Mayor, J. Walter Tejada and Residents Discuss Fairfax City's Diversity Goals

Around 50 members of the community turned out for Wednesday night's discussion, hosted by Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne, on how to get more diverse City residents involved in boards, committees and commissions.

Silverthorne invited J. Walter Tejada, chair of the Arlington County Board, as his special guest to speak on how Arlington has tackled the issue in their community.


Silverthorne addressed the crowd at the start of the meeting.

"As mayor I think it's important we are one community and everybody has an opportunity to serve," he said.

He then turned the podium over to Tejada.

"Diversity and inclusion - it's a journey," Tejada said. "It's particularly important, in political leadership roles - we have an obligation to set the tone and make residents feel welcome in our communities."

Tejada said he realized some related issues like race and immigration "might make some of us uncomfortable in our seats," or some might think them best if avoided, but he said those issues cannot be ignored.

"I think it's best we have a civilized, constructive conversation about those issues, with an ear to find a common ground of inclusion and solutions," he said. 

In closing remarks, Mayor Silverthorne said, "It's a simple goal - just trying to get more people engaged and involved in the community. But, it's harder than you think."

Silverthorne said he started a community task force back in January with the goal of getting more diverse residents involved in the City.

See the video above, shot by local resident Catherine Read, with highlights from Mayor Silverthorne's and Tejada's remarks.

Note: If the screen above looks blank, try refreshing the page once and the video should appear. If you still have trouble, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


TELL US - What do you think of what J. Walter Tejada had to say on the matter of diversity in community involvement and representation? Tell us in the comments.

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