenever possible, by
lowering the heat and air conditioning, keeping lights low and sharing a car
with Karen.
“I’ve always enjoyed being outside, and Arlington has a lot of great paths, so
from the time I was young, I have always been able to enjoy nature even though I
live in an urban area,” says Ferguson of his motivation for maintaining a
cleaner environment.
Fairlington is easily walkable, and its proximity to a smart growth area such as
Shirlington allows Ferguson and his family to visit restaurants, shops and the
like on foot.
While Ferguson believes Arlington is the best place in the world to live, he was
actually born in Jersey City, N.J., in 1965. His parents are natives of this
area, but moved to New Jersey for a time and returned in 1972.
However, Ferguson and his parents, who both live and work in the area, consider
themselves Arlingtonians. His mother is a clarinetist for the Kennedy Center
Opera House Orchestra, while his father is a small businessman focused on
technology. Ferguson and his brother, Matthew, both graduated from Wakefield
High School in Arlington.
Even early in his life, it seemed Ferguson was destined for politics. He worked
on countless campaigns and on the Hill for many summer internships, but it was
the year following his graduation from James Madison in 1987 that was most
influential.
Ferguson moved to Iowa for a year and worked in the Iowa Caucus, the country’s
leadoff presidential primary.
“I would say that year really shaped a lot of my views and thinking, not only
because I was able to see all of the different candidates, both Democratic and
Republican, but I got to know a lot of young people who were interested in
government,” says Ferguson.
Following a few failed campaigns, Ferguson decided to continue his education.
“We got 34 percent of the vote on [my last congressional campaign], so I figured
I wasn’t very good at campaign managing,” he said.
Undaunted, he applied to George Mason law school in order to stay local and
involved politically.
“Because I had run a congressional campaign,” Ferguson says, “I had elevated my
profile within the Democratic activists and was able to stay involved as deputy
chairman of the Arlington party [while in law school].”
As deputy chairman, Ferguson ran the precinct operations, the “nuts and bolts of
the activists trying to do their part to elect different people.”
While he had always considered studying law, he was equally interested in
government and hoped to find a way to bring the two together.
Shortly after earning his law degree in 1992, he found a way. In 1995, at age
30, Ferguson became the youngest person ever elected to the County Board. While
he remains the youngest board member, he has served the longest—by one month.
Now, as he embarks on his third year as County Board chairman, his enduring
concern for the environment has moved to the forefront. Among other goals, Fresh
AIRE moves to increase the purchase of wind-generated electricity, install solar
energy technology and plant at least 1,200 trees.
All the while, Ferguson has made it a priority to relay his environmental
message to young people.
“The severe negative effects of global warming will hit if not the next
generation, the generation after that,” Ferguson says. “The people that are in
school now will bear the brunt of that problem, and I feel a responsibility to
try to do what we can.”
And although the problem is global, Ferguson feels Arlington is a great place to
start.
“Arlington has a great transportation network and opportunities to do things
without driving, great schools, great parks and bike trails, a safe community,
arts and culture,” he says.
Now, if he can just figure out a way to harness his sons’ energy.
Learn more about Ferguson’s environmental initiatives at
www.arlingtonva.us.
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