Key Facts
Background
Arthur Purves graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA, MS in Systems Engineering, and MBA in Decision Science [1, 4]. Purves worked as a computer programmer for 40 years and is now retired. He has served as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance for 26 years and treasurer of the Fairfax Committee of 100 for 10 years. Purves has been a member of the 2014 Fairfax County Meals Tax Task Force, 2013 Hunter Mill Citizen Budget Committee, the League of Women Voters, and the Fairfax branch of the NAACP. He also served on three Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) advisory committees: those of Family Life Education in 1991 and 2002, the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for Student Success from 1993 to 1995, and Professional Technical Studies from 1996 to 2003 [1].
Purves is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He recently served as an election officer [1].
In 2000, Purves was arrested upon refusing to leave the FCPS superintendent’s January budget press briefing, which was open to credentialed members of the media only [10].
Key Issues
Campaign Finance
Purves has stated that most campaign spending is unnecessary and that large campaign budgets are “perpetuated by large donors who want to control elected officials” [5].
Community
Purves plans on donating the chairman’s 38 percent pay raise ($38,283) to the Bethany House for women and children seeking refuge from abuse and trauma [1].
Drugs
Purves supports the 12-step program as a means to overcome fentanyl addiction [1].
Economy
Purves is against the current rate of increase in real estate taxes and wants to prevent raising restaurant taxes. Purves is in favor of repealing collective bargaining [1].
Housing
Purves advocates for the input of residents in zoning decisions [1].
Education
Purves wants to hold the school board accountable for a 27-point drop in the county’s average SAT score, calculated going from 2018 to 2022 [1]. He is also against Family Life Education (FLE) [5]. Purves is interested in closing the minority student achievement gap [6].
According to The South Lakes Sentinel, Purves wants to implement the Bible and the 10 Commandments in school. He supports teaching history, not social studies, as he is against a “whole world” approach to learning. He wrote, “Public schools are graduating ‘socialists’, or as the Fairfax School Board puts it, ‘global citizens,” and has stated that progressive schools gave students dyslexia [11].
Elections
Purves wants to end drop boxes and ballot harvesting [1].
Environment
Purves does not support spending tax money to make Fairfax County carbon-neutral and believes efforts are unnecessary [1].
Gun Policy
Purves is against gun control measures [5].
Policy
Purves is against the Equal Rights Amendment [5].
Religion
Purves sees faith as a means of improving mental health [1].
Reproductive Rights
Purves does not support abortion [5].
Endorsements
Fairfax County Republican Committee
Sources
1 Purves for Chairman
2 Facebook
3 VPAP
4 Linkedin
5 InsideNoVa
6 Connection Newspapers
7 Fairfax County, Virginia
8 Virginia Department of Elections
9 Ballotpedia
10 The Washington Post
11 The South Lakes Sentinel
12 Fairfax Republicans