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Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History© 2012 Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Heather Crocetto
The collection is open for research.
There are no restrictions.
McGeary Campaign Literature Collection, Collection # RG 186, Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Donated by Scott McGeary in June 2011.
RG 186 houses Scott McGeary's personal collection of political materials for Arlington County and Virginia. The record group measures approximately two linear feet and dates from 1951 to 2010 (bulk 1960-2002). Types of material include printed campaign literature, sample ballots, photographs, clippings, and a thesis. While most of the materials are for the Republican or Democratic parties, there are also some nonpartisan materials, including a thesis on Arlingtonians for a Better County by Franklin O. Felt. Materials cover the two major parties for most years for elections in local, state, and Congressional races.
Candidate qualifications stressed in the materials include understanding of local and state conditions, personal probity, high levels of education, and depth of experience, especially at the local level. Many candidates for state positions served first on the Arlington School Board, then on the Arlington County Board. Matters of policy most mentioned are fiscal responsibility (i.e. low taxes), education funding, and transportation issues. The tone of the materials is uniformly civil, reflecting a courteous and positive rather than an aggressive campaign style and presenting a candidate's virtues rather than emphasizing an opponent's defects.
Record Group 186 maintains the original organization and arrangement created by Mr. McGeary. There are four series by type of material: loose campaign materials, sample ballots (both in chronological order), a thesis about Arlingtonians for a Better County, and individual Arlington and Virginia officials and candidates campaign materials, removed from loose-leaf binders to file folders, but still kept in alphabetical order. Folders containing photographs have an asterisk [*] after the file name. Folders with oversized materials have a double asterisk [**] to denote where material was removed and separation sheets added.
Researchers interested in partisan politics in Arlington and Virginia may consult records such as RG 26, Campaign Literature , or RG 137, Records of the Arlington County Democratic Committee . For individual candidates see, for example, RG 65, the Personal Papers of Mary A. Marshall , RG 108, Personal Papers of Roye Lowry , or RG 168, the Personal Papers of Mary Margaret Whipple . RG 94 contains Arlingtonians for a Better County Organizational Records .