The first ever recorded episode of The Next Word was with Paul Ferguson, Clerk of the Arlington County and City of Falls Church and a long-time leader and friend. Enjoy this episode and let us know what you think!
Paul's Bio
Paul Ferguson was elected to serve as Clerk of the Circuit Court of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church beginning January 1, 2008. Accomplishments and Improvements include:
- Moving from paper to electronic case files for civil and criminal court records.
- Electronic Filing
- Reducing length of jury service from two weeks to one day/one trial
- Creating an information packet in English and Spanish with sample forms for self-represented parties seeking an uncontested divorce. Providing bilingual assistance in all sections of the Circuit Court office.
Mr. Ferguson is a 1992 graduate of George Mason Law School. Mr. Ferguson is a graduate James Madison University and Wakefield High School in Arlington. He and his wife, Karen Keyes, have two sons.
He is serving as First Vice-President of the Virginia Circuit Court Clerks Association. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Arlington County Bar Foundation. He is the Chair of the Criminal Coordinating Justice Board in Arlington
In 2006, Mr. Ferguson was awarded the President’s Award by the Arlington County Bar Association for outstanding effort, participation, and involvement in the Association.
Mr. Ferguson served as a Member of the Arlington County Board from 1996 to 2007, serving as Chair in 1999, 2003 and 2007. During his 12 years on the Board, Mr. Ferguson worked to ensure full funding for education and public safety. In addition, he worked to improve pedestrian safety and neighborhood conservation.
Mr. Ferguson is known as a leader on environmental issues. He is continuing to provide leadership on issues he worked on as a County Board Member. He currently serves on the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change. He is the past Board Chair for Viridiant, formerly EarthCraft Virginia, a non-profit organization providing consulting and certification for energy-efficient homes.
In 2007, he championed Fresh AIRE – Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions – a five-year initiative to reduce Arlington County government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2012, with annual progress reports. The Board continued his efforts, and as of 2015, those emissions are down 21%.Under that initiative, the County distributed thousands of compact fluorescent lights, provided free energy audits, instituted tax breaks for hybrid vehicles, made investments in energy efficiency, and increased its purchase of wind-generated electricity.
In 1999, Mr. Ferguson led the County Board in adopting a pilot project designed to create incentives for “green technology” in building designs as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. He worked to form a partnership with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, a private nonprofit land trust, to preserve open space in Arlington.
Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Arlington Kiwanis Club and is a member of Leadership Arlington’s Class of 1999.
