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April 10, 2008

Arthur Nachman: Experience in Business, Brokerage Would Serve Town

By Rebecca Plevin Observer Staff Writer

According to Arthur Nachman, selecting a candidate for the Town Council is like casting a theatrical show: each participant should contribute his or her own voice to create a greater, complete production.

And like actors in a dramatic play, each council member has a personal story, rooted in education, experiences and interests. On the Town Council, Nachman's role would be based on his background in business and commercial brokerage and his longtime involvement in the community, he said. "That voice will add something to the discussion," he said.

Nachman, who is a candidate for Town Council, said he would like to add his perspective to important issues affecting the town, especially on development in the downtown and around the future Metro site. He said the town has a "fantastic opportunity" to plan, from the bottom-up, a totally integrated, mixed-use center downtown that features retail, commercial and office space, as well as community amenities, that will be enjoyed by town residents for decades to come.

He said developer JPI hit a roadblock with its plans for the downtown because its plan was "established outside of the public arena, and was supposed to be signed off by the council without citizen input." He said ideas and plans for development must "come from within," and should be developed through discussions with citizens, public meetings and design renderings.

Nachman said residential overcrowding and home foreclosures "many times go hand in hand," and the town should look at the two issues together to ensure that neighborhoods are maintained. He said the town's overcrowding legislation has been effective, but the large number of foreclosed homes affect property values and have a large social impact as well.

Nachman said though the town's commercial assessments have continued to rise, he expects them to fall in the coming years. For upcoming budgets, he said the town would need to find ways to reduce costs and enhance revenue. He said he is concerned the town's undesignated fund is being depleted because the fund also affects the town's bonding capacity. He said it is very important for the town to maintain its high credit rating.

He said he supports using the zoning ordinance to control situations related to day laborers and illegal immigration, and he also supports 287(g) legislation.

He is the incoming president of the Herndon Rotary Club, an organization that "benefits Herndon and the world at large," he said. He said he gains a lot of personal satisfaction from donating money to the Herndon Middle School band program, which promotes music education and "teaches leadership and self-discipline."

He is an avid scuba diver and said he expects to be certified as a master scuba diver in May. He said he enjoys scuba diving because it is an active sport, yet also provides solitude and a space to do creative thinking.

Nachman said his family came to the town in 1919, and he has lived here for 54 years. He now lives in the home that his father built. He said he has remained in Herndon all these years because he has, "many close relationships that I don't want to leave."