While Arlington County is currently mostly progressive, its form of government has a dark history of evolving to limit the influence of its Black citizens. Today, the at-large County Board members largely defer to the un-elected County staff who may be very professional but who, like the Board members are not really answerable to the citizenry in a direct way. Of course, our system has its advantages of not being held hostage by a radical minority. The citizens of Arlington should be able to decide on what kind of government they would like to have in the future.